Thursday, January 31, 2008

Jim Prentice: You look good on top of that high horse of yours, now investigate this:


By “this” I am referring to the charges contained in the full pages ads that CAITI recently ran in the Toronto Star and the Calgary Herald
that read: “To Finance Minister Jim Flaherty: YOUR TAX LEAKAGE ANALYSIS IS FRAUDULENT”

As a lawyer you should be familiar with the concept known as fraud, but just in case you aren’t, allow me to quote the Oxford Dictionary:

fraud –noun
1. deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.
2. a particular instance of such deceit or trickery: mail fraud; election frauds.
3. any deception, trickery, or humbug: That diet book is a fraud and a waste of time.
4. a person who makes deceitful pretenses; sham; poseur.

By “high horse” I an referring to the lofty statements you made in yesterday’s papers where you claimed that: "The judge spoke of misleading and disingenuous conduct and I think that all Canadians believe that warrants a response"

This statement of yours concerns the matter of the takeover of Lakeport Brewing Income Fund by Belgian based Labatt Brewing, which is only one of over 40 income trust takeovers that have occurred since your governments’ ill fated decision to betray Canadian voters and seniors by taxing income trust and raiding seniors nest eggs after promising to never do so. The $65 billion in trust tax related takeovers will cost every Canadian, because of the $1.4 billion loss in annual taxes they result in.

Concerning Lakeport Income Fund, it seems you are siding with Labatt on this matter, as you must be eager to see Lakeport being sold to foreigners, and oblivious to the lessened competition it represents from the purchase of a price leader in the beer category by a multinational premium priced brewer. You made a similar pro “hollowing out” statement this past summer about the $5 billion takeover of another trust, Prime West Energy Trust by middle eastern oil giant, Abu Dhabi Energy, when you made a speech in Vancouver stating that the $5 billion Prime West takeover was something you were willing to turn a blind eye to based on the laissez-faire logic that “Changing the rules in the middle of the game is not how this country does business.”...

Well if that’s the case, you need to acquaint yourself with reality. No one was asking you to change the rules in the middle of the game. The fact that you had allowed Abu Dhabi Energy to acquire Northrock Energy for $2 billion in May of 2007 doesn't mean that you automatically rubber stamp the $5 billion acquisition of Prime West Energy four months later, and then send Abu Dhabi a letter encouraging them to do "more of the same."

And concerning your point about "not changing the rules in the middle of the game", how does such a logic allow you to introduce a 31.5% retroactive tax after promising that you would never do so and thereby causing the loss of $35 billion in Canadian’s hard earned life savings?

Please provide us with an answer. Failing which please ask Jim Flaherty to sue us for slander, since we repeat what appeared in the Toronto Star and Calgary Herald newspapers” Jim Flaherty: Your tax leakage analysis is fraudulent”

If we don’t hear back from either of you, we will conclude that you are not worthy of riding that high horse of yours and your lofty statements will be nothing more than horse manure, or as some people call it: Stephen Harper’s Income Trust tax.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Poseur"--a person who pretends to be what he or she is not : an affected or insincere person.

Well , that about sums up the whole raft of characters involved in the trust fiasco.

We have lawyers & wannabe economists posing as Finance ministers & Prime Ministers.

These guys are now as believable as the guy who says he reads "Playboy" for the articles.

If these clowns believed in what the Tax Fairness Plan stands for , then they would not have issued 18 blacked-out pages & the subsequent letter asking for their recall.

All I can say is what a bunch of "horse pucky"--time to get out the shovel & put these guys on the pile where they belong.

Mike.

Anonymous said...

Part of an e-mail sent this morning to:

Members of the Finance Committee -

In particular this note is addressed to those Conservative and BQ members who voted against reviewing the Tax Fairness Plan in light of the harm that it has caused Canadian taxpayers in general and income trust investors specifically.

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.

As a lifelong Conservative voter how well do you Conservatives represent me? From your own websites the major experiences that you bring to bear on issues of Finance in this country show that we have 2 farmers, 1 political hack, 1 with no business experience he will admit, and 1 who cannot make his website work. You need to be supported by two members of the BQ who want to split apart this country. How can you not review the $37 billion in income trust losses caused by the Tax Fairness Plan? See Mr. Flaherty's lies and the proof that they are lies below.

Where are you Finance Committee? This is the biggest financial ripoff in Canadian history!!!

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

Not one of you has ever responded to any of my emails, have you got the gumption now? Oh no, that's right Mr. Harper will not let you do anything without his approval. You have no chance of getting my family's votes for a very long time.

Since October 31, 2006:
*Over $37 billion in income trust losses (spreadsheet available)
*Over $300 million in CPP income trust losses (spreadsheet available)
*Over $1.4 billion in annual trust distributions and their annual taxes lost in perpetuity (spreadsheet available) - the tax leakage Flaherty created
*Over $18 billion in oil and gas trust losses (spreadsheet available) while the price of oil has increased nearly 50% to over $90 per barrel

Anonymous said...

If the Conservatives knew in their hearts that they were right , then they would answer our emails & our written letters. By not answering , that means that they cannot justify this tax.

Mary P

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Jimmy P. should look up the definition of hypocrisy as well, since the relevant phrases and statements associated with this matter apply equally to his government's treatment of income trust investors:

"...misleading and disingenuous conduct and I think that all Canadians believe that ... warrants a response..." Check, right, Mr. Prentice.

"...misleading, inaccurate or incomplete information..." Check, right, Mr. Prentice.

"...disclosure was disingenuous and misleading in light of the information later provided..." Check, right, Mr. Prentice.

"...This is neither a fair nor an accurate representation of the situation..." Check, right, Mr. Prentice.


TAKE BACK CANADA!

FIGHT FOR THE BRIGHT,
NOT THE CONSERVATIVE BLIGHT!

Anonymous said...

Geeze, I think the writings on the wall for another public servant, Competition Bureau Commissioner Sheridan Scott.