Electric Vehicles Come Out Ahead Of Gas Cars On Taxes--Except In Two States: FURTHER UPDATE

Several states have adopted or proposed special taxes and fees for electric-car drivers. which are supposed to make up for lost revenue from taxes on the fuel their drivers don't buy.

Electric-car advocates typically view these policies as discriminatory, and claim they work against efforts to get more people into plug-ins.

MORE: Washington State's $100 Electric Car Tax: Cheaper Than Gas Car Tax

However, proponents claim electric-car taxes will help provide sorely-needed infrastructure funding. And it's hardly a secret that most state's highways could use the funds.

That's the argument made in a December 2014 article in Roll Call, whose author claims that these taxes suggest an alternative path to highway funding beyond the gas tax--which advances in fuel efficiency are rendering less lucrative.

Five states--Colorado, Nebraska, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington--have already instituted electric-car taxes, and they may soon be joined by Wisconsin.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Since we published this article in late December 2014, Georgia too has added an electric-car registration fee of $200. See details below.]

[ADDITIONAL NOTE: Our reader John Weber points out that Idaho has also added a $140 annual fee for electric cars, as well as a $75 fee for hybrid vehicles, as of July 1, 2015. At the same time, the state raised its gasoline tax from $0.25 to $0.32 per gallon.]

In November, Wisconsin's Department of Transportation proposed a $50 annual registration fee for electric cars--on top of the standard fees paid by all motorists--which opponents say would penalize drivers for buying cleaner vehicles.

Yet Wisconsin electric-car drivers may still come out ahead. Here's why.

The state portion of the Wisconsin gas tax is 32.9 cents per gallon, so even drivers of a high gas-mileage car like the Toyota Prius hybrid--rated at 50 mpg combined--will pay just under $100 in fuel taxes each year, assuming the U.S. average of 15,000 miles driven.

RELATED: Wisconsin: Higher Taxes For Hybrids, Electrics For Not Burning Enough Gas To Fund Road Repairs?

The electric-car driver, meanwhile, simply pays the $50 fee. Drive that plug-in vehicle more than 15,000 miles, and the tax rate per mile decreases even further.

It's the same story in Washington state, which has a $100 electric-car registration fee, and a gas tax of 37.5 cents per gallon.

The difference is smaller, but the hypothetical Prius driver still pays more per year, at $112.50.

Washington also has a high percentage of electric cars on its roads. It's one of only three states with three or more electric cars per 1,000 vehicles registered.

Electric cars also come out ahead in Colorado, Nebraska, and North Carolina--the flat fee for electric cars adds up to less than the taxes on a year's worth of gasoline.

EDITOR'S NOTE: In December 2014, we wrote, "The only state where electric cars are taxed more than gasoline cars is Virginia, thanks to the combination of a low state gas tax--11.7 cents per gallon--and two extra fees for plug-in vehicles."

"The state has a $64.00 annual alternative-fuel vehicle registration tax, and electric-car owners pay $50.00 fee on top of that. Electric-car drivers in Virginia pay $114.00 per year in fees, but would fork over just $35.10 in gas taxes for a 50-mpg car."