I Remember -- with

CANADA REMEMBERS – AND SO DO I
A commentary on the Irony of the 2007
Remembrance Day Ceremony.
By Victor Drummond ©


On November 11th 2007 I tuned in Television Channel 41, (Global TV), Toronto and watched/listened to the program honouring the veterans of wars that Canadians had participated in from 1914 to the present time

The ceremony was a very touching tribute to those who served in Canada’s military ventures in “The War to End All Wars” (WWI). And then in WWII and the Korean War and now in the Middle East conflict, and in multiple Peace Keeping assignments.

I cried with the families of those who had lost Fathers. Brothers. Sisters -- for they are paying the real cost of Canada’s efforts to bring an end to war and a peaceful social order to war-torn areas of this world. There are millions of people now reaping the benefit of their sacrifice.
And the world now does well to remember and honour them.

But I also remember my son – who graduated from University in 1991 with a Masters degree and believed in the unlimited opportunity for achievement he looked forward to in his native homeland.

He found work opportunities – one after another – each offering more remuneration than the last until he finally accepted a position with the JDS Fitel/JDS Uniphase Corporation of Canada.

His advancement with JDS was fast and before long he was accepted into a special group of employees who were given the opportunity to participate in a series of Employee Share Purchase Plans, (ESPP’s).

Feeling honoured to be so recognized he signed on to purchase ESPP shares, via payroll deduction, in a series of consecutive plans.

By 1999 he had paper holdings ostensibly worth more than a million dollars.

The Canada Revenue Agency, (CRA) also received notification of his potential gain via the employer’s requirement to report the “Fair Market Value”, (FMV) of all the ESPP shares delivered to him.

And according to the defective “taxable benefit” legislation -- this almost income was reported to the CRA as “Earned Income”. And taxed accordingly.

This phantom “Earned Income” inflated his taxes to levels several times greater than his real gross salary – and the only way he could possibly pay this tax levy was to sell enough of his share holdings to cover the taxes levied.

This strategy – although unfair – did not produce any real hardship UNTIL the year 2000 – when the tech market correction struck.

Then in July 2000 JDS shares rapidly dropped from a high of over $1,400 each to less than $40.00 each in a matter of weeks. My son’s paper holdings dropped in potential value of over $1,000,000 to a fraction of his tax levy for that year.

He was not even allowed to sell the ESPP shares he had left -- as that would have prevented him from utilizing the “generous?” provision of deferring some of these unjustified taxes via the use of form T1212. (A tax referral unto death.)

Consequently he – borrowed as much money as he could from my wife and I.

He wiped out his savings.

He remortgaged his home.

He maxed out his credit cards.

And deferred the balance of this tax extortion via the T1212 option.

What had happened to every Canadians RIGHT to honest and fair taxation?

Appeals for fair taxation – to the government in power in 2001 – fell on deaf ears.
Appeals for fair taxation – to our present politicians hasn’t faired any better – so far.

The “ASSUMPTION” made by the government of the day being:- “If you failed to sell your ESPP shares at the time they came under your control, (exercised), THEN you were making a conscious decision to play the markets -- AT YOUR OWN RISK.

AND WE, (CRA), HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAX YOU ON ANY GAINS YOU COULD HAVE MADE – AND THE RIGHT TO DENY YOU RECOVERY -- OF ANY CAPITAL LOSSES YOU ACTUALLY SUFFERED -- AGAINST THOSE SO CALLED TAXABLE BENEFIT GAINS.

(REALLY?)

That ASSUMPTION was not even true in many instances. There are documented cases where the ESPP/ESO shareholder was not allowed, and/or did not have the opportunity, to sell their shares at the time they were exercised.

The CRA should never have been permitted to levy taxes on unrealized “Income” in the first place. And doubly prevented from taxing fictitious profits on the basis of an ASSUMPTION.

That is not the Canada I took up arms to defend.

So my tears on this veterans day are not only for the members of our military – who now live in harms way – and not only for those who lost their lives to make the world a better place – they are also for those who have been financially decimated by an evil and unjust taxation system.

An unfair, unjust, unreasonable tax penalty -- on our taxable benefit victims -- that our present politicians seem willing to live with.

Victor Drummond ©
(with poppy proudly in lapel)