Owners of electric passenger vehicles registered in Saskatchewan will begin paying a new annual road-use fee of $150, effective October 1, 2021. The necessary amendments to The Fuel Tax Act, 2000 were introduced today.
"Electric passenger vehicles are being purchased in ever-increasing numbers across Canada and around the world," Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said. "These vehicles contribute to wear and tear on provincial roadways, but because they do not consume traditional fossil fuels, their registered owners are not contributing to highway maintenance through the provincial fuel tax. The 2021-22 Budget included several measures to improve the fair application of Saskatchewan's taxes, including this new road-use fee."
In Saskatchewan, all road-use fuel tax revenue is dedicated to provincial highway maintenance. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, road-use fuel tax revenue totalled about $454 million in Saskatchewan, while road maintenance expenditures totalled nearly $616 million.
The average annual fuel tax paid by owners of non-electric (fuel powered) vehicles in Saskatchewan is estimated at about $150 per vehicle. The new road-use fee will ensure that owners of electric vehicles pay a comparable amount annually. The revenue from this fee, as with road-use fuel tax revenue, will be dedicated to provincial highway maintenance.
"While this new fee will only apply to passenger vehicles, our government will continue to examine the potential for expanding it to commercial vehicles and inter-jurisdictional trucking," Harpauer said. "Our government will also consider options to apply a tax at charging stations."
The new electric vehicle road-use fee will be collected by Saskatchewan Government Insurance when the vehicle is registered.
