Wednesday, March 17, 2010

DISASTERS NATURAL AND..


DISASTERS – NATURAL AND MAN MADE
In one regard Canadians are fortunate because natural disasters such as major earthquakes, major floods, and major tsunami wave destruction of our coastal cities and settlements seldom happens.

On the other hand losing your home, depleting your lifetime savings and living in
financial despair happen far too often in Canada and most of the time these local disasters are the result of the attitude held by our elected government authorities who are far more interested in demonstrating their concern for distressed citizens of foreign countries than correcting the distress they are creating and tolerating
abusing their own citizens right here in Canada.

Victor Drummond ©
March 17 2010

An honest, hard-working Canadian taxpayer – using the nom-de-plume “Billy” -- posted a very sincere series of comments to my previous blog titled: “Canada’s 2010 Budget – Deal or No Deal.”

Everyone should read Billy’s comments and decide for themselves if he is a victim of his own financial mismanagement -- as claimed by our tax authorities -- or the victim of an obscure tax trap in Canada’s defective taxable benefit legislation. Then visit www.reformamt.org and read the victims statements at the bottom of the web page.

Canada’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance either stonewall all appeals for the “Fair Taxation for All Canadians” “Action Plan” promised in the federal Conservative Party 2006 pre-election brochure: “STAND UP FOR CANADA” or attempt to convince Canadians that promise has already been fulfilled.

These individuals, who were elected to serve the best interests of all Canadians, and who have publicized a “Canadian Taxpayers Bill of Rights” which they totally ignore, then tell Canadians that taxing employees -- who PURCHASED their employer corporation shares via an Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP) and/or an Employee Share Option (ESO) – on deemed “Earned Income” that was neither “Earned” nor “Income of any kind” is justified and fair.

Even before “Billy” provided the outrageous details of the tax treatment he received – after spending his last few dollars on a tax specialist lawyer – I was already aware of several similar man made disasters caused by Canada’s man made tax-grab legislation.

How can anyone approve a Tax Remission Order (TRO) -- such as the Gary Lunn TRO that provided real relief of the unjustified taxes levied on them on the basis of phantom income (money that never existed) -- which is a truly fair tax action -- and then deny thousands of other Canadian victims of the same tax trap the same level of fair tax treatment AND then with a straight face tell other Canadians the income tax treatment is “fair” for all Canadians?

It takes someone who has done a lot more than “Kiss the Blarney Stone” to give that level of performance. In my opinion our Minster of Finance has bitten off and swallowed a large chunk of that stone.

A tax system that favours a few taxpayers with full compensation of unjust taxation and denies the same consideration to thousands of similar victims can not even begin to be called “fair”.

Some defenders -- of the favouritism given the SDL Optics victims – attempt to justify their preferential tax treatment on the basis the victims were under greater stress than all other similar victims plus the SDL victims also lost their employment. There is nothing unique about them losing their employment. So did thousands of Nortel victimized employees and so did thousands of JDS Uniphase victimized employees.

Any excuse offered, by anyone, in an attempt to justify a different tax treatment for the Gary Lunn TRO victims -- as compared to all other Canadian victims taxed on phantom income -- is nothing but pure BS.

There is no excuse for denying any Canadians the same treatment given the Gary Lunn TRO victims and to treat any part of the Canadian taxpayer population victimized in the same way any differently than the treatment provided for the group that were protected by the Gary Lunn TRO – is a blatant violation of the updated Taxpayers Bill of Rights – which no one is enforcing.

Mr. Flaherty – throw away the English Language Dictionary you have been using – it obviously does not have the correct definition for the word “Fair”.

Billy is a typical victim of Canada’s defective taxable benefit legislation and our defective government authorities who are willing to allow our citizens to be financially devastated by our man made disastrous tax laws while committing billions of Canadian taxpayer dollars to help rebuild the homes of people who have been afflicted by natural disasters but who have never contributed one cent to Canada’s tax system.

Remember the golden rule: “Charity begins at home.”

See you at the voting polls for the coming federal election O’grady.
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day.

Victor Drummond ©

Sunday, March 14, 2010

CANADA'S 2010 BUDGET..

CANADA’S 2010 BUDGET – DEAL OR NO DEAL

Couched in the usual assurances of providing Canadians with a
“Fair” and “Equitable” Income tax deal Canada’s “Banker”
Our Minister of Finance
is offering a short range of Tax Deals to Canada’s victims of
outrageous, unjustified taxes levied on purely phantom income.

A commentary by Victor Drummond ©
March 2010

Canada has a variety of taxpayers who have been levied outrageous, unjustified taxes on a pie-in-the-sky deemed “Earned Income” that was neither “Earned Income” nor “Real Income” of any kind.

The federal conservative party was elected in 2006 to form Canada’s government based --- at least in part – on the declared “Action Plan” to provide all Canadians with a “Fair and Equitable Income Tax system.”

Contestents No 1 to play Canada’s version of “Deal or No Deal?”

Shortly after forming Canada’s 39th Parliament the first Contestants to play Canada’s version of “Deal or No Deal” was a group of former employees of the now defunct SDL Optics Inc./JDS Uniphase Plant located in the riding of Conservative MP The Hon Gary Lunn – Saanich Gulf Islands British Columbia.

There are 37 tax victims in this group with taxes levied on phantom income for the years 1999 and 2000. Our Howie Mandel, (Harper), declared these taxes were unfair and unjustified by signing the Tax Remission Order (TRO) requested by the Hon. Gary Lunn and prepared at the request of the Hon. Carol Skelton, CP, MP.

By the time the TRO was signed into law by Canada’s governor general, Her Excellency Michele Jean the Hon Carol Skelton had been replaced by the Hon, Gordon O’Connor, as the Minister to provide the finished TRO format.

The banker offered the first players of Canada’s "Deal or No Deal" a full cancellation of the taxes and related penalties plus a rebate of the taxes, on phantom income, that had already been paid.

Contestents No 1 accepted the deal – which was indeed fair – and they went laughing all the way to the bank.

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Shortly after the First Deal was implemented mandarins in the Bankers organization issued a warning to our Howie Mandel that giving Canadians a deal at this level of “Fairness” was setting a dangerous precedent. Consequently our Howie did an about face and declined to even mention the issue of taxation on phantom income – let alone take any further action to fulfill his commitment to “resolve” the issue for all Canadians by making the required changes to the tax code. The only code he changed was his code of ethics.

Although there were thousands of other Canadian Taxpayers -- caught in the same tax trap as those given a fair deal via the Gary Lunn TRO – all their appeals for the same deal were denied on the grounds they didn’t qualify.

This unfair state of affairs was maintained until March 4th 2010 when Canada’s Banker presented a new round of “Deal or No Deal” rules for Canadian victims to play by.

=======================================

Contestants No 2 now get an offer from the Banker.

To qualify as a contestant in the second round of Canada’s new tax game “Deal or no Deal” a victimized taxpayer must have been levied taxes on phantom income AND must have applied to have those taxes deferred as provided per form T1212.

The bankers offer to these contestants appears to be the conversion of taxes due to the level of the sale value of the ESPP/ESO equities the victim still holds. There will be no rebate given but any real loss the victim may experience between the cost paid for the equities and the money received at the time of sale may be carried forward, indefinitely, in the hopes there will be a capital gain someday to which this loss may be applied.

Does this offer by the banker compare -- in any way -- with the deal given the first set of contestants?
If you were a contestant in group no 2 would you accept this deal?

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What about victimized Canadian Taxpayers who paid the taxes levied on the phantom income of their ESPP/ESO equities up front and did not apply for a tax deferment?

Will they get an offer from the banker? Apparently not. They are not eligible to play this version of Canada’s "Deal or No Deal" tax game.

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How does Canada’s tax treatment of Canadian taxpayers caught in the tax trap that produces huge tax levies on phantom income compare with the U. S. A. government treatment of their taxpayers who were also levied horrendous taxes on phantom income?

The U.S. victimized taxpayers were given a full reprieve of taxed levied on phantom income plus given credit for taxes already paid on phantom income.
Ref: www.reformamt.org

The only group of Canadians to receive anything like this level of fair tax treatment are the SDL Optics employees who were covered by the Gary Lunn TRO.

We have been told – over and over again by our banker -- that Canada’s economy is in much better shape than the economy of the U.S.A. and yet the U.S.A. government places the fairness of their tax system high enough to take the economic hit of treating their victimized taxpayers truly fair.

Canada’s Banker on the other hand pays repeated lip service to Canada’s Fair system of income taxation while avoiding being fair whenever possible.

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Canadians should let our banker know in very definite terms – provide the fair and equitable tax system you promised – or “NO DEAL”

When the next federal election arrives be sure to have your curriculum vitae updated as no one needs or wants someone they can neither trust, nor believe a thing he says, minding our bank.

See you at the voting polls in the next federal election O’Grady.

Victor Drummond ©