When Good Policy Meets Bad Politics: Why Taxing EVs is Like Charging Your Phone with a Potato
How Congress wants to make my Kansas City to Oklahoma City nightmare even worse
Remember that brutal winter trip I wrote about?
The one where my Mustang Mach-E turned a five-hour drive into a ten-hour odyssey of frozen fingers, dead chargers and range anxiety that could make a NASA flight controller sweat? Well, buckle up, because the U.S. House of Representatives just voted to make that experience infinitely worse for every American considering an electric vehicle.
In late May, our elected federal representatives decided that what this country really needs is a new $250 annual tax on EV drivers—while simultaneously eliminating the very tax credits that make electric vehicles accessible to regular folks. It's like watching someone set fire to a life raft while the ship is sinking, then charging the survivors for swimming lessons.
The Math Doesn't Add Up (Unless You're Really Bad at Math)
Let's talk numbers, because apparently some people skipped that day in school. The average gas-powered vehicle pays about $82.25 annually in federal gas taxes. But under this brilliant new plan, my Mach-E would get hit with a $250 yearly fee—more than triple what conventional drivers pay (I haven't even gotten into what I already pay my state for the "privilege" of driving my chosen mode of transportation).
This isn't about "paying our fair share." This is about punishment disguised as policy.
You know what this reminds me of? Those viral videos where someone tries to charge their phone with a potato. Sure, it's technically possible to generate a tiny bit of electricity that way, but it's so spectacularly inefficient and counterproductive that you'd have to be either desperate or completely missing the point to attempt it.
That's exactly what Congress is doing here—taking a technology that could revolutionize American transportation and energy independence, then implementing policies so backward they make potato-powered electronics look sensible.
Here's what makes this particularly absurd: I already save money with my EV, roughly $60-85 per week on my work commute compared to my old ICE (internal combustion engine) car. But that savings comes from the efficiency of electric motors and cheaper home charging—not from dodging taxes.
I'm happy to contribute to road maintenance. What I'm not happy about is being treated like a pariah for making an environmentally responsible choice.
And speaking of taxes, here in Missouri, I already pay extra fees that gas car drivers don't. The Missouri Department of Revenue requires EV drivers to get special fuel decals—essentially stickers that mark us as electric vehicle owners. These aren't available on the website like other car registrations. My $135 sticker is only renewable at the local license office or by mail, adding bureaucratic hassle to what should be a straightforward process.
No online renewal for EV drivers. Why?
Add my Missouri $135 annual sticker fee to that proposed $250 federal tax, and I'm looking at $385 in annual fees just for driving electric—nearly five times what gas car drivers pay in federal taxes alone. That's not fair share territory; that's penalty fees for making a responsible choice.
It's like being charged a cover fee to enter a restaurant, then getting hit with a surcharge for not ordering the most expensive item on the menu.
When Infrastructure Meets Incompetence
Remember those Francis Energy chargers I cursed at during my Oklahoma trip? The ones that would cycle endlessly on "connecting" while I stood in subzero wind, questioning my life choices? Now imagine facing that same frustrating infrastructure while knowing Congress actively wants to discourage the very technology that could make transportation cleaner and cheaper for everyone.
This tax proposal isn't happening in a vacuum. It's part of a larger package that eliminates tax credits for EVs, solar panels, and energy efficiency improvements—all to fund tax cuts for people who probably spend more on yacht maintenance than most of us make in a year.
The timing is particularly rich. At a moment when America could lead the global transition to clean transportation, when we have the chance to dominate the industries that will define the next century, Congress wants to wave the white flag and hand that future to China. (BYD. Look it up.) It's like deciding to invest in telegram technology right after Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
The Real-World Reality Check
The EV tax credits aren't corporate welfare—they're market development tools that work. They make electric vehicles accessible to middle-class families who want cleaner air for their kids and lower fuel costs for their budgets. Without them, EVs become luxury items for wealthy early adopters, which defeats the entire point of accelerating adoption.
Here's what really gets me: Instead of addressing the charging infrastructure problems I experienced firsthand—the broken chargers, the apps that don't work, the credit card readers that might as well be decorative—Congress wants to make the problem worse by discouraging EV adoption entirely.
It's like complaining that restaurants are too crowded, then proposing to solve the problem by burning them down.
We need more EV charging stations, better reliability and standardized payment systems. We need policies that encourage innovation and competition in the charging network space. What we don't need is a punitive tax that treats electric vehicle drivers like we're somehow cheating the system by choosing cleaner transportation.
The Choice Before Us
This bill isn't just bad policy—it's actively harmful to American competitiveness, environmental progress, and basic economic sense. It takes money from families trying to make responsible choices and gives it to people who already have more money than they can spend.
The House has spoken, but the Senate still has a chance to inject some sanity into this process. If you've ever considered an electric vehicle, if you care about American innovation, or if you just think tax policy should make sense, now's the time to contact your senators.
Because here's the thing: my winter trip to Oklahoma was challenging, but it was also a glimpse of the future—a future where Americans lead in clean transportation technology, where our infrastructure supports innovation instead of punishing it, and where policy encourages progress rather than rewarding the status quo.
That future is still possible. But only if we fight for it.
The question isn't whether electric vehicles will dominate transportation—they will, with or without American leadership. The question is whether we'll be the country that builds that future or the one that watches it happen from the sidelines while complaining about the tax implications.
Call your senators. Tell them you drive electric and you vote. Tell them that America deserves better than self-sabotage disguised as fiscal responsibility.
Because if we don't, my arduous Kansas City to Oklahoma City trip might end up looking like the good old days.
What do you think? Have you contacted your senators about this bill? Share your EV experiences in the comments—the good, the bad, and the policy-induced ugly.