Canadian Government Sparks Debate with Electric Vehicle Tax (Photo: Tech Nick/Unsplash)
As people shift towards zero-emission vehicles, the government of Alberta, Canada, is planning to implement a new annual tax of 200 dollars for electric vehicle owners.
Electric vehicle owners in the province will need to shell out $200 to pay the new fee, which will be implemented starting January 2025. Hybrid vehicles will be exempt from paying the tax.
According to the government, the idea is to compensate for both the additional wear on provincial roads caused by the extra weight of electric vehicles and the fuel tax that electric vehicle owners do not pay.
Alberta is one of the few provinces in Canada that does not offer incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles. The federal government offers up to $5,000 for the purchase or lease of zero-emission light vehicles, including electric vehicles.
William York, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta, stated he is puzzled by the justification that electric cars are “heavier”. Comparing the Tesla Model 3, an electric sedan, with a BMW 4 Series, he found that both vehicles weigh just over 1.5 tons.
“A $200 fee doesn’t make sense because you can have very light electric vehicles that travel few kilometers a year, or you can have a very heavy electric vehicle that travels 50,000 kilometers a year”, York explained.
“Either way, they are being forced to pay a fixed fee of $200 to the government of Alberta. We don’t think that’s fair,” he added in a conversation with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) website.
The province expects the tax to generate $1 million in revenue between 2024-2025. The projection is that this number will reach $5 million between 2025-2026, as more residents of Alberta purchase electric vehicles, and could reach up to $8 million between 2026-2027.
