Despite the conflict of interest and Ethics agreement signed, Transportation Secretary, Elaine L. Chao has now gained 13 percent in stock earnings since agreeing to receive a cash payout for stocks she owns in Vulcan Materials Company. Vulcan Materials Company is America's largest supplier of material used in road-paving and building. It is reported that the 13 percent increase is equivalent to $40,000 on top of the $400,000 she has already made from the stock had she relinquished them on the date she had agreed to, April 2018. 

The disregard of ethics from Chao has a former director of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub curious as to what message this is sending to the staff of the Department of Transportation (DOT). You may be wondering what this has to do with you, but with the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT) deadline approaching you may find yourself shelling out more in taxes than you should.

The HVUT is an annual fee that is estimated for vehicles exceeding a gross weight of 55,000 pounds to pay to the government to help pay for construction on roads. It is a significant source of transportation funding. HVUT revenue goes toward financing a broad spectrum of transportation programs including, highway infrastructure, improvements and much more.  The HVUT rate is determined by calculating the gross taxable weight. You can find your vehicles gross taxable weight by adding: 

If a vehicles gross taxable weight is below 55,000 pounds no taxes are required to be paid, but if a vehicle is between 55,000 pounds to 75,000 pounds the tax rate is $100 plus $22 per 1,000 pounds over 55,000 pounds. Any vehicle exceeding 75,000 pounds is required to pay a tax rate of $550.

The lack of ethics with the DOT starting from the head down can cause unnecessary highway infrastructure to be conducted. With unnecessary improvement comes unnecessary payment, which could ultimately make higher HVUT rates necessary to keep up with the cost of new infrastructure. It is unlikely that this one incident can cause such a dramatic change, however, if what Shaub suggests is true, there may be more cracks in the code of ethics discovered amongst the DOT.

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