Ahh, that time of year when the Legislature pools their creative talents to stick it to Salt Lake City, women and environmentalists. This year’s assault on the greens includes a proposed tax on electric vehicles. To quote the sponsor, Sen. Wayne Harper, we are “just trying to create parity here with the funds that everybody pays so everybody can pay for the same impact that they have on the roads of the state of Utah.”
That is a crock that needs to be called out.
The US Department of Transportation and numerous agencies, both public and private, have determined that the damage to roadways increases by the fourth power of the axle weight of a given vehicle. The tanker (20,000 lbs./axle) hauling crude from Vernal over Parleys Summit thus causes 10,000 times the damage done by the Prius (2,000 lbs./axle) headed to Deer Valley. A Chevy Suburban (4000 lbs./axle) does 16 times the damage of a Nissan Leaf.
In the name of parity, I challenge Sen. Harper to match his $400 tax per electric vehicle with one of $4 million tax per semi and $6400 tax per Suburban.
The trucking industry has been heavily subsidized ever since Eisenhower created the interstate highway system. The supporting argument is that our society depends on the reliable and cheap delivery of consumer goods, and truckers thus need a pass on their true impact to our roads and highways. I propose that our society also needs clean air and a drastic reduction in our carbon footprint. The miniscule subsidy in the form of freedom-from-gasoline-taxes currently afforded drivers of electric vehicles is a very small contribution to those goals.
Kirk Thomas, Salt Lake City
