Meeting with Rep DuPlessis on Wednesday
Join us and make your voice heard!
For those that do not know, Rep DuPlessis is sponsoring a bill to add tax to EVs and charging network in KY:
Please read about it here: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/22RS/hb568/orig_bill.pdf
This does affect everyone living in Kentucky who own an EV.
Here are my talking points when I meet with the rep on Wednesday regarding the bill to tax EVs:
1) They want to impose a 3 cent tax per kilowatt hour on Jan. 1st, 2023. then 6 months later, they will adjust it, meaning raise it.
Greater than a ten percent (10%) increase, in which case the taxes shall be one hundred ten percent (110%) of the tax rates in effect at the close of the previous fiscal year; or
Greater than a ten percent (10%) decrease, in which case the taxes shall be ninety percent (90%) of the tax rates in effect at the close of the previous fiscal year.
2) section 5: regarding the dealer (public charging stations), doesn’t the owners of those already pay a tax on the electricity?
3) what about hydrogen powered vehicles? And those trucks using alternate fuels like compressed natural gas, etc. (UPS is one I know that uses this) Are they also being taxed? Why are EVs being singled out?
4) If they want a 3 cent tax on the charging stations, then why this? Is this a yearly or once a year thing?
The base floor for the usage fee shall be:
- (a) One hundred forty dollars ($140) for electric vehicles; and
- (b) Seventy dollars ($70) for hybrid vehicles.
I think majority of members agree that a road tax is fair…we use public roads to travel. We don’t produce the pollutants that ICE vehicles do, so that should be taken into account.
So a point I want to bring up is, why not increase the tax on ICE vehicles and especially semi trucks that use our roadways? Not only do they use public roadways too, but they pollute our air. And keep our dependence on oil.
This bill will only get majority of tax from out of state drivers who come through KY. Once they see that the rates for charging are higher, they will avoid coming to/through KY.
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Does anyone here have any input on what they would like me to ask or tell him? We are only going to discuss this bill, nothing else.
This is interesting. I have been confused for a while why KY is not extremely pro EVs as they use electricity from coal sourced in KY.
My question is, if #4 is appropriate for EVs and hybrids to have a non consumption based tax, why not have a uniform system and impose flat fees for ICE vehicles, and adjust the tax on gas appropriately.
Thanks for meeting with the representative. It seems to me, that the effects of this legislation include the following:
It will discourage destination charger installation by burdening the power distributor with, 1. paying duplicate taxes (on the LGE provided electricity in Louisville, for example) as well as the $0.03 KW/hr. tax, and 2. Administrative tax collection and record keeping to manage the charger. IT MAY EVEN PRECIPITATE REMOVAL OF EXISTING DESTINATION CHARGERS. Since most destination chargers do not charge the consumer, the provider is, again, taking a double hit.
It will make our state less competitive vs. other states for those traveling through Kentucky who need to use a SC.
If I read the bill correctly, even a hybrid, such as a Prius, will get dinged for $70 annually, even though it's not plugged in at all. (Did I read that in the bill correctly?)
I object to the bill and I encourage you to do the same. The future of state economics and investment in Kentucky results from the decision accruing from the stance the legislature takes regarding battery electric vehicles. Coal and natural gas will be supplanted by solar, hydroelectric, and battery production by 2030. We should be encouraging the transition to BEVs through tax cuts and incentives. not discouraging them.
Currently the KRS states that if a dealership is willing to sell a vehicle then a manufacturer cannot sell directly. Since Tesla does not have a dealership model they cannot sell in Kentucky. I am not in favor of any taxation until the state allows Tesla to sell directly in Ky. The current law suppresses free trade and is dealership cronyism at its worst.
I agree the road tax is entirely fair since we're avoiding the pumps. I'm curious if any EV incentives are being discussed. That question might be out of scope for your discussion but could be a topic for future talks. Kentucky has to look friendly to the EV industry. We've scored one of the largest battery manufacturing facilities in the country from Ford. Let's keep that momentum going! I'm not saying we can get a GigaFactory, but there are a lot of opportunities out there. Kentucky has a vast automotive manufacturing infrastructure, has cheap utilities, and is located conveniently to the major population centers on this side of the county. Let's not squander those advantages. Let's lead for once and get Kentucky on some lists that don't make us shake our heads.
Kentucky is one of the states that doesn't offer tax incentives to EV owners. I, personally, don't mind paying a road tax; I just want it to be fair. If the tax is too punitive, it will further disincentivise EV ownership at a time when the federal goverment has announced a goal for increased EV use and manufacture. It would be nice if they would go easy with the tax, as an incentive, until EV adoption is more wide spread in KY, then revisit the issue after giving more thought to making this fair for all vehicle owners.
@Jeff - I agree with your objectives. But the argument is that we also use the roads (one could argue that we do more damage due to greater mass to volume ratio of BEVs compared to similarly sized ICE). The $140 in the bill is stipulated as going directly into the road fund, so that's ok with me AS LONG AS we aren't being penalized (paying more than we would in excise on gas).
I think @Elliott's points are more on target. Convenience L2 chargers for Kentuckians (at restaurants, stores, etc.) would increase adoption.
If they restricted this to only L3 DCFC I would be more ok with the change not because it penalizes anyone, but because that excise again would go to the road fund and would be how out-of-state travelers, who would normally buy gas in Kentucky, contribute to our road maintenance.
Let's increase BEV adoption by offering incentives on the vehicles themselves, off-peak charging, etc.
Just my 2c.
I did a little math...
$140/year is actually pretty fair for a moderately efficient vehicle.
Based on 2015 data (quick search, most recent I saw) Kentuckians drive on average around 15,565 miles per year.
Average fuel economy across all consumer vehicle types, according to the EPA, is currently at 25.34.
So according to the national average economy and the state average driving miles, a Kentucky driver might expect to consume 614.25 gallons per year.
Kentucky excise that I could find on gasoline sales is currently at $0.26 per gallon.
This would put the average consumer, based on data I could find, at paying $159.70 in fuel excise tax per year.
Anyone care to check my findings? Happy to be corrected.
All that said, I agree with your list of questions. Let's tax heavier on polluters impacting the air quality of our roads. But as the act states this money will go directly and entirely into the road funds, I'm good with the balance.