The US state of Wisconsin makes it a little more expensive for its residents to acquire an electric vehicle.
World authorities expect a significant increase in the number of electric vehicles on the planet by 2030. But this profound change in the car fleet is apparently not welcomed everywhere in the same way.
A rising tax
Wisconsin has just made a decision that could cause controversy. Indeed, the finance committee of the Republican-dominated state assembly has just dramatically increased registration fees for electric vehicles. According to AP Newsit is an increase of 75%, which increases this tax from 100 to 175 dollars.
The goal is to raise an additional $3.3 million for the state transportation fund. The Republicans want to increase the transport budget by 2% in this state, by going directly to the general funds used for various programs, such as Medicaid, or the financing of schools.
A bad signal sent to the public?
The choice of this increase in the tax is somewhat surprising, since on the other side of the table, registration fees for gasoline vehicles ($85) and hybrid vehicles ($75) are not changing, and become more affordable as a result. ” I don’t want to deter people from making the choice [d’acheter un véhicule électrique] “Worried Democratic Representative Evan Goyke.
The United States remains a particular country among the rich countries when it comes to the question of electric vehicles. While they are seen by groups as different as China or the European Union as interesting alternatives to internal combustion engines, the world’s leading power thinks through the prism of its political division.
Thus, if the federal Democratic government pushes for the mass adoption of electric vehicles by Americans, through a tax credit of 7,500 dollars for the purchase of a car assembled in the United States, thanks to the ‘Inflation Reduction Act, Republicans are up against the technology. So much so that banning electric vehicles has been considered in Wyoming. Is this Wisconsin decision another illustration of the culture war currently taking place across the Atlantic?
Source : AP News
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