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  • The government is weighing a new car tax proposal to fund America’s crumbling infrastructure.
  • The proposal would charge Americans anywhere from $20 to $200 annually for their vehicles.
  • Some Republicans are already vocally opposing the proposal, raising concerns over its fairness.

America’s crumbling roads aren’t just a punchline anymore, they’re a $20 billion annual shortfall for the federal government, and lawmakers are now eyeing new ways to close the gap. One idea on the table? A national car fee that could, in theory, also help ease gas prices over time. But like most tax ideas these days, it’s already being shot down from inside the same party that introduced it.

The proposal comes from House Transportation Committee Chair Sam Graves, who wants to charge Americans an annual fee for simply owning and driving a car. The amount would vary by vehicle type, ranging from $20 a year for standard passenger cars to $200 for electric vehicles. Hybrids would fall in the middle at $100. The long-term goal, according to Graves, is to eventually replace the federal gas tax altogether.

Read: Volvo Just Suspended Its Forecast After Tariffs And EV Headwinds Wrecked Q1

“Nearly 40 states already have a special registration fee for EVs. It is time for the federal government to assess a fee on EVs that, for years, have not paid gasoline or diesel taxes, the primary source of Highway Trust Fund revenues,” said Graves. He went on to point out that gas and diesel taxes haven’t changed since 1993. Since they’re not indexed to inflation, the government has lost out on some $480 billion in federal revenue.

Interestingly, the proposal would make it so that EV owners are essentially paying what equates to about 1,111 gallons of fuel annually based on the federal gas tax of $0.18. According to the Department of Energy, the average car uses around 430 gallons of gas per year. So, yes, EV drivers would be picking up a disproportionately large tab.

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Not Everyone’s On Board

That said, the proposal sounds like it might die before making it very far, though. Chip Roy didn’t mince words about his view of it saying, “Are you out of your fricking mind? Like, the party of limited government is gonna go out and, ‘say we’re gonna have [a car tax]? You know what I was told? ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ll get rid of it later in the highway bill,” Roy continued.

According to Politico, the message he received is that the car tax is “a gimmick to pay for this, so we know that we’re not actually gonna pay for it. That’s how this town works.”

After a little math, AmericanProgress.org believes the proposal could cost Americans $7 billion a year and, of course, shrink the debt by that same amount. However, they also point out that the broader bill containing this proposal includes a hefty tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. Over a 10-year period, the top 0.1% of earners would see an average tax reduction of $278,000.

Whether this proposal is a genuine attempt to modernize road funding or just another political mirage, it forces a real question: who should foot the bill for the nation’s crumbling infrastructure in an era of rapid tech shifts and lopsided tax codes? If the answer ends up punishing EV adoption while letting wealth glide by untouched, expect this road to be anything but smooth.

Lead image Sen. Grave / Lucid