When the Alberta government announced its 2024 budget at the end of February, one item in particular raised eyebrows: a new registration fee of $200 on electric vehicles, beginning in January, 2025.EVs don’t pay fuel taxes when they are charged at home, which they often are. EVs are also, on average, heavier than their combustion engine counterparts, and thus, on average, more damaging to roads.
It is worth reflecting on how a completely reasonable user fee could be met with so much skepticism and disdain. At the root of it is a culture around EVs and their owners that sees them as environmentally conscious, social progressive citizens who should be lauded and supported. The most regressive policy in the country – the suite of EV subsidies – has somehow been branded its most virtuous.I’ve got no quarrel with EV owners and makers, and aspire to have one of my own.
The federal Liberals are under fire for their carbon tax, which is looking increasingly politically untenable. But as climate policy it is superior to the suite of EV subsidies in almost every way: cheaper, fairer, more transparent and progressive. While low-income earners tend to benefit from the carbon tax – as wealth redistribution policy it is pretty effective, even if the impact on emissions is thus far slight – EV incentives favour the wealthy.
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