The poverty tax is making it required to have a vehicle to participate in society. Make better public transit options so owning a car is optional.

I recently took a trip to Seattle and the light-rail was so cool. You could walk anywhere, without even the need for a bike or scooter. And I'm someone who usually never leaves bed so that was a surprise for me.

People should pay for the pollution they cause

Under current economic conditions almost any tax that doesn't explicitly target high earners and high net worth individuals is a poverty tax. Fixing economic inequality is the appropriate place to deal with this problem, not reasonable taxes like emissions tests.

How do you mean? Here in Illinois they are free. It was also free in New Jersey.

Well, they're not free (in dollars) in CA or MA.

They're never free in terms of your time, either.

(But note that I agree with the sibling comments by cool_dude85 & undersuit, in this case. But they are a regressive tax.)

Literally. I'm sure the purpose of all these regulations (including the EU banning petrol cars) is that in a few decades poor people won't allowed to drive their own cars.