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> They should have a "battery tax", given that someone has to recycle and dispose of the waste. This is a total non-issue. The manufacturers will happily take

• 001sky 13y ago
  free of charge Not quite. The new, replacement battery is quite expesnive and sold at a high margin. So this is not "free", nor does it pay into the public good (domain) in any way to offset the carbon footprint of building the car (smelting steel, aluminum, mining etc), or the transportation damage to the road-system (a function of weight x miles, not emissions). The good news is that current cells are highly recylable in the technological sense, so its not like they are hazardous spent fuel rods. But the usage (mileage) will be proportionate to battery life. So it makes sense to tax the fuel-supply of the electric car in the same way as the fuel tax. That is, if you believe in those things (public goods, etc).
  • mullingitover 13y ago
    > The new, replacement battery is quite expesnive and sold at a high margin. That's beside the point. The battery recycling is free. Of course the battery replacement costs money, but the battery already comes with a fee: sales tax. The supply chain for producing the battery is likewise taxed in various ways. > So it makes sense to tax the fuel-supply of the electric car in the same way as the fuel tax. Then why are you talking about taxing the battery? The battery is the container, not the fuel. Electricity is already taxed.