Photo/Illutration Tesla electric vehicles imported to Japan (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The government plans to impose higher taxes on electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2028 based on their weight.

The timing for the increases will be included in a tax system outline compiled this week by the Liberal Democratic Party’s Research Commission on the Tax System.

The specific tax amounts will be decided from 2026.

An “electric vehicle weight tax” will be introduced covering EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles from May 2028.

It will come on top of the “automobile weight tax” that owners must pay at every vehicle inspection.

Officials plan to set the tax rate while considering the average amount in gasoline taxes that owners of engine vehicles pay.

But in general, the EV tax rate will be higher for heavier cars, sources said.

EV owners will also be hit with higher taxes that car owners pay every year depending on the engine displacement of their vehicle.

EV owners now pay the smallest amount because their cars do not have engines. But from fiscal 2028, the tax will be calculated by the weight of the EV.

The government had kept the tax burden on EVs low to encourage the spread of such vehicles.

But EVs tend to be heavier than engine cars and may cause greater damage to roads.

The increased tax on EVs is intended to help with infrastructure upkeep, the sources said.

(This article was written by Kanako Tanaka and Taishi Sasayama.)

 

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