The new draft Economic Arrangements Bill proposes a NIS 0.15 per kilometer tax, but it is doubtful whether it will ever be implemented.
Globes reports that the ink is hardly dry on the previous draft Economic Arrangements Bill to accompany the state budget, and last week a new draft was published, containing measures affecting drivers. The document reveals the concern of the regulator at the rate at which electric vehicles are coming into Israel: "The rapid influx of electric vehicles presents significant challenges that must be dealt with. First of all, to remove barriers to their entry, and secondly to reduce the economic damage liable to arise from unregulated introduction of electric vehicles." In 2022, 27,000 electric vehicles were sold in Israel, 146% more than in 2021.
Some of the proposals in the latest draft bill are familiar from its predecessor, others have been revised, and some are new.
Travel tax: Slim chance of being implemented
The Economic Arrangements Bill reintroduces the proposal to impose a travel tax on electric vehicles. Under the current proposal, a tax of NIS 0.15 per kilometer would be imposed. The official justification for such a tax has not changed from the previous draft bill: the growing demand for electric vehicles is causing various kinds of damage, such as extra road usage because of the low cost per kilometer in comparison with gasoline-fueled vehicles, which the state needs to restrict.
The real reason, the industry believes, is the need to restore to the public purse some of the tax on fuel that it will lose as a result of the rapid switch from gasoline-fueled vehicles to electric ones. Revenue from the fuel excise alone in 2022 amounted to NIS 21.4 billion.
Source - Globes/Twitter - Image - Shutterstock