Jim Flaherty's income splitting will only benefit 14% of seniors...himself included

Jim Flaherty would like to be seen as the friend of ordinary Canadians. Unfortunately he is not. He is a friend of special interests, including his own.

When he announced that retired people would be able to take advantage of income splitting, he left 85% of them out in the cold.

How? By saying that only seniors who were members of defined pension plans could participate in this tax break. Unfortunately, a mere 15% of Canadians belong to this kind of pension plan. As for the others, they are out of luck.

Not Jim though. He is a member of not one but two gold-plated pension plans. The one he'll get from the Ontario government AND the one he'll get from the federal government. No wonder he's concerned about those future tax breaks.

As for the rest of us, what breaks do we get Jim?

Related:
Jimhadhischance.ca

Liberal Finance Committtee members calls on the Auditor General to investigate the tax leakage claims

“I think that this government’s stonewalling has gone on long enough and it’s time that Canadians got to see that the Government simply made up its story that income trusts cause federal tax leakage,” Liberal Finance Critic John McCallum February 29, 2008

The Harper government have offered no credible explanation to Canadians on questions surrounding Income Trusts and alleged tax leakage.

• Canadians are given 18 heavily censured pages instead of the transparency and accountability the Conservatives promised.

• Finance Committee members are given no information by which to verify the Conservative claims.

That is why it is important the Auditor General investigates the questions on alleged tax leakage the Conservatives refuse to answer.

---

Full text of Liberal's letter to Auditor General

Sheila Fraser, FCA
Auditor General of Canada
240 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G6

February 29, 2008

Dear Ms. Fraser,

We are writing to you today to urge you to investigate the government’s allegation that the income trust sector was the cause of an annual tax revenue loss of $500 million to the federal treasury. As identified in the Auditor General Act, you are the “auditor of the accounts of Canada, including those relating to the Consolidated Revenue Fund,” and we feel that this matter is of great concern to the balance of that consolidated revenue fund.

As you indicate in one of your 2005 reports, “One of Parliament's most important roles is to hold the federal government to account for its use of taxpayer dollars. To fulfill its role as watchdog over the public purse, Parliament needs objective, accurate information on how well the government is managing public funds. The Office of the Auditor General is an independent, reliable source of such information.”

In terms of the government’s claim that income trusts cause tax leakage, both Parliament and Canadians need your help to provide them with objective, accurate information on how well the government is managing public funds.

We look forward to your response.

With best regards,

John McCallum
MP for Markham-Unionville

Garth Turner
MP for Halton

John McKay
MP for Scarborough-Guildwood

Massimo Pacetti
MP for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel

---

Another Conservative non-answer









Related:
Liberal Finance Committee Members call on Auditor General to Examine Government’s Claims of Income Trust Tax Leakage

Help CAITI help you

We've introduced the following website tools to keep your visitors up to date on the latest developments at CAITI.

If you have a website or a blog and want to help spread CAITI's message the coding is easy to install.

Follow the "Grab this Headline Animator" link for instructions on how to install on your website or blog.

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

Plan to attend one of Garth Turner's Town Hall Meetings

Garth Turner wants to hear your views on Income Trusts and other issues important to you. Here is your chance to meet an MP who will listen to you.



Woodstock:

Sunday, February 17th, 2 to 4 pm
Quality Inn, Woodstock
Take 401 to exit 232


Oakville:

Tuesday, February 19th, 7:00 pm
Oakville Town Hall, Oakville Room
1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville

Milton:

Wednesday, February 20th, 7:00 pm
Milton Sports Centre, Meeting Room 4
605 Santa Maria Blvd., Milton


Burlington:

Thursday, February 21st, 7:00 pm
Burlington Library, Tansley Woods Branch
1996 Itabashi Way, Burlington

More information contact Esther Shaye at (905)693-0166

Mark Carney's fraudulent actions have cost the Canada Pension Plan $300 million and counting

"Mark Carney is widely credited as the key bureaucratic point man in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's controversial decision to tax income trusts." Canadian Business, Jan 30 2008

$300 million in CPP income trust losses (spreadsheet attached). Perhaps it's time for the Auditor General to perform her stated role:

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

The following material is from Les Parsneau, a retired Canadian from Collingwood, Ontario who believes government should be transparent and accountable, rather than corrupt and misleading. He has major concerns about our rogue Finance Minister who puts Jerome Kerviel of Societe General to shame:

---

Societe General's $7 billion loss is chump change when compared to the devastation that Flaherty has caused with his tax on the income trusts. A tax that was perpetrated using fraudulent numbers and untrue rationale. See the lies and the proof that they are lies below.

Where are you Mass Media?

The biggest ripoff in Canadian history!!!

Read the lies and read why they are lies from sources such as BMO, Deloitte and HLB Decision Economics.

No story there?

Since October 31, 2006:

• Over $37 billion in income trust losses.
  
• Over $300 million in CPP income trust losses.
  
• Over $1.4 billion in annual trust distributions and their annual taxes lost in perpetuity - the tax leakage Flaherty created
• Over $18 billion in oil and gas trust losses while the price of oil has increased nearly 50% to over $90 per barrel.
  

From the Ways and Means motion, November 2, 2006 and comments from Mr. Flaherty:

Government Lie 1: to eliminate the tax leakage caused by the income trusts ( the real tax leakage is 5% of the government's numbers)

Proof it is a lie:
HLB Decision Economics report - Independent economists discredit govt tax leakage claims

Government Lie 2: ensuring that taxes are not unfairly shifted onto the shoulders of Canadian taxpayers, especially Canadian families,

Proof it is a lie:
Deloitte report - Income trust buyouts: Lots of activity, little tax revenue

Government Lie 3: helping corporations make choices that are consistent with economic growth and competitiveness,

Proof it is a lie:
Price Waterhouse report - Income trusts are efficient at investing, growing

Government Lie 4: bringing Canada's approach to the taxation of trusts and partnerships back in line with other jurisdictions.

Proof it is a lie:
BMO report - Digging Deeper, a perspective on U.S. Flow-Through Structures

Les Parsneau
Collingwood, ON



CLICK FOR FULL SIZE IMAGE

Taqa oil deal needs reviewing by Diane Francis

"Quite frankly ? the United States is so difficult for anybody to invest in because of [such rules as the] Patriot Act," Peter Barker-Homek, chief executive of TAQA, or Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., August 2007

---

Where does Taqa North Ltd., a foreign company, come off talking about snapping up Canadian energy companies while a review about foreign ownership is underway and won't be done until June?

Abu Dhabi's Taqa boasted last week that it had been given the go-ahead to look for more acquisitions by Jim Prentice, the Industry Minister. It wants to become one of Canada's biggest energy companies.

And I don't want it to. Neither do most Canadians if asked.

Circumventing government reviews is unacceptable to most Canadians, and it is strange that the company cites Mr. Prentice as encouraging takeovers. He is the minister who imposed a chill on foreign buyouts in the fall, announcing that a review was going to be undertaken.

So what gives? Is this guy just testing our limp, wimp Tory government? Read more...

Related:
East woos West in oilsands
Taqa on prowl for more Canadian acquisitions

Harper Valdez, as seen in the Hill Times just in time for the opening of Parliament

CLICK FOR FULL SIZE IMAGE

Canada's rich guys damage others for profit - by Diane Francis

The injustice goes on: $35 billion in damage was done to small investors because of a tax which destroyed income trusts based on faulty information and a behind-closed-doors campaign by tycoons such as Power Corporation's Paul Desmarais Jr., BCE's Michael Sabia, Manulife's Dominick D’Alessandro and EnCana's Gwyn Morgan. Their lobbying was pure self-interest: Two own insurance companies which directly compete against income trusts by selling annuity products. Sabia and Morgan ran companies which competed against income trusts in the marketplace.

A fix: Tycoons with shlep should register as lobbyists

David and Lorraine Marshall of Ontario are two of an estimated two million Canadian income trust victims and they wrote last year to the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists to make a formal complaint about Desmarais Jr. and Morgan. Both lobbied hard to destroy income trusts because Desmarais’ Great West Life competes against income trusts and Morgan fought against trusts while a CEO and huge shareholder of EnCana.

“It would appear that Mr. Desmarais lobbied Mr. Harper [about income trusts] on a plane trip to Mexico according to newspaper reports,” wrote Mr. Marshall to Ottawa officials.

“The second person, Gwyn Morgan, stated he went to Ottawa on October 30th and met with Mr. Harper and Mr. Flaherty to convince them to attack income trusts.”

“Are these two gentlemen registered lobbyists? I am respectfully asking that this matter be investigated. If it is determined that rules were broken, I am asking that penalties be applied to the full extent of the law,” he added.
So far, this letter has not even been acknowledged by the bureaucracy. Read the entire article...


Related:
CAITI articles on Gwyn Morgan, Former CEO of Encana

"Michael Sabia dropped an early-morning bombshell on Canadian investors: His company, BCE Inc., was planning to follow the lead of archrival Telus Corp. and transform its storied telephone operations into a $27-billion income trust."

"Paul Desmarais Jr., the well-connected chairman of Power Corp. of Canada, even railed against trusts in a conversation with Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a trip to Mexico, and told him he should act quickly to stop the raft of conversions, according to sources."

"Mr. Flaherty and his team had been fretting about the rampaging advance of trusts. They had caught wind of rumours that Suncor Energy Inc. and EnCana Corp. were each modelling trust conversions that could be valued at close to $40-billion, opening the door to mass conversions in the oil patch." The Globe and Mail, November 2 2006

Income trust tax slowed Canada's IPO pace in 2007

OTTAWA -- The value of Canadian initial public offerings was down substantially last year despite a fourth-quarter surge, PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a report Monday.

"The environment in 2007 was anything but predictable and stable," Ross Sinclair, national leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers' IPO and income-trust services, said in a statement "The impact of the loss of income trusts in the market was felt most of the year, as potential issuers tried to chart a course for the future." More...

---

Canada's 2007 IPO market worst in years - survey

TORONTO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Canada's market for initial public offerings had its worst year in 2007 in six years, amid volatility in the stock market and the continued impact of changes to income trusts, a survey showed on Monday. More...

The head of the CAW is calling for Jim Flaherty's upcoming election defeat. We second that motion...Whitby/Oshawa Times

CLICK FOR FULL SIZE IMAGE

Related:
CAW boss says $1-billion federal aid package for manufacturers not significant