Sask. electric vehicle owners disappointed by doubling of road use charge

The sixth annual EV Expo was hosted by the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association (SEVA) on April 15, 2023. (David Prisciak/CTV News)

Taxes for electric vehicle (EV) owners in Saskatchewan will double starting June 1, following the provincial government increasing the annual road use charge from $150 to $300.

The surcharge was imposed to ensure that EVs owners contribute to the province’s road maintenance – as those funds are collected from owners of traditional gas and diesel-powered vehicles through the provincial fuel tax.

“We aren’t too happy with it. We think the government is actually going backwards in their original approach to have the adoption of EVs become more mainstream,” a spokesperson for Rev Auto Group, a local EV dealership in Regina, told CTV News.

“We’re currently already at less than 5,000 EVs on the road in Saskatchewan so they’re not impacting it due to the weight.”

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In a statement to CTV News, the province said the increase is based on EVs being “heavier” as compared to their gasoline counterparts – which the government says leads to more wear and tear on provincial roadways.

On average, electric vehicles are heavier than traditional vehicles. A Tesla Model 3 sedan weighs just over 4,000 pounds - while according to JB Power, an average gas-powered car in 2022 weighed around 2,500 pounds.

Additionally, the province says the EV tax revenue will support SaskPower’s efforts in constructing the infrastructure needed for EV charging stations.

“While a flat annual fee may be a blunt way of capturing the actual road-use by EVs, since it ignores the amount actually driven and the size of vehicle, the intercity comparison of taxes, utilities and housing estimates the average individual uses 1,000 litres of fuel annually (equivalent to $150 in fuel tax) while the average family of four uses 2,000 litres annually (equivalent to $300 in fuel tax),” the province said in its statement.

However, Rev Auto Group feels the increased fee is not reasonable.

“We disagree with their claims that the EV owners aren’t paying their ‘fair share.’ They do pay their fair share, for one they do pay to SaskPower which as a Crown corporation participates in the profit sharing and those revenues,” the company’s spokesperson argued.

The Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association (SEVA) also shared the same view – saying that when EV owners are charging their vehicles – they are paying directly to SaskPower for electricity which in return goes to the province’s general revenue fund.

“Revenues on electricity purchased from SaskPower end up as provincial revenue from Crown corp[oration] profit sharing,” the organization said in a news release issued Tuesday.

“EV’s are a net-benefit to society and taxing them in such a way creates a negative narrative around adoption which appears to be the goal of the tax as EVs already pay their fair share through electricity purchases from the government owned utility that has the highest provincial power charges in Canada.”