Thursday, February 25, 2010
HOW TO SUCK AND BLOW..
HOW TO SUCK AND BLOW CONCURRENTLY
A physically impossible feat easily accomplished by the Canada Revenue Agency.
Because the CRA is not bound by logic, decency, or man-made laws,and/or natural laws of physics.
A commentary by Victor Drummond ©
February 2010
Here is how the Canada Revenue Agency works their magic.
First they create a tax rationale that obliges one specific item to have two physical forms completely independent of each other. For example a share in an employer’s corporation can be both a taxable benefit and a Capital investment at the same time. Although there is only one physical item the two deemed forms are treated completely independent of each other.
Taxes are then levied on any theoretical gain the holder might have received if he, or she, disposed of their holdings while in the deemed taxable benefit physical form and these taxes are then said to be immune to any loss suffered by the holder due to their holdings not producing the imaginary gain already taxed on these holdings even when in fact they actually produced a loss.
A clear case of sucking the financial life out of a taxpayers pocket while simultaneously blowing off any appeal the victim may submit for fair tax treatment.
About the only human that considers this outrageous tax policy to be justified is Canada’s Minister of Finance the Hon. James M. Flaherty CP, MP. Not only does Mr. Flaherty consider this tax policy to be justified he even goes so far as to say it is actually “fair” because after the tax victim has been taxed, on money never seen, he or she is then treated the same as all other Canadian investors/speculators.
That is the equivalent of saying a citizen mugged and robbed is being treated fairly because they now receive the same police protection as all other Canadian citizens.
This legalized robbery rationale is based upon is a specific sequence of events between a corporate employer and their employees who happen to participate in an Employee Shares Purchase Plan (ESPP) or an Employee Shares Option (ESO) agreement.
The CRA claims that in spite of the fact the employer’s equities are “purchased” by an employee because they are acquired through an employer incentive program they somehow become a taxable award or gift. This takes a bit of logic stretching because if you pay for something it is neither an award nor a gift.
To illustrate just how idiotic this rationale is consider an identical situation using an item every household shopper is familiar with, i.e. iceberg lettuce will be our equity.
Following a truth in fiction.
Mr William Smith is an employee of the Evergreen Farms Produce Corporation (EFPC). He holds the position of the EFPC warehouse manager in Trenton Ontario and he has full operating authority to order farm produce from his employer corporation or any other farm produce marketer that he chooses. For purpose of this illustration he receives all profit and loss transactions as personal income.
Williams’s boss, Walter Windbag is located in the Canadian Headquarters of EFPC in Toronto Ontario and he periodically sends William contract offers to supply iceberg lettuce in fixed quantities of 1000 heads at six month intervals over the future 24 months at a premium cost compared to the Wholesale Fair Market Value, (WFMV).
William signs on to this Iceberg Lettuce Purchase Plan (ILPP) because he predicts he will want at least that many units and possibly more.
William also receives flyers from other wholesale vegetable market producers and decides he will back up his ILPP contract by placing an identical order with an outside supplier. William signs a second iceberg lettuce contract with the Farm Produce Broker (FPB) for the same delivery schedule at the same premium to the original WFMV as his EFPC/ILPP contract.
William pays both suppliers the full cost of these ILPP contracts at the agreed WFMV.
Six months later two tractor trailer trucks arrive at Williams EFPC warehouse each delivering 1000 heads of iceberg lettuce. By good fortune the WFMV, by that date, has skyrocketed and is now ten times the cost William paid for his ILPP lettuce heads.
Although William hasn’t sold one head of lettuce, to anyone, his employer reports to the CRA that William has received “Earned Income” ten times higher than the price he was charged by his employer EFPC and William is now deemed to have received an “earned income” inflated by a nonexistent “taxable benefit”.
By comparison the 1000 heads of iceberg lettuce William received – on the same date – from
his FPB supplier does not generate a tax action of any kind, at that time, even though the monetary events are identical.
Unfortunately the supply of iceberg lettuce soon exceeded the demand and the WFMV crashed. William took a huge loss on both his ILPP contracts, i.e. with his employer and his FPB outside supplier.
The CRA refused to allow William to offset the taxes levied on his nonexistent “earned income”
with the real losses he suffered which the CRA deems is a “capital loss”. They insist the loss is not related to the taxes levied on those same heads of lettuce at the time of delivery, i.e. “exercise date”.
This analogy should make it clear to everyone that basing a tax, of any kind, levied on a purely imaginary gain at the moment of exercise is totally outrageous, unjustified and grossly unfair.
There need be no distinction made between a person purchasing their employer’s corporation shares by way of an Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP), or an Employee Share Option (ESO) agreement and the same employee buying those same shares from their broker. A purchase is a purchase.
A purchase is not a gift or an award regardless of any premium the employee may receive at the time of purchase.
If an employee happens to pay a bit less, than the Fair Market Value for the employer corporation shares, at the time of purchase then it merely improves the prospect the investor employee will receive a profit at the time of sale. This gives the CRA a better prospect of the employee having a gain to be taxed and the tax would be justified and fair.
It is time to put an end to the CRA violating the laws of reason and the laws of physics and put them on the same limitations as the rest of us.
No more concurrent sucking the financial life out of honest, hard-working Canadians while blowing off their appeals for justice.
See you at the voting polls for the next federal election O’Grady.
Victor Drummond ©
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
CANADS PART TIME DEMOCRACY
CANADA’S PART TIME DEMOCRACY
A commentary on Canada’s hybrid federal government
which is in fact a dictatorship that masquerades as a democracy.
By Victor Drummond ©
February 2010
What would you call the leader of a country where the people voted him into power on the basis of pre-election promises that were either never fulfilled or at worst a mere token action was taken to pretend to fulfill one or two of the more important ones?
After approving the Gary Lunn Tax Remission Order revoking the taxes, and related penalties, for a mere 37 victims of “phantom income” taxation he stonewalled thousands of other similar victims.
Answer: The Right Honourable Stephen Harper.
What would you call a country where the members of government are elected, by a free vote, and are intended to have a free voice to fulfill their responsibilities to their constituents, and to the entire population of the country, but are cowed into silence on issues the cabinet, (Prime Minister and Mandarins), place on the restricted issue list?
Answer: A Dictatorship
What would you call a Minister of Finance who publicly declares his government has introduced an “Action Plan” to provide fair Taxation to all Canadians and then does an about face to defend his policy of levying outrageous taxes on Canadians “deemed” to have received a taxable benefit that never in fact existed in tangible form, i.e. “phantom income”?
Answer: The Hon. James M. Flaherty.
What would you call a political leader who conveniently forgets important details that he finds reveal his incompetence, (or worse), and unilaterally shuts down the entire government for two months while he gads all over the globe trying to cash-in on every possible photo-op?
Answer: - A worthless glory hound.
What would you call a nation of voters who would knowingly vote for candidates with the above characteristics?
Answer: They come in two types:
(1) Those that have a vested interest in this kind of dictatorship. They milk the system.
and
(2) People who are as gullible as the unscrupulous candidates believe them to be.
Promise them anything and they will vote for you even though you deliver on none of the promises.
The time is long past for Canadian voters to demand performance from the candidates they vote for.
Before the next federal election contact the federal party candidates in your riding and ask for their commitment to correct Canada’s defective Income Tax legislation to put an end to taxing phantom income. Remind them the U.S. Government has already amended their equivalent defective legislation the puts an end to taxing U.S. citizens on “phantom” income and also includes a system of fair compensation for those who have already been victimized by the old law. Ref: www.reformamt.org
This is a good first step toward restoring Canada to a full time democracy.
See you at the voting polls fir the next Federal Election O’Grady
Victor Drummond ©
Sunday, February 7, 2010
THEY WHO PAY THE PIPER..
THEY WHO PAY THE PIPER CALL THE TUNES
Canadian Prime Ministers, especially from the days of Pierre Trudeau, have been controlling Canadians -- often to the national and/or personal disadvantage.
When it served their purpose they have denied Canadians their basic right to representation by forcing party MP’s to vote the “Party Line” disregarding the wishes of those who voted them into office.
A commentary by Victor Drummond ©
February 2010
The introduction of corporate Employee Share Purchase Plans (ESPP)’s) and Employee Share Option agreements (ESO’s) is a prime example of a situation where the original intent of a program was to benefit Canadian Corporations and their key employees – but was turned into a tax trap that penalized the very people it was supposed to benefit.
It is difficult to imagine the parliament that passed the original legislation -- empowering the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to tax equities acquired via an employer’s ESPP or ESO agreement as a taxable benefit at the moment of exercise of those equities -- ever intended honest, hard-working Canadians would be taxed, sometimes into poverty, on deemed income money that never actually existed, i.e. phantom income.
It took the crash in the shares of Hi-Tech corporations beginning in July 2000 to expose this obscure defect in the Canadian Income Tax Act dealing with ESPP/ESO acquired equities.
After fifteen years of Hi-Tech corporation shares enjoying boom time conditions suddenly thousands of unsuspecting Canadians were shocked to discover they were now being levied horrendous taxes on their ESPP/ESO Purchased equities that were essentially worthless by the time the taxes levied on them were revealed.
The Canadian Liberal government was immediately deluged with appeals for fair taxation when this travesty of justice was first revealed in 2001. The draft budget for 2001, prepared by the Hon. Paul Martin, appeared, at first, to be amending this flawed piece of legislation but by the time the final 2001 budget was read in parliament the only tax relief proposed was to introduce a tax deferral option in the way of a form T1212.
Even the introduction of the form T1212 tax deferral option was not clearly understood at first and many tax advisors, and victimized taxpayers believed they would only pay tax on the gain, (if any), that the employee actually realized at the time they sold their equities.
The government, however, wasn’t going to let loose of the millions of illicit tax dollars so easily extorted and the ruling came out that the victimized taxpayers would still be taxed on the temporary value their ESPP/ESO had at the moment of exercise regardless of the value actually received at the time those equities were sold.
Any real loss the tax victim may suffer -- at the time their ESPP/ESO equities are sold -- that loss is morphed from a taxable benefit to a Capital investment loss which the government will not allow the tax victim to use to offset the theoretical “benefit” that the victim might have received – but didn’t.
Of course if the victim was lucky enough to sell their equities at an additional gain over the deemed taxable benefit then that additional gain would also trigger a capital gains tax.
How about that for a “fair” system of taxation? A system where the government is guaranteed to win if the employee might have made a gain but the taxpayer is exposed to a potentially huge tax loss if they even might have made a gain – even when the gain was never realized. A win-win set up for the government and for the tax victim a potential financial disaster.
Although several MP’s in Canada’s 38th, 39th and 40th parliaments have written letters to Canadian government authorities -- ranging from the Prime Minister the way down to the back-bench MP’s – supporting their victimized constituents appeals for fair taxation those appeals have been ignored.
Even when the Right Honourable Stephen Harper acknowledged this tax system was unjust and unfair -- by signing the Gary Lunn Tax Remission Order” (TRO) thereby approving revoking of this outrageous tax for a mere 37 former employees of the SDL Optics/JDS Uniphase plant in the riding of Saanich Gulf-Islands British Columbia – all other victims of this legalized extortion have been denied this same tax treatment.
Somehow the current conservative government has succeeded in domineering our Members of Parliament -- who were democratically elected to represent the best interests of their constituents and the best interests of all Canadians – to the extent they remain silent on the abuse being heaped upon thousands of honest, hard-working Canadians.
Not only has the House of Commons been silenced on this outrageous issue but those fearless, outspoken watchdogs of the party in power – Her Majesty’s leaders of the Loyal Opposition Parties are equally cowed when it comes to declaring their position on this abuse of power.
Anyone who doubts the authenticity of my foregoing claims need only contact their riding MP’s (Conservative, Liberal, NDP, and/or Green Party) and ask them their party position on the phantom income tax issue. If you get a definitive answer let me know and be sure to vote for that candidate.
The thousands of requests for that information – issued by the group: “Canadians for Fair and Equitable Taxation” (CFET), have been ignored so far which is a violation of everyone’s right to know before they vote for anyone to represent their interests in Canada’s parliament.
Before you decide which candidate to vote for in the next federal election remember who is paying their above average salaries with above average perks and working conditions.
Make sure you are possibly going to get the service you are paying for before committing to vote for any candidate or any federal political party.
And one thing you must receive is a commitment to restore your right to equal treatment under Canada’s Tax Laws and that taxing Canadians on an income that never happened must be corrected.
Regardless of the claims made by our Hon. James Flaherty regarding the fairness of taxing phantom income – few, (if any), Canadians who have taken the time to really get the facts on this issue agree with him.
The U.S.A. congress doesn’t support Flaherty’s view as they have already amended their equivalent phantom income tax legislation and fairly compensated those U.S. taxpayers who had already been victimized by it. Ref: www.reformamt.org
As a Canadian taxpayer you are paying the salaries of every government employee – from the Prime Minister on down so do not hesitate to make your demands for service known to them.
Being one of those who are paying this band of politicians for service you have the right to name a few tunes.
See you at the voting polls for the next federal elction O’Grady.
Victor Drummond ©
Canadian Prime Ministers, especially from the days of Pierre Trudeau, have been controlling Canadians -- often to the national and/or personal disadvantage.
When it served their purpose they have denied Canadians their basic right to representation by forcing party MP’s to vote the “Party Line” disregarding the wishes of those who voted them into office.
A commentary by Victor Drummond ©
February 2010
The introduction of corporate Employee Share Purchase Plans (ESPP)’s) and Employee Share Option agreements (ESO’s) is a prime example of a situation where the original intent of a program was to benefit Canadian Corporations and their key employees – but was turned into a tax trap that penalized the very people it was supposed to benefit.
It is difficult to imagine the parliament that passed the original legislation -- empowering the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to tax equities acquired via an employer’s ESPP or ESO agreement as a taxable benefit at the moment of exercise of those equities -- ever intended honest, hard-working Canadians would be taxed, sometimes into poverty, on deemed income money that never actually existed, i.e. phantom income.
It took the crash in the shares of Hi-Tech corporations beginning in July 2000 to expose this obscure defect in the Canadian Income Tax Act dealing with ESPP/ESO acquired equities.
After fifteen years of Hi-Tech corporation shares enjoying boom time conditions suddenly thousands of unsuspecting Canadians were shocked to discover they were now being levied horrendous taxes on their ESPP/ESO Purchased equities that were essentially worthless by the time the taxes levied on them were revealed.
The Canadian Liberal government was immediately deluged with appeals for fair taxation when this travesty of justice was first revealed in 2001. The draft budget for 2001, prepared by the Hon. Paul Martin, appeared, at first, to be amending this flawed piece of legislation but by the time the final 2001 budget was read in parliament the only tax relief proposed was to introduce a tax deferral option in the way of a form T1212.
Even the introduction of the form T1212 tax deferral option was not clearly understood at first and many tax advisors, and victimized taxpayers believed they would only pay tax on the gain, (if any), that the employee actually realized at the time they sold their equities.
The government, however, wasn’t going to let loose of the millions of illicit tax dollars so easily extorted and the ruling came out that the victimized taxpayers would still be taxed on the temporary value their ESPP/ESO had at the moment of exercise regardless of the value actually received at the time those equities were sold.
Any real loss the tax victim may suffer -- at the time their ESPP/ESO equities are sold -- that loss is morphed from a taxable benefit to a Capital investment loss which the government will not allow the tax victim to use to offset the theoretical “benefit” that the victim might have received – but didn’t.
Of course if the victim was lucky enough to sell their equities at an additional gain over the deemed taxable benefit then that additional gain would also trigger a capital gains tax.
How about that for a “fair” system of taxation? A system where the government is guaranteed to win if the employee might have made a gain but the taxpayer is exposed to a potentially huge tax loss if they even might have made a gain – even when the gain was never realized. A win-win set up for the government and for the tax victim a potential financial disaster.
Although several MP’s in Canada’s 38th, 39th and 40th parliaments have written letters to Canadian government authorities -- ranging from the Prime Minister the way down to the back-bench MP’s – supporting their victimized constituents appeals for fair taxation those appeals have been ignored.
Even when the Right Honourable Stephen Harper acknowledged this tax system was unjust and unfair -- by signing the Gary Lunn Tax Remission Order” (TRO) thereby approving revoking of this outrageous tax for a mere 37 former employees of the SDL Optics/JDS Uniphase plant in the riding of Saanich Gulf-Islands British Columbia – all other victims of this legalized extortion have been denied this same tax treatment.
Somehow the current conservative government has succeeded in domineering our Members of Parliament -- who were democratically elected to represent the best interests of their constituents and the best interests of all Canadians – to the extent they remain silent on the abuse being heaped upon thousands of honest, hard-working Canadians.
Not only has the House of Commons been silenced on this outrageous issue but those fearless, outspoken watchdogs of the party in power – Her Majesty’s leaders of the Loyal Opposition Parties are equally cowed when it comes to declaring their position on this abuse of power.
Anyone who doubts the authenticity of my foregoing claims need only contact their riding MP’s (Conservative, Liberal, NDP, and/or Green Party) and ask them their party position on the phantom income tax issue. If you get a definitive answer let me know and be sure to vote for that candidate.
The thousands of requests for that information – issued by the group: “Canadians for Fair and Equitable Taxation” (CFET), have been ignored so far which is a violation of everyone’s right to know before they vote for anyone to represent their interests in Canada’s parliament.
Before you decide which candidate to vote for in the next federal election remember who is paying their above average salaries with above average perks and working conditions.
Make sure you are possibly going to get the service you are paying for before committing to vote for any candidate or any federal political party.
And one thing you must receive is a commitment to restore your right to equal treatment under Canada’s Tax Laws and that taxing Canadians on an income that never happened must be corrected.
Regardless of the claims made by our Hon. James Flaherty regarding the fairness of taxing phantom income – few, (if any), Canadians who have taken the time to really get the facts on this issue agree with him.
The U.S.A. congress doesn’t support Flaherty’s view as they have already amended their equivalent phantom income tax legislation and fairly compensated those U.S. taxpayers who had already been victimized by it. Ref: www.reformamt.org
As a Canadian taxpayer you are paying the salaries of every government employee – from the Prime Minister on down so do not hesitate to make your demands for service known to them.
Being one of those who are paying this band of politicians for service you have the right to name a few tunes.
See you at the voting polls for the next federal elction O’Grady.
Victor Drummond ©
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
THE FUTILE QUEST FOR JUSTICE..
THE FUTILE QUEST FOR JUSTICE IN CANADA
Canada as a nation -- where citizens are assured of “fair” and equal treatment under tax laws and justice when victimized by government criminal action -- no longer exists.
A Canadian robbed on the street, by hoodlums, may obtain justice through the courts but a Canadian victimized by those who administer Canada’s tax laws has little recourse – the victims must prove they can not afford to pay the tax, i.e. are “HARDSHIP” cases.
In what way does “hardship” justify tax relief when justice is denied all other similar victims?
A commentary by Victor Drummond ©
February 2010
A superficial glance at Canada would leave the observer fully convinced Canadians have the greatest system of government that anyone could possibly want.
Canadians have a constitution that guarantees them equal treatment under the laws of Canada.
We also have an updated “Taxpayers Bill of Rights” that again assures them of equal treatment under the tax laws of Canada.
On top of that we have a government publication bearing the title: “Serving Canadians – Canada’s System of Justice” which declares “fairness” is a primary purpose of Canada’s laws and legal system.
Ref: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/pub/just/img/courten.pdf
Furthermore this document declares Canadians are assumed to be innocent, of any criminal charges, until proven guilty in a court of law.
To guarantee the above rights are readily available to all Canadians we have a Federal Minister of Justice, and a Supreme Court of Canada and a “Taxpayers Ombudsman”. What more could any person want in their land of opportunity?
In view of the foregoing assurances and guarantees none of the following events could ever happen in Canada.
(1) A plan to fight the “brain-drain” during the Hi-Tech boom years could never result in those who participated and remained loyal to their Canadian employers – and to Canada -- being taxed into financial ruin by the Canadian government. But it did happen and still does.
(2) No Canadian would ever be taxed on an unproven, one sided assumption, made by a Canadian government agency. i.e. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). But it did happen and still does.
(3) Any Canadian who has been taxed on the same basis as the 37 former employees of the SDL Optics Inc/JDS Uniphase plant in Saanich British Columbia -- who had their taxes and related penalties revoked by way of a “Tax Remission Order” (TRO) – are automatically assured of the same “fair” tax treatment.
Nothing could be further from the truth. All other phantom income tax victims have been excluded from the tax treatment given the SDL Optics/JDS Uniphase victims.
(4) When our Prime Minister (PM) commits to “resolving” this unfair, unjust, tax issue you can rest assured it will be corrected. That is the way it should be – but it is not. Our PM reneged on this commitment.
The PM’s commitment was made two years ago and all that has happened since is the topic has been stonewalled by the PM and House of Commons in spite of a motion by the members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) to have the problem corrected.
(5)When such examples -- of injustice, and departures from the intent of “Canada’s System of Justice” document -- would be brought to the attention of Canada’s Minister of Justice he would automatically initiate corrective action.
That is the way any observer would expect the system to work – but it doesn’t work that way. This issue was sent to the attention of the Hon. Rob. Nicholson, CP, MP, Minister of Justice,over a year ago and absolutely nothing happened. Apparently the job of the Minister of Justice is not to assure Canadians actually receive justice.
(6) In order to have their appeal for justice reviewed, by the Supreme Court of Canada, a victim must first have their appeal for justice denied by a lower court. Several victims have tried hiring a tax lawyer and taken their quest for justice to a lower court.
Every such case, I have been made aware of, were denied on the basis that Canada’s tax laws have not been violated. And so far I have not been made aware of any of these denied cases being taken to the Supreme Court of Canada for a ruling.
Why?
Because (so far) taking an appeal to court has been a case of throwing good money after bad and those hit hardest by this tax trap do not have the monetary resources to have another go at the courts in their quest for justice.
A person would expect that when a few victimized Canadians have been granted fair treatment, by way of a TRO, that a precedent has been set that should guarantee the same treatment would be granted similar victims by a court of law.
According to Tax Court of Canada, Chief Justice Donald Bowman the court judges are not bound to observe any precedent that has been set by way of previous judgements.
Ref: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/pub/just/img/courten.pdf
Following is the important text from this document: “taxpayers would probably be surprised to learn that Canadian courts have generally refused to recognize a duty of consistency on the part of the CRA in the course of administering and enforcing the Income Tax Act, and have expressly held that the CRA has no positive legal obligation to treat similarly situated taxpayers consistently As stated by now Chief Justice Bowman of the Tax Court.”
So first impressions of the justice guaranteed Canada’s citizens are purely a façade. The Prime Minister and his gang of mandarins have found a way to control the elected members of the House of Commons, and the leaders of Canada’s Loyal opposition Parties, rendering these two watchdogs of Canadian justice totally ineffective.
Every Canadian voter is entitled to know the position the political party -- they prefer to vote for – has on the phantom tax issue.
But that information has been denied, time after time, by the current MP’s and federal political party leaders.
Until I receive that information I won’t vote for any of them -- and you shouldn’t either.
Canadians have recently been receiving wake-up calls from newspaper journalists such as James Travers who had his article: “PM wakes a sleeping electorate” published in the Jan 28, 2010 on-line edition of the Toronto Star
The important message in this article being: “Imagine a confidential manual instructing chairs to manipulate, obstruct and, when necessary, sabotage committees. Imagine directly challenging the independence and objectivity of the chief electoral officer, sacking the nuclear safety watchdog for dutiful barking and then systematically choking counterparts probing issues as diverse and seminal as timely access to information.”
Some democracy Canada is becoming – it is beginning to make a dictatorship look good by comparison.
Canadian voters have tolerated far too much deception on the part of our federal political leaders and it is now time to take corrective action.
Notify your local riding MP you demand they honestly represent the best interests of their constituents, and all Canadians, by making a commitment to have the tax on phantom income revoked and all those already victimized, by it, to be fairly compensated.
The U.S.A. government has corrected their equivalent defective “Alternative Minimum Tax” (AMT) legislation Canada’s government has no excuse for continuing this travesty of justice including unequal treatment of Canadian victims.
See you at the voting polls for the next federal election O’Grady.
Victor Drummond ©
Canada as a nation -- where citizens are assured of “fair” and equal treatment under tax laws and justice when victimized by government criminal action -- no longer exists.
A Canadian robbed on the street, by hoodlums, may obtain justice through the courts but a Canadian victimized by those who administer Canada’s tax laws has little recourse – the victims must prove they can not afford to pay the tax, i.e. are “HARDSHIP” cases.
In what way does “hardship” justify tax relief when justice is denied all other similar victims?
A commentary by Victor Drummond ©
February 2010
A superficial glance at Canada would leave the observer fully convinced Canadians have the greatest system of government that anyone could possibly want.
Canadians have a constitution that guarantees them equal treatment under the laws of Canada.
We also have an updated “Taxpayers Bill of Rights” that again assures them of equal treatment under the tax laws of Canada.
On top of that we have a government publication bearing the title: “Serving Canadians – Canada’s System of Justice” which declares “fairness” is a primary purpose of Canada’s laws and legal system.
Ref: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/pub/just/img/courten.pdf
Furthermore this document declares Canadians are assumed to be innocent, of any criminal charges, until proven guilty in a court of law.
To guarantee the above rights are readily available to all Canadians we have a Federal Minister of Justice, and a Supreme Court of Canada and a “Taxpayers Ombudsman”. What more could any person want in their land of opportunity?
In view of the foregoing assurances and guarantees none of the following events could ever happen in Canada.
(1) A plan to fight the “brain-drain” during the Hi-Tech boom years could never result in those who participated and remained loyal to their Canadian employers – and to Canada -- being taxed into financial ruin by the Canadian government. But it did happen and still does.
(2) No Canadian would ever be taxed on an unproven, one sided assumption, made by a Canadian government agency. i.e. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). But it did happen and still does.
(3) Any Canadian who has been taxed on the same basis as the 37 former employees of the SDL Optics Inc/JDS Uniphase plant in Saanich British Columbia -- who had their taxes and related penalties revoked by way of a “Tax Remission Order” (TRO) – are automatically assured of the same “fair” tax treatment.
Nothing could be further from the truth. All other phantom income tax victims have been excluded from the tax treatment given the SDL Optics/JDS Uniphase victims.
(4) When our Prime Minister (PM) commits to “resolving” this unfair, unjust, tax issue you can rest assured it will be corrected. That is the way it should be – but it is not. Our PM reneged on this commitment.
The PM’s commitment was made two years ago and all that has happened since is the topic has been stonewalled by the PM and House of Commons in spite of a motion by the members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) to have the problem corrected.
(5)When such examples -- of injustice, and departures from the intent of “Canada’s System of Justice” document -- would be brought to the attention of Canada’s Minister of Justice he would automatically initiate corrective action.
That is the way any observer would expect the system to work – but it doesn’t work that way. This issue was sent to the attention of the Hon. Rob. Nicholson, CP, MP, Minister of Justice,over a year ago and absolutely nothing happened. Apparently the job of the Minister of Justice is not to assure Canadians actually receive justice.
(6) In order to have their appeal for justice reviewed, by the Supreme Court of Canada, a victim must first have their appeal for justice denied by a lower court. Several victims have tried hiring a tax lawyer and taken their quest for justice to a lower court.
Every such case, I have been made aware of, were denied on the basis that Canada’s tax laws have not been violated. And so far I have not been made aware of any of these denied cases being taken to the Supreme Court of Canada for a ruling.
Why?
Because (so far) taking an appeal to court has been a case of throwing good money after bad and those hit hardest by this tax trap do not have the monetary resources to have another go at the courts in their quest for justice.
A person would expect that when a few victimized Canadians have been granted fair treatment, by way of a TRO, that a precedent has been set that should guarantee the same treatment would be granted similar victims by a court of law.
According to Tax Court of Canada, Chief Justice Donald Bowman the court judges are not bound to observe any precedent that has been set by way of previous judgements.
Ref: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/pub/just/img/courten.pdf
Following is the important text from this document: “taxpayers would probably be surprised to learn that Canadian courts have generally refused to recognize a duty of consistency on the part of the CRA in the course of administering and enforcing the Income Tax Act, and have expressly held that the CRA has no positive legal obligation to treat similarly situated taxpayers consistently As stated by now Chief Justice Bowman of the Tax Court.”
So first impressions of the justice guaranteed Canada’s citizens are purely a façade. The Prime Minister and his gang of mandarins have found a way to control the elected members of the House of Commons, and the leaders of Canada’s Loyal opposition Parties, rendering these two watchdogs of Canadian justice totally ineffective.
Every Canadian voter is entitled to know the position the political party -- they prefer to vote for – has on the phantom tax issue.
But that information has been denied, time after time, by the current MP’s and federal political party leaders.
Until I receive that information I won’t vote for any of them -- and you shouldn’t either.
Canadians have recently been receiving wake-up calls from newspaper journalists such as James Travers who had his article: “PM wakes a sleeping electorate” published in the Jan 28, 2010 on-line edition of the Toronto Star
The important message in this article being: “Imagine a confidential manual instructing chairs to manipulate, obstruct and, when necessary, sabotage committees. Imagine directly challenging the independence and objectivity of the chief electoral officer, sacking the nuclear safety watchdog for dutiful barking and then systematically choking counterparts probing issues as diverse and seminal as timely access to information.”
Some democracy Canada is becoming – it is beginning to make a dictatorship look good by comparison.
Canadian voters have tolerated far too much deception on the part of our federal political leaders and it is now time to take corrective action.
Notify your local riding MP you demand they honestly represent the best interests of their constituents, and all Canadians, by making a commitment to have the tax on phantom income revoked and all those already victimized, by it, to be fairly compensated.
The U.S.A. government has corrected their equivalent defective “Alternative Minimum Tax” (AMT) legislation Canada’s government has no excuse for continuing this travesty of justice including unequal treatment of Canadian victims.
See you at the voting polls for the next federal election O’Grady.
Victor Drummond ©
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