AI Summary:
“New Mexico’s Transportation Department plans to propose a 25-35% increase in vehicle registration fees and a new surcharge for electric vehicles to raise funds for road repairs. This proposal aims to address rising construction costs and declining revenues. Transportation Secretary Ricky Serna highlighted the need for these changes to maintain infrastructure, as fuel efficiency standards are reducing gas tax revenues significantly.”
Unfortunately it feels like 25-35% of the drivers I see aren’t registered, period.
This wouldn’t effect them.
I know, I meant that the need for a fee hike feels like it’s coming at the cost of other folks not paying their share.
I have a dry sense of humor.
But yah. That’s literally always and everywhere how things work. People who do pay, over-pay for those who don’t. Car insurance has a specific additional coverage for when the person “at fault” isn’t insured. Most stores have “shrinkage” rates of around 2-5%. Which means everyone pays that much extra to cover the cost of theft.
Registration has become pretty cheap in comparison, I don’t think its changed much since at least 2018. Why don’t they consider applying higher sales tax to vehicle purchases instead of the 3% there is now? You would think:
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It would generate more immediate revenue
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It would hit poor people much less than regressive registration fees
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It would especially hit expensive EVs which are heavy because of big batteries and therefore contribute to road maintenance more
I wouldn’t disagree with both going up.
No increase for 7 years is a long time. It makes sense to increase it 25 or 35%.
It doesn’t make sense there should be a sales tax discount on cars. They should absolutely be the standard 5.125% +local tax.
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Why doesn’t anyone push back on these with the most basic of facts: passenger vehicles don’t damage roads. Big ass trucks do.
Because, corporations can’t afford it! Please think of the shareholders!
They are increasing taxes on heavy commercial trucks, per the article.
With EVs, US states are facing a similar problem as with solar. We’ve spent decades gearing fossil fuel use to pay for infrastructure. Not burning gas? Then you’re not paying for your roads. Not burning coal? Then you’re not paying for your electrical infra.
We don’t want to discourage green economic behavior, but we have to figure new ways to fund the roads and telephone poles. Tough needle to thread.
Technology keeps increasing which means roads should be getting cheaper to repair, not more expensive. There should be no barriers on adopting EVs.
Infrastructure costs are a lie. Companies radically overcharge for it. That’s a place to start.
We shouldn’t have to pay for oil to pay for roads. Every single person benefits from roads, so they should be paid for via normal routes of taxation, not by “direct consumption”. That sort of tax is nonsense and hinders progress.
People say “I don’t own a car so why should I pay for it?” Really? Do you live in a city? Do you go shopping? Do you buy food? ALL of that access is due to vehicles.
Why should truckers pay for roads? They are transporting goods that satisfy a demand. We collectively bear the burden of maintaining this infrastructure.
Toll roads should all be abolished. Registration taxes should be abolished. All of this should be simplified.
Instead, people are coming up with absurd creative ways to “make EV drivers pay their fair share”. It is nonsense.
Are there really so many EVs out there that they need to levy these fees this early? I don’t see a figure for the EV fee in the article, but some states have implemented a fee for EVs that significantly exceeds what almost anyone would pay in gas taxes for driving a gas vehicle over the same period of time.
They’re getting ahead of the problem.
EVs don’t make up enough of the vehicles on the road for it to be a problem. It doesn’t make sense to get ahead of the problem when the idea is to pay for what you use. Doing it this early, especially when the fee is higher than it is for internal combustion vehicles, is a blatant tactic to dissuade EV adoption. Usually (if not always) it’s a republican proposing these high EV fees, so that should clue you in on the intent.
