FLOW-THROUGH ESPP/ESO ..

FLOW-THROUGH SHARES -- OF THE ESPP/ESO TYPE
A fable to reveal the downstream impact of the Unjust, Unfair Taxable Benefit Tax
On ESPP and ESO participants.

By Victor Drummond ©
January 2008


Joanne Fetherbraan is a beautiful, bright, and talented, young woman who just celebrated her 24th birthday.

She is the only child of Mary and George Fetherbraan who adore, and perhaps spoiled a little, Joanne from the moment she was born.

When Joanne graduated from University, with a degree in economics, her parents bought her a new car as a reward.

Shortly after graduating Joanne took a job as a receptionist, with the firm of Goldberg and sons, at a starting salary of $18,500 per year. There is plenty of opportunity for Joanne to advance in the firm when she has a bit more on-the-job experience.

Even at her starting salary Joanne rented her own apartment and moved away from home as she now wanted to exert her self reliance and independence.

She decorated her new digs with all the cool stuff she had accumulated -- in her bedroom at home -- and even added a few new gadgets and gimmicks that caught her fancy.

Living alone, however, was a new experience for Joanne, and although she has many friends --when the lights go out at night Joanne misses the security and love she felt so close to her while living at home.

On her job, Joanne is supplied a company computer, with on-line access,.

With only a few minutes training Joanne was receiving, sending, and forwarding - e-mails and detecting/deleting spam and scam e-mails like a professional.

Her immediate superior, however, reminded her, “this computer was not for personal use, and to avoid accessing web pages of questionable nature.” “ In other words no porn surfing.”

Joanne was a bit put-out -- at her boss -- for even thinking she might go surfing for porn web pages. But she understood he was obliged to warn all company computer operators the same.

It wasn’t long afterwards Joanne purchased her own lap-top computer and signed up for wireless internet service.

One day she received an e-mail, on her company computer, from a co-worker she had never met.
The message was from a chap named William Stratelace – a junior executive in an upstairs office.

Joanne couldn’t really decide whether the message was personal – which it shouldn’t be or a chain letter type message – which it shouldn’t be either.

All the message said was:-
“Kindly access the blog page:- buyerbeware—caveatemptor.blogspot.com and read articles posted there.” Signed:- Bill Stratelace, and, with his return company e-mail address included.

Joanne was perplexed.
This kind of message was forbidden on the company’s computers.

Yet here is a forbidden type of message coming to her from a junior executive in the same firm who surely new better than to misuse the system.

She decide not to reply to the message but to confront the sender in person and find out if this was some kind of a joke -- or a deliberate attempt to get her into trouble.

Just before lunch break Joanne called up the office where Bill Stratelace worked and requested to come up to speak with him.

When she met Bill face to face she felt a new kind of emotion. She stammered, fumbled with her purse, and generally felt uncomfortable.

Bill was young, handsome, well groomed, soft spoken and the perfect image of her idea of a prince charming. If there is such a thing as love at first sight – for Joanne this was it.

Bill said:- “you asked to talk with me?” Joanne weakly replied:- “yes”. “What about?’ Bill replied. “Your E-mail to me which I do not understand” Joanne answered.

“Oh that!” Bill exclaimed, and went on to say:- “Joanne it is rather complicated and I only have time for lunch but we can talk about it if you will join me in the cafeteria.”

Joanne agreed and they went to lunch together. During the noon break Bill explained he had bent the company rules -- a bit -- in sending Joanne a personal message on her company computer but said it was only done to steer her to the buyerbeware blog page which was important to him.

He also asked if Joanne had her own computer and personal e-mail address which he would use from now on to communicate with her.

Although they spent the whole lunch time talking to each other – somehow the purpose of Bill’s e-mail didn’t receive much attention. They discovered they were both single. Neither of them had a significant other. Joanne was living alone and Bill was still living with his parents.

They found they had common tastes in music, art, live theatre and such.

So by the time lunch was over – and they both now had to attend to company business -- they had made a dinner and theatre date for the coming Friday evening.

In the meantime Joanne visited the buyerbeware… blog page and read a few of the articles posted there. Although she was a bit interested in the stories, fables, comments -- by this would-be writer -- Victor Drummond -- she soon became bored with the common theme, i.e.
“taxable benefit victims” -- that Victor inevitably turned to -- by the end of each article.

As far as Joanne was concerned buyerbeware... articles had nothing to do with her, or her family, or her friends, so what was Bill doing sending her this kind of stupid junk.

She mused about that while lying in bed waiting for sleep to come. She also mused about the surnames -- Fetherbraan and Stratelace. Did Joanne Fetherbraan sound better than Joanne Stratelace or vis versa. Sleep came before Joanne had made a decision.

Friday evening was everything Joanne hoped it would be.

Bill showed up on time, actually he arrived five minutes early, and Joanne felt comfortable in the outfit she had to wear for the occasion.

Dinner was wonderful, the food was excellent and the service couldn’t be better.

They both enjoyed the theatre performance and when the evening was winding down Bill saw her to the door of her apartment building – watching over her -- while she got safely inside before leaving.

Joanne wondered if she shouldn’t have invited him up to her apartment – or at least taking the initiative to give Bill an appreciative good-night kiss. She even wondered why Bill hadn’t tried to kiss her -- on his own initiative. In any case he did suggest they do this again soon.

Bill’s next e-mail arrived on Joanne’s home computer. In the message Bill asked if Joanne had visited the buyerbeware blog page and read any of the articles posted there. Then before she reached the end of the e-mail Bill had invited her to visit his parents and have supper with him and his family next Friday evening.

Joanne forgot all about answering the buyerbeware question and couldn’t reply “Yes” – fast enough -- to Bill’s invitation to supper with his parents. She was very excited, and apprehensive, and wondered if this invitation had any substantive meaning.

Before the big day Joanne decided talk to some of the other women at work and get their opinion of Bill from a co-worker’s point of view. It wasn’t long before Joanne found out
that a good looking young secretary used to date Bill but the relationship came to a grinding halt when the girl suggested that she and Bill should move in together.

Apparently Bill wasn’t into the trial marriage scenario. That was the only bit of scuttlebutt that Joanne was able to dig up on Bill. Apparently his behaviour was above reproach.

During the Friday night supper -- and evening with Bill and his parents – Joanne picked up a lot more information.

Bill’s father, Walter, had worked for the JDS Uniphase Corporation and was among those valued employees offered corporate shares at a discount – as a reward and incentive.

Walter had purchased all the shares he was allowed -- under the Employee Share Purchase Plan, (ESPP) -- and was sitting pretty – in a financial sense – before the tech market correction in the year 2000.

Walter had been wiped out financially by the corrupt tax -- levied on his ESPP shares -- which he had held beyond their date of exercise. To add insult to injury Walter was released from the company employ in 2003 when the company was forced to downsize.

He received some $50,000 as a golden handshake and wished well in his future endeavours.

Walter then used his lifetime savings and his separation payment to pay as much as he could of the horrendous tax levy -- but was obliged to apply for deferment of tens of thousands of dollars in taxes which he could not pay.

Now unemployed -- and trying to make ends meet on his Canada Pension Plan Income, combined with his and his wife’s Seniors Pension income -- Walter was barely surviving.

Rent was going up, utilities were going up, food and gasoline were all going up – but Walter’s income was not going up.

Bill had fixed up small living quarters in the finished basement and paid room and board to his parents by way of giving them a bit more income. He might have gone out on his own long before if his parents were financially sound.

Joanne began to realize Bill had become a secondary victim of the shares his father had purchased from his employer. A kind of flow-through impact of an unwarranted, unjust, unfair, unequal tax swindle.

Joanne also realized that she and Bill had no future together so long as this situation prevailed.
In fact – now that she had decided she wanted to marry Bill – they were both victims of a flow-through tax on Walter’s shares

In the following days Joanne read every posting on the buyerbeware -- blog page.
When she read:- “Could Anyone Want for More” Joanne understood why Walter did not appeal for tax relief by way of the biased and humiliating avenues provided.

Reading:- “You be the judge” told her just how ridiculous, and unfair it was to tax a person who actually purchased shares, howbeit, by way of an ESPP and allowing a brother who stole and sold an identical number of shares go -- taxable benefit -- tax free.

It finally dawned on Joanne why the Victor Drummond articles all ended with an appeal to Canadian voters to get involved in this problem.

That every Canadian was deprived of their RIGHT to fair taxation -- even if they personally did not purchase employer shares.

That every Canadian was a loser if they just stood by and allowed the taxable benefit victims to sink or swim on their own.

Joanne realized if she ever was to become Mrs William Stratelace then she must do whatever she could to get Walter’s unwarranted taxable benefit taxes revoked.

Bill would never leave home until his parents were in comfortable financial circumstances and he would never take a wife to live in his basement bachelor quarters.

So Joanne followed Victor Drummond’s call for public help and sent E-mails to all her Canadian contacts – telling them her story – asking them to take the same actions she was now taking, i.e. “Contacting your riding – Federal Member of Parliament – telling him, or her, to commit to correcting this problem or no vote.”

Joanne mused to herself – voting in an election would be a new experience for her.
She also wondered just how many other victims there might be just like herself – total unaware how their lives and opportunities have been downgraded by this insidious tax.

On their very next date Joanne told Bill she now understood why he bent company rules to send her that very first E-mail – and without asking Bill hugged Joanne and kissed her fondly.

Joanne asked Bill who is this person Victor calls:- “O’Grady” ? Bill replied he didn’t know – but told Joanne to keep watching buyerbeware articles for the answer.

A truth in fiction – Flow through – injustice. A fable possibly with a happy ending if enough readers take the action required. They also will then find out who O’Grady really is:- .

Victor Drummond ©
(First Candidate of the:- “Truly Fair Tax Party”, (TFTP))
If your federal candidate will not support you then in the next federal election register your protest by using my name -- as a write-in candidate -- on your ballot.