Oregon Considering Pay-Per-Mile EV Tax

In brief: The State of Oregon is considering legislation that would impose a pay-per-mile tax on all non-petroleum vehicles.

The word

The bill before the Oregon legislature, House Bill 2328, would require drivers of non-petroleum-fueled vehicles (electric cars) to pay a use tax based on mileage.

Currently, Oregon gives up to $750 in tax rebates for EV purchases, which seems to be kind of a mixed message to electric vehicle buyers. Further, one of the incentives for purchasing an EV is the fuel savings, which would be negated by the proposed 0.6 cents per "gallon" equivalent, which is about 48mpg (equivalent to a Prius).

How would the miles be tracked? That's up for grabs, since the legislation only requires the "development of an option of tracking and reporting miles driven.."

Opponents to the bill question its validity given its ambiguous nature in tracking and Oregon's past record of attempting to mandate GPS-based tracking systems for mileage reporting.

And so ...

One option not often considered is to rescind fuel taxes altogether and instead impose a tax on tires, which all vehicles use. The tax could be based on mileage via tire changes, making the tax universal regardless of vehicle type.

Photo credits: Stock