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An Anonymous Coward writes in with an article from Vice.com.
A generous state tax break has helped make Georgia the number two state for electric vehicles, and made Atlanta the top market for the compact Nissan Leaf. Both the Leaf and the higher-end Tesla sedans are now common sights in and around metro Atlanta, where more than 10,500 are registered.
But this year, Georgia lawmakers needed to raise nearly $1 billion to patch up crumbling roads, highways, and bridges. So they are pulling the plug on that $5,000 tax credit — a move budget analysts say will contribute $66 million to the state's coffers in 2016 and nearly $190 million by 2020.
But it gets worse for electric vehicle (EV) boosters. Legislators are adding a $200-a-year annual fee for owners to offset the loss of gasoline taxes that drivers would otherwise pay to maintain roads.
The Economist has a breakdown of the current system of the tax credits and the expected economic impact of the changes.
(Score: 2) by arashi no garou on Saturday April 04 2015, @06:28PM
What you don't realize is that taking away the $5000 tax break and adding a $200 fee on top is the equivalent of raising the actual price of the vehicle the consumer sees. If you go to Nissan's or Tesla's websites and look up prices for your favorite EV, you'd see the price quoted is after the incentives are considered. This "sticker price" is what consumers use to compare the total cost of ownership of the vehicle versus the gas-burning competition. When you take away those incentives and add even more fees on top, the total cost of ownership suddenly shifts the other way, and that's exactly what the Georgia legislature wants. They may claim it's to "save our roads" but you can be sure there's heavy oil industry lobbying behind those decisions.