Electric car for everyone around the corner, or are they?
Could there possibly be an electric powered automobile in your future?
Electric cars such as the Tesla, Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan Leaf have been available for sale in certain states. These cars are in their infancy and at one time the federal government and the state of Pennsylvania have offered tax credits to entice buyers away from fossil fuel powered cars.
Imagine owning an electric car. You could drive past a gas station and wave good-bye, laugh and even thumb your nose at the gas pump.
Question of the day? Do owners of electric cars in this state pay road tax that is to be used for the maintenance and upkeep of roads and bridges? Answer: not yet.
We who drive gasoline-powered autos pay road tax every time we purchase gas. According to the Tax Foundation, included in the price of a gallon of gas is $.58 that goes to the state of Pennsylvania and $.18 per gallon that goes to the federal government. That totals $.76 a gallon that we pay in road tax and the owner of an electric car pays nothing.
So that means, if the average miles per year driven by a passenger car is 15,000. The average miles per gallon of fuel economy is 25 which is highway and city driving combined. Using this as an example the owner of a gas powered car will have to purchase 600 gallons of gas per year. The road tax is calculated by multiplying the number of gallons purchased which is in this case 600 by $.76 and it will equal $ 456. The owner of an electric car pays nothing.
In January of this year, Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order that moves this state closer to aligning itself with the Green New Deal. Executive order 1-19 addresses the ravages of climate change and how it is a threat to the world.
Hey Tom, not long ago it was global warming that was a threat to the world and now it is climate change please make up your mind. In this edict, the governor wants to replace 25 percent of the state passenger car fleet which are vehicles owned and operated by the state with electric cars by 2025.
Could our gas cars be next? While reading through this executive order it is nothing more than mumbo jumbo as it addresses questions concerning the climate. What ever happened to a change in the seasons from winter, spring, summer and fall? What does an electric car and a windmill have in common? Please read the Green New Deal. Some day chances are your electric car will be recharged by a windmill. Whats next a tax on wind? Don’t count it out.
I for one will continue to drive my prehistoric fossil fuel car and every time I see a windmill I will wave good-bye, laugh and thumb my nose at it. Breaking news the state of Wyoming does tax the wind. Could the state of Pennsylvania be next? Happy motoring.
Ed Zadylak is a resident of Connellsville