Michael Ignatieff - The Marshall Plan

Dear Mr. Ignatieff,

We last spoke at your fundraising dinner in Toronto on April 1, 2009.  I attended that event at a table of 10, purchased by a group of fellow Income Trust taxpayers.
 
As a constituent in your riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore, and a person who has worked in the investment and pension industry on Bay and Wall Street for over 25 years, I am writing to inform you about a significant recent development concerning the Income Trust matter, that I call upon you to support for the benefit of all Canadian taxpayers.

The move by the Harper government to renege on their promises and tax Income Trusts in 2006 had negative consequences not only for those Canadian investors holding trusts, but also for the Canadian firms that were structured as “profit sharing” income trusts. A situation that you rightly referred to in your speech in Toronto during the 2008 election as being an act of “vandalism”.

As you are no doubt aware, this issue adversely affects all Canadian taxpayers, including the 75% of Canadians who are without pensions and who are losing and essential investment alternative that had been embraced by some 2.5 million Canadians as their means to provide themselves with retirement income on the form of “profit sharing” income trust investment.

Now you are presented with a unique win win win opportunity to remedy that act of “vandalism” by Stephen Harper. Just recently, a new proposal has been forwarded, called the Marshall Plan, that addresses not only all of the concerns of deferred income taxes expressed by the Harper government (ie the canard about “tax leakage’)  but also those concerns of Canadian retirees invested in Trusts. who wish to preserve this essential investment choice for all, and not simply just OMERs and Caisse, etc who have an unfair exemption available to them that they are exploiting to the disadvantage of the 75% of Canadians, like me, who are without such public sector pensions privileges and bespoke carve-outs.
 
The details of the plan and a discussion about it can be found on the blog of Dianne Francis of The National Post, who describes the Marshall Plan as “brilliant”. See: Marshall Plan.
 
I bring the Marshall Plan to your attention as my member of Parliament as I would like you to coordinate the Liberal Party’s support for the Marshall Plan so that it can be enacted by the Federal government as a core element of Budget 2010, in that it addresses the hot button topics of dealing with the pension crisis for the 75% of Canadians without pensions AND dealing with structural deficits. The plan will ensure the incomes of countless Canadian retirees, will support those Canadian firms structured as “profit sharing” Trusts and end the loss of further tax income caused by foreign takeovers of existing Trusts, all leading to the “welfare loss” that was predicted by many like Don Drummond of TD Bank, Brent Fullard of CAITI, and constituents of yours, like myself

Based upon my experience derived from 25 years on Bay and Wall Street, I strongly believe the Diane Francis calls “brilliant”. should be enacted for the betterment of all Canadians and ask for your best efforts, as my paid elected Member of Parliament, in seeing that this gets done.

I look forward to the opportunity of discussing the Marshall Plan with you. I can be reached at 416 232-XXXX

 
Sincerely,
Rainer Kaufmann
XX Kingsway Crescent
M8X 2R3
Toronto,  ON
 
cc. Diane Francis (Financial Post), Brent Fullard (CAITI)