A proposed amendment to the Highway Act (公路法) could mean that electric vehicle (EV) owners would have to start paying fuel use fees as early as 2030, the Highway Bureau said on Monday.
Most motor vehicle owners are obligated to pay fuel use fees, which are mainly used to pay for road maintenance and construction expenses, but EV owners are exempt due to the government’s 2050 net zero carbon emissions plan.
Lawmakers, including Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) and Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤), told a meeting of the Transportation Committee at the legislature in Taipei that to avoid a funding shortfall of about NT$3.6 billion (US$118.21 million) by 2030, when Taiwan is expected to have about 2.91 million EVs, articles 27, 28 and 75 of the act should be amended.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
EV use had grown to about 884,000 in March from about 196,000 in 2018, Lee said.
The purpose of collecting the fuel use fee is to maintain, repair, construct and manage highways, the lawmakers said.
“As EV use increases, owners should pay fees in accordance with the principle of user pays,” they said. “As such, the name of the fee should be changed from ‘fuel use fee’ to ‘road use maintenance and management fee.’”
The government needs to ensure that there is adequate funding to maintain and repair roads, so fees should be levied from all road users, Lee said.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications agreed that the name of the fee should be changed, suggesting: “Road maintenance, construction and safety administration fee” (公路養護修建及安全管理費).
The Institute of Transportation is reviewing the rules for the fuel use fees, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯) said.
“The institute is expected to finish its review by next year and EV owners are likely to begin paying road maintenance fees by 2030,” Chen said.
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