Ambassador Bridge Owner Moroun and aide Stamper Jailed

[Wesley Mouch]

MDOT Press Release

Sounds like the May 20th date gets a temporary roadway for trucks.

Does anyone know if the final version will affect Maroun's duty-free store? I thought that was ordered for removal.

[Scottathew]

Sounds like the May 20th date gets a temporary roadway for trucks.

Does anyone know if the final version will affect Maroun's duty-free store? I thought that was ordered for removal.

I hope so based off of this:

Afterwards, the multi-lane roads within the plaza will be reconfigured, also to meet the original agreed upon design.

But I'm not 100% sure.

[Sandhouse]

I presume the store and fuel pumps will be reconstructed with access off the looping road on the Bridge's property. I'll be interested in seeing what they do. I'm sure the store will reappear.

The truck-fuel station is central [[Hey! A pun!) to the profitability of the Maroun enterprise. Diesel fuel at the duty-free store is usually about 5 cents cheaper than normal for Detroit. This yields a slight saving to buyers, and a hefty 60-cent profit when Maroun sells fuel to firms other than his own. When his own trucks buy fuel, it confers a unique advantage on Central Transport over competing truck lines, in that Maroun's truck line can obtain untaxed fuel for trucks headed into Canada. The tractors full of cheap fuel can then operate into Canada, or be exchanged for tractors originating in Canada and return to the United States and operate tax-free in the U.S. until their tanks are empty. For a typical truck, that's up to 1,200 miles before the next fuel purchase. Avoidance of the federal Diesel-fuel tax saves Maroun 24.4 cents/gallon, and if they're [[illegally) skating on payment of Michigan's fuel tax that saves another 15 cents. I have always wondered if Central Transport tractors have larger fuel tanks than usual, and if there's a point in Windsor where tractors are exchanged on loads headed into Michigan.

The "bonded warehouse" scheme may be behind Maroun's attempt to build another bridge at Buffalo, where another duty-free store would enable Central Transport to reach the east coast without paying federal road-use tax.

[Wesley Mouch]

I presume the store and fuel pumps will be reconstructed with access off the looping road on the Bridge's property. I'll be interested in seeing what they do. I'm sure the store will reappear.

The truck-fuel station is central [[Hey! A pun!) to the profitability of the Maroun enterprise. Diesel fuel at the duty-free store is usually about 5 cents cheaper than normal for Detroit. This yields a slight saving to buyers, and a hefty 60-cent profit when Maroun sells fuel to firms other than his own. When his own trucks buy fuel, it confers a unique advantage on Central Transport over competing truck lines, in that Maroun's truck line can obtain untaxed fuel for trucks headed into Canada. The tractors full of cheap fuel can then operate into Canada, or be exchanged for tractors originating in Canada and return to the United States and operate tax-free in the U.S. until their tanks are empty. For a typical truck, that's up to 1,200 miles before the next fuel purchase. Avoidance of the federal Diesel-fuel tax saves Maroun 24.4 cents/gallon, and if they're [[illegally) skating on payment of Michigan's fuel tax that saves another 15 cents. I have always wondered if Central Transport tractors have larger fuel tanks than usual, and if there's a point in Windsor where tractors are exchanged on loads headed into Michigan.

The "bonded warehouse" scheme may be behind Maroun's attempt to build another bridge at Buffalo, where another duty-free store would enable Central Transport to reach the east coast without paying federal road-use tax.

That's all very intriguing -- and confirms my respect for Maroun.

The idea behind duty-free -- in my layman's mind -- is that the selling establishment doesn't pay duty or taxes on items intended for export. But this does not relieve the purchaser from paying duty and/or taxes to the country where the item is imported.

I would think that Canada has a right to apply road-tax to fuel sold for export from the US for import to Canada. Being a commodity, I can see the problems, but a tax audit of his books would likely show fuel cost and road taxes paid.

This could be quite a sum of money saved by Maroun. Is he smarter than Warren Buffett, or was this just small change? Or perhaps Buffett didn't have the other assets at the time to exploit this loophole. Or maybe Buffett has scruples?

Also wonder if Maroun's generosity to politicians is motivated by desire to protect this gravy-train?