By Kathi O Shea March 10, 2021 8:19 am
OLYMPIA, Wash. A state Senate bill that would impose a mileage-based tax for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles has yet to advance in the 2021 session.
Senate Bill 5444 is sponsored by Seattle Democrat Rebecca Saldana and would impose a two cents per mile road usage charge for electric cars and plug-in hybrids.
Northwest News Network reports she called the proposed Road Usage Charge an effort to “move into the future of Washington travel”.
The state Department of Licensing estimates the tax would hit 142,000 vehicles by 2026.
Opponents of the idea point out that owners of electric vehicles pay $150 each year as a gas tax offset, an amount that could be raised.