TEXAS, USA — State governments everywhere are starting to tax owners of hybrid and electric cars because they claim their drivers don’t pay enough in gasoline taxes.
With gas prices so high, more and more drivers have been looking at buying a hybrid or electric cars.
But you might want to be aware of some fees that owners say are unfair.
Dave Gilbert feels he is doing the right thing by driving a hybrid Toyota Camry to save gas and the environment.
"Right now I'm averaging 35.1 miles per gallon," Gilbert said.
Gilbert feels it's a slap in the face that his state is about to hit him with a $70 annual surcharge for driving a hybrid car.
"As I read this, I found they are going to in essence double the registration fee on my 12-year-old Toyota hybrid," Gilbert said.
At least he's not driving a Tesla, whose owners are facing a $150 annual fee.
Thirty states are now hitting hybrid and electric owners with annual fees, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Another dozen states are considering adding these fees to make up for the money they say they are losing from gasoline taxes.
Some states are adding more than just an extra fee at renewal time, but they're also adding a small tax to the electricity fee at public charging stations.
"They're going to start charging an excise tax on electricity if you use charging stations for electric to charge the batteries," Gilbert said.
Ohio's Director of Transportation, which is one of the states charging these fees, says it is all about everyone helping to maintain the state's roadways.
"Up until this point, if you were driving an EV or a hybrid to the extent that you are not using gasoline, you were not helping support the system on which you depend," Jack Marchbanks said.
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But consumer reports say these fees are more than what the average driver of a gas car pays in gasoline taxes, and they're worried the new fees will discourage people from buying fuel saving cars.
Hybrid owners feel they are now being punished for doing good for the Earth.
"We want to maintain the roads, but we want to do it fairly," Gilbert said. "And this tax is the wrong way to do it."
While there is no extra fee yet in Texas, it's one of several states with proposals in the legislature to start taxing hybrids and EVs.