C A I T I - O N L I N E - M E D I A: accountability

Showing posts with label accountability. Show all posts

Friday, September 5, 2008

Flaherty explains why he won't change rules on Income Trusts

"It's the law now" Jim Flaherty's reason for not revising IT double taxation rules that destroyed $35 Billion of Canadian's savings on October 31, 2006.

"It may be the law, however the full destructive effects don’t kick in until 2011. There’s still time to avert disaster. Meanwhile it's pathetic how bad laws, based on Lies and Myths, are easy for Tory's to uphold but good laws like Election Timing are easy to break." Brent Fullard, CAITI

Related:
Flaherty refuses the $50,000 debate challenge - CAITI

$50,000 offered in scholarships if Flaherty will debate income trust tax - The Green Party

Flaherty's proof, 18 pages of blacked out documents

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Dr. Carney and Mr. Hide

Harper promises 'new era of accountability'
February 1, 2006
CBC News

Incoming prime minister Stephen Harper says his government's first act upon assuming power will be to table a federal accountability bill. No immediate changes to civil service, Harper says

However, Harper said his government would not move immediately to make major changes to the public service that were recommended in Gomery's second report.

Harper said they had "merit" but said his government would have enough to do elsewhere in the first few months of its transition into power.

Mark Carney is an example of a completely unaccountable top ranking bureaucrat from the Department of Finance who thinks that a solemn election promise that was reversed at the cost of $35 billion in Canadian’s hard earned life savings can be simply justified on the strength of 18 pages of blacked out documents, and nothing else.

As Diane Francis, Editor at Large of the Financial Post has written; “prove the case or drop the tax”

You be the judge of whether Bank of Governor elect Mark Carney, meets your test of Stephen Harper’s promise of new Accountable and Transparent government.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

One year after Stephen Harper's Income Trust Betrayal: The Top Ten questions still unanswered.

OTTAWA, Oct. 31 /CNW/ - Stephen Harper broke his election promise to never raid seniors' nest eggs through taxing income trusts, by doing that very thing on Halloween 2006. 365 days later, the following questions for Stephen Harper remain unanswered:

(1) Where is your government's proof of alleged tax leakage? 18 pages of blacked-out documents are all that you have provided to back up this claim.

(2) Why were the taxes paid by 38% of all outstanding income trusts held in RRSPs and pension accounts not included when evaluating possible tax losses to the government?

(3) Where is the promised transparency and accountability? Such a sweeping change in tax law should at the very least have involved public consultation.

(4) Why did the Department of Finance demand the return of the 18 pages of blacked out documents issued under the Access to Information Act?

(5) How could the proposed conversions of BCE and Telus into income trusts have had any effect on tax revenue when neither were paying taxes as corporations and were not expected to for several years?

(6) What policy advantage is there, now that BCE has been taken private through a highly debt levered buyout, and which has caused a loss of the $793 million more PER YEAR that BCE would have paid as an income trust?

(7) How is the stated objective of tax fairness and leveling the playing field achieved when government sponsored pension plans are allowed to own trusts, free of tax in their private equity portfolios, while 70% of individual Canadians are not? Why are government sponsored pension funds exempted both from the punitive 31.5% tax and growth restrictions of this policy? Furthermore, why does income splitting for seniors only benefit the 30% of Canadians with pensions, and not the 70% without? Why is this government deliberately creating a two-tiered pension system in Canada? Is this the government's response to the retirement time bomb of an aging population?

(8) Why was the 15% withholding tax paid by foreigners on interest on leveraged buyout loans reduced to zero as part of this same tax policy, at a cost to Canadians of $300 million a year? This special foreign tax loophole makes Canadian public companies more susceptible to leveraged buyout foreign takeovers, at the same time as the trust tax causes them to become grossly undervalued, because of the discriminatory nature of the tax, which only applies to Canadians and not pension funds or foreigners. As such the government has, in effect, introduced tax subsidies to encourage foreign takeovers. Why?

(9) What effect will the loss of $2 billion in annual tax revenues arising from the $65 trust takeovers to date (including BCE) have on the average Canadian taxpayer or Canada's social program spending? Will individual taxpayers be the ones to make up the shortfall? Once the entire sector is taken over by foreign private equity and government sponsored pension plans, the loss in annual tax revenues will rise to $7.5 billion, the equivalent of a 1.5% GST increase. What plans are in place to address this inevitable shortfall in light of all the other tax reductions contained in yesterday's fiscal update amounting to $60 billion. At what point will the cupboard be bare?

(10) Stephen Harper wrote the following in the National Post on October 26, 2005. "Income trusts are popular with seniors because they provide regular payments that are used by many to cover the costs of groceries, heating bills and medicine." If so, then why did he so abruptly and without notice or public consultation reverse his promise, leaving investors and seniors with losses of $35 Billion and their incomes reduced by 31.5% and in some cases 50%? How is this socially just or fair?

(11) Meanwhile, why is Jack Layton and the NDP supporting this policy when they profess to be against wholesale foreign takeovers of Canadian businesses and supposedly in favour of protecting seniors' dignity and seniors' retirement savings? Where is Jack Layton's and the NDP's proof of tax leakage? Is the NDP in possession of confidential insider information that would underlie the basis for the following claims contained in correspondence from NDP MPs to their many concerned constituents:

"I have spoken with the NDP party's Finance Critic, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, and she assures me that the government's estimates of future tax revenue losses, are solid."
Jack Layton

What is the basis for these assurances from Judy Wasylycia-Leis? Canadians are demanding of answers from both the Leader of the NDP and the Prime Minister of Canada on this cornerstone assumption.

Conclusion:

Taken as a whole, this is a travesty of democracy, starting with the breaking of a promise, the false premise for breaking the promise, the complete absence of consultation and the litany of adverse policy repercussions as the aftermath of a policy borne out of zero accountability and a complete lack of government transparency. All Canadians are adversely affected. Narrow special interests have successfully manipulated Canada's New Government for their selfish ends.

Alleged tax leakage is the cornerstone assumption behind this tax policy. It constitutes two of the five provisions of the Ways and Means Motion. The other three provisions of the Ways and Means Motion are verifiable constructs as well. Meanwhile transparency and accountability are the cornerstones of a democracy. The real danger to Canadians is that the Conservative Government is flagrantly undermining our democratic institution known as Parliament, if major tax laws are being enacted and passed on the basis of their foundations being assumed to be true, when in fact no proof whatsoever has been provided by the Government.

Dangerous Precedent:

This is an extremely dangerous precedent to have established, since it gives extraordinary powers to the Government to pass important legislation by invoking fact based arguments, that are devoid of fact based evidence. If this is allowed to occur under circumstances like these, then the risk for future abuse of our Parliamentary democracy under matters that are not verifiable in nature, is limitless.

Public Inquiry:

Stephen Harper together with Jack Layton, and the members of their respective parties are acting in concert to abrogate Canadians' democratic institution known as Parliament. As such, we are calling for a Public Inquiry, to fully examine the matter of alleged tax leakage, particularly in light of the Government's announced reduction in corporate tax rates by a staggering 32% from 22% to 15% in 2012. If the original policy intent on income trusts was to "level the playing field" with corporations, then this changed tax regime for corporations announced by the government yesterday, demands a re-examination of the extent to which these most recent measures will have tilted the playing field in favour of corporations and to the detriment of income trusts.

Furthermore, all Canadians need to establish whether Professor Jack Mintz was correct when he stated:

"I do want to point out that there is a serious flaw in some analyses especially on the taxation of pension and RRSP accounts. Finance was not right to treat the impact as zero".
Jack Mintz

This level of uncertainty over the central premise of tax leakage is significant and fails to meet the standards of the Auditor General, who states:

"Parliamentarians need objective fact based information on how well the government raises its funds (taxes)".

Until this standard is met, Canadians will never know whether the following policy measure of this new tax is fact or merely political deceit:

"strengthening Canada's social security system for pensioners and seniors" (Ways and Means Motion)"

Brent Fullard
President & CEO
Canadian Association of Income Trust Investors
www.caiti.info

For further information please contact the:
Canadian Association of Income Trust Investors
media@caiti.info or by calling (647) 505-2224

Source: CNW

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Dr. Michael Popovich - Tax fairness plan masks Harper's broken vow

Letters to the Editor
London Free Press
October 27, 2007

The first anniversary of the Oct. 31 implementation of the tax fairness plan is almost upon us.

Will we ever forget Stephen Harper's promise just prior to the last election: "Don't forget , the Liberals were going to tax income trusts. Don't forget we will never let that happen. We will never raid seniors' hard-earned money."

However, Harper did tax income trusts within nine months of taking power and thousands of small investors, mainly seniors, had to suffer the consequences of a $35-billion loss to their savings. The only beneficiaries were corporations like Manulife that had competing products to sell. Private equity firms and pension funds were allowed to buy up these same trusts and hold them tax-free.

Despite running on a platform of accountability, there have been no attempts made to show any verifiable justification for this action -- unless 18 blacked-out pages count.

Seniors and small investors across Canada, whose only fault was to try to make ends meet, were the collateral damage in this plan to satisfy the needs of the ultra-rich.

As the next election approaches and you hear Stephen Harper chant, "Promise made, promise kept," you might want to reassess his abysmal record on promises.

Dr. Michael Popovich
Rodney, Ontario

Source: London Free Press

Related:
Stephen Harper on Income Trusts - Election 2006
Stephen Harper on Accountability - Election 2006

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Transparency and accountability vs Harper transparency and accountability

Transparency:

A management method where nearly all decision making is carried out publicly.

All draft documents, all arguments for and against a proposal, the decisions about the decision making process itself, and all final decisions, are made publicly and remain publicly archived.
Source: Wikipedia

Accountability:

In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, decisions, and policies including the administration, governance and implementation within the scope of the role and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resulting consequences.
Source: Wikipedia

Harper's transparency and accountability on income trusts:

View the complete 18 pages of Harper's transparency and accountability on income trusts.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Dave Marshall's Story

Remembrance of Halloween Massacre to be held October 31 on Parliament Hill

A year ago Dave Marshall felt comfortable investing in Income Trusts. During the previous election campaign Stephen Harper assured Seniors like Dave and Loreen he would never raid Seniors nest eggs if elected as Prime Minister.

Dave (70) and Loreen (61) Marshall lost $109,000 of retirement savings when Income Trust tax rule changes were announced on October 31, 2006
Source: The Turner Report

Like millions of other Canadians, Dave and Loreen took Stephen Harper and the Conservatives at their word and invested a portion of their hard earned retirement savings in Income Trusts.

When Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced his surprise big new tax on Trusts last Halloween, Dave says “I didn’t really understand it that night, you know, the full extent of the damage that was being done.”

Dave found out soon enough when $109,000 in market value was erased from his retirement funds. The Income Trust market has not bounced back and Dave isn't getting any younger.

The Initial Loss

The Continuing Loss

Dave needs your help.

On the first anniversary of Harper's broken promise to Income Trust Investors there will be a remembrance on Parliament Hill. Seniors and all Canadians demand truthfulness and honesty from our government, something they did not get from Stephen Harper.

"This is more than about Income Trusts. It is also about the lying that Harper has done during the last campaign and continues to do at every opportunity," Dave continues, "If this type of behavior is unacceptable to you, then this will be a good time to express that feeling. There are just too many decent MP's on the hill that we have to put up with the likes of Harper and Flaherty."

October 31, 2007 Remembrance March - itinerary and details from Dave Marshall:

Meet Dave at the Justice Building on Wellington Street, 12:30PM to 1:00PM

Arrive on Parliament Hill 1:00PM

Remembrance March on Parliament Hill 1:00PM to 1:30PM

Then get checked through security and go to the visitors gallery for question period. The reason for the long period between 1:30PM and question period is that protesters are given extra attention by security.

Bring clothing that is suitable for the weather conditions.

We should not bring a sign with a stick as this maybe deemed as a weapon by security.

For those of us that have trouble walking there is a shuttle bus that runs from the Justice Building to the Centre Block and back. It runs about every five minutes and it is free.

Please give this serious consideration, bring your wife, family, girlfriend and lots of friends.

Please let me know if you are coming. We need a good showing.

Thank you,

David Marshall
1-613-938-0810
grumpymarshall@sympatico.ca
Cornwall, Ontario

Related:
‘A valuable investment vehicle’ - garth.ca

Monday, August 27, 2007

Western Town Halls - Garth Turner's 'Lost Tory Tour'

Courtesy of: The Turner Report

More than a dozen public Town Hall meetings in ten Western Canadian cities have been called to let voters speak, and to hear MP Garth Turner. The meetings form the central part of "The Lost Tory Tour" Turner is on during the first two weeks of September, and will take place in Winnipeg, LaBroquerie, Regina, Kelowna, Vancouver, Surrey, Abbotsford, Victoria, Duncan, Calgary, Lethbridge, Red Deer and Edmonton.

All of the events have been organized by local residents, and will take place at no cost to taxpayers. Garth Turner is scheduled to speak on the topic of "What every investor and homeowner should know," and will deal with the current economic and financial reality faced by Canadian families.

Town Halls will take place in some locations where voters have had little, if any, opportunity to interact directly with an MP. "Given some of the recent decisions of the federal government," Turner says, "such as raising income tax, reversing course on income trusts, vastly increasing government spending or letting mortgage rates rise, it's only responsible to let folks speak directly to a member of the House of Commons."

Turner, elected as a Conservative in January of 2006, was expelled from the Stephen Harper caucus last October. After sitting as an independent MP for four months, he joined the federal Liberal caucus in February, 2007. Turner has been described as a lifelong Conservative, having been twice elected as an MP, and having served as a cabinet minister and run for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party of Canada. In addition, he's been a best-selling personal finance author, broadcaster, columnist and lecturer.

"The fact these meetings are even taking place is significant," Turner says. "I would not be on this trip if I'd not been invited by people living in these communities. By and large, they have responded to my digital democracy initiative, and asked me through my blog to come and meet them, and their neighbours, in person. It is a great honour to do so

"It's also interesting to note a tour like this would never take place," Turner said, "were I still a member of Mr. Harper's caucus. Stephane Dion believes, as I do, that an MP's place is among the people, not being cloistered and controlled in Ottawa."

Schedule of confirmed Town Hall meetings, September 4-13, 2007.

For more information contact:
Esther Shaye
(905) 693-0166
esther@garth.ca

LaBroquerie, Manitoba, Sept 4 at 3 pm

LaBroquerie Hotel

Winnipeg, Sept 4 at 7 pm

Crescent Wood Centre
1170 Corydon Ave.

Regina, Sept 5 at 7 pm

Travel Lodge
4177 Albert Street

Duncan, Sept 6 at 5 pm

Warmland Café
The corner of Station and Craig St.

Victoria, Sept 6 at 7 pm

Monterey Centre
1442 Monterey Ave.

Surrey, Sept. 7 at 7:30 pm

Strawberry Hill Hall,
12152, 75 Avenue

Vancouver, Sept 8 at 10 am

Holiday Inn
700 Old Lillooet Rd.

Abbotsford, Sept 9 at 2 pm

Matsqui Auditorium
32315 South Fraser Way

Kelowna, Sept 10 at 2 pm

Holiday Park Resort
415 Commonwealth Rd.

Kelowna, Sept 10 at 7 pm

Mission Activity Centre
4398 Hobson Rd.

Edmonton, Sept 11 at 2 pm

Stanley Milner Library
7 Sir W. Churchill SW

Edmonton, Sept 11 at 7 pm

Old Timer’s Cabin
9430 Scona Rd.

Red Deer, Sept 12 11:30 am to 1:00 pm

Dino’s Family Restaurant
4617 Gaetz Avenue

Calgary, Sept 12 at 2:30 pm

Engineered Air Theatre
205 8th Ave.E.

Calgary, Sept 12 at 7 pm

Ross Glen Hall, Mt. Royal Col.
4845 Mt. Royal Gate SW

Lethbridge, Sept 13 at 7 pm

Royal Cdn Legion
324 Mayor Magrath Dr.S.

For more information contact:
Esther Shaye
(905) 693-0166
esther@garth.ca

Lost Tory Tour BACKGROUNDER

Who is sponsoring this tour?

MP Turner is traveling to communities in response to local invitations, from local Liberal MPs, candidates, or readers of his blog. There is no sponsoring or umbrella group.

Is the Liberal Party behind this?

No, but the office of the party president and the leader have assisted with some details, such as coordinating local meeting notices.

How have events such as Town Halls been organized?

All events, including public meetings, stakeholder group meetings, speeches, mainstreeting and a motorcycle run, have been organized by local citizens and community groups.

Who is paying for this?

MP Turner and his wife Dorothy are using flights allocated in his existing office budget. Local volunteers are providing ground transportation. Most hotel rooms have been donated. Other costs will be paid personally by Turner. The goal is zero public cost.

Is the income trust lobby group CAITI involved?

It has no role in this tour, other than to inform its members of the time and location of public meetings.

Does MP Turner speak for leader Stephane Dion?

No. Turner presents his own independent point of view and his remarks have not been vetted by the leader or his office.

What qualifies Turner to make this tour?

He was invited to speak in each of the 12 communities.

What will he be speaking on?

‘What every investor and homeowner should know.’

This is a summary of the financial and economic track record of the Harper government, and its implications in our current volatile and uncertain environment.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Garth Turner speaks on Income Trusts in the House of Commons - May 17/07

Garth Turner, MP for Halton, Ontario had the following introduction for this May 17 MPTv video:

Guzzler - Yesterday I was able to speak in the House about the unfairness of the Conservative Tax Fairness Plan - yes, the one that exludes 70% of seniors from income-splitting, taxes the bejesus out of income trust investors, and raises the basic tax rate for every single senior.

For some reason, the Tories go nuts when I rise in the Commons, heckling and shouting and trying to disrupt things. This time it was Dean del Mastro's turn, who took so great an exception to my statement that the actions of politicians have so turned people off it's no wonder we enjoy the same status as used car salesmen.

A member of the Finance Committee, and a full-time apologist for Jim Flaherty, Mr. del Mastro raised a point of order with the Speaker, which he ignored. However, Dean managed to get it on the public record that I had defamed car salesguys. Odd, I thought. But then I saw his car.

Turns out my colleague is a used car salesguy in Peterborough, Ontario. His taste in transportation may explain his progressive approach to the nation's finances. View this video of my short (my time was cut short by a special ministerial accountability session) but sweet speech.

Related:

Guzzler - weblog.garth.ca