SURPRISING STUFF
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue announced starting January 1, 2025, electric vehicle owners will have to pay a new tax when charging their cars.
As more Wisconsin drivers opt for electric vehicles, the tax aims to create “a more equitable system” where all drivers contribute to road repair costs, the department’s secretary designee David Casey said in a news release. When the tax kicks in, any person who owns or operates an electric vehicle charging station must register with the state before resuming charging services. The new tax will add 3 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity charged to the vehicle, and charging station operators will add the tax to their selling prices.
The tax applies to Level 3 chargers, or Level 1 and 2 chargers that were installed on or after March 22, 2024. Excise tax does not apply, and registration is not required for residential EV charging stations, except for hotels. A Tesla, on average, costs about 5.6 cents per kilowatt hour to charge which is about one-fifth the cost of a gasoline-powered vehicle. By raising that rate by three cents a kilowatt hour the state is basically doubling the cost to the owner of the Tesla but only making the vehicle’s energy expense about one-third that of the gas-powered.
It would be fairer, however, if the nation, the states, and the local municipalities used the gasoline and diesel taxes for road repair and replacement, which by and large they do not. Highway robbery used to deal with robbers along the course of a carriages path of travel. Not anymore. Highway robbery is the phrase used to describe our own government’s use of automobile tax monies…as well as the companies that pave or repair roads and bridges across the country
