1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I’m writing as a constituent and an electric vehicle owner in Pennsylvania to express my concern about the new EV road usage fee that went into effect this year. I want to be clear: I do not object to paying taxes. I believe paying our fair share is part of being a responsible citizen. Taxes are how we maintain infrastructure, invest in our communities, and keep the state functioning. But taxes should be fair, and the new flat EV fee is not. Unlike the gas tax — which is tied to consumption, so people who drive more pay more — the EV fee is a flat charge. I drive about 6,000 miles per year. Another EV owner might drive 20,000 or 25,000 miles. Yet under this law, we pay the exact same amount. That is regressive by definition. The justification I’ve heard is that a mileage-based fee is too difficult to enforce. But the technology we already have shows that simply isn’t true. Each month, PECO sends me an email that separately identifies my EV charging and shows how much I spent on charging compared with the rest of my household electricity use. If utilities can already distinguish EV charging from other usage and report on it, the state could design a usage-based road tax tied to charging—similar in spirit to how we pay a tax at the gas pump based on consumption. This would be far more equitable and would ensure that people who use the roads more contribute more. I respectfully urge the legislature to revisit the EV fee and consider a consumption-based structure tied to charging, mileage, or another fair metric. Pennsylvania can support infrastructure without abandoning fairness. Thank you for your time and your service.