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With higher gas tax, electric vehicles must become more affordable | READER COMMENTARY

For The Baltimore Sun
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In this file photo taken Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, gasoline prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Sacramento, California. The federal motor fuel tax has been unchanged for more than two decades causing it to lose more than half its purchasing power. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

In this file photo taken Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, gasoline prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Sacramento, California. The federal motor fuel tax has been unchanged for more than two decades causing it to lose more than half its purchasing power. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) (Rich Pedroncelli / AP)

It is unlikely that members of Congress from rural states would support a federal gas tax increase, but if they did, any increase must be phased in gradually. Also, along with increased gas taxes, the government must make electric vehicles more affordable for most Americans (”The best way to tax polluters, fight climate change and reduce the deficit: Raise the federal gas tax,” Aug. 9).

Why the resistance to large increases in gas taxes? The Baltimore Sun Editorial Board forgot to mention that the greatest profits for U.S. auto companies are found in their truck and sport utility vehicle lines and that any increase in gas taxes can potentially threaten thousands of jobs. That is precisely why it must be phased in at just a few cents a year to coincide with the other major change in the auto industry, the switch to electric vehicles.

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The government presently pays wealthy people to buy electrics vehicles. The $7,500 tax credit, still available on some brands, means little to many income groups. Get rid of it. Start offering rebates directly to consumers for buying electric vehicles predicated on income. For example, combined incomes of $400,000 or a single income of $200,000 would not get much, perhaps $500. Set up a sliding scale based on last year’s W-2 so that lower income groups would get a larger rebate, perhaps $5,000 in cash. It might actually save money. Everything right now is skewed to help the rich buy electric vehicles.

The government is underwriting the wealthy to buy electrics and automakers to build large profitable gas trucks. It makes no sense. We need a twofold approach. Yes, raise the federal gas tax slowly, but at the same time the government must help all income groups buy electric vehicles, not just the wealthy.

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Dudley Thompson, Girdletree

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