Har Har my opinion of stratfor has not changed... Boy do I disagree with Condor :O)
I'll leave the rant I was preparing for messrs' Flaherty and Harper out :O)
From Strafor..
Yet, despite the Conservatives' campaign promise, ending the income trust tax structure was both an inevitability and a necessity. Income trusts in Canada had effectively become a major tax loophole
Not exactly a loop hole. Purposely designed to promote Canadian investment. Less tax paid because profit paid out... logical... I'll admit The real issue here is that the government wants to tax the same dollars twice.
They have so many tools available to do this better but maybe this happened....
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Flaherty (Finance Minister) has said he received a courtesy call from head of BCE with their trust conversion decision 3 weeks prior. Minister says Oh Oh......
Minister says what if banks follow suit... OHMYGAWDDDDDD!!
Minister brainstorms for 3 weeks with selected confidants sworn to secrecy... (runs around shouting the sky is falling the sky is falling)
Minister after 3 weeks comes up with sophisticated well thought out non reactionary no panic mode proactive decision... TAX ALL TRUSTS TAX ALL TRUSTS TAX ALL TRUSTS TAX ALL TRUSTS (not the REITS, maybe he owns REITS ;o)
He thinks... oh oh... this might pi$$ off some folks... conservative types that may have voted for us ... gulp... we campaigned on honesty, integrity and KEEPING OUR word... and we promised not to touch the trusts...
Not only that it'll likely cause a huge transfer of wealth like the last time... let's throw some tax bones to the elderly like income splitting.., likely not of much benefit to middle class trust investors ... but it's the middle class's job to take in on the chin...
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First, the spreading popularity of income trusts essentially changed Canada's tax structure by shifting the burden away from corporations and toward personal income tax.
the sound of people protesting their salvation from this situation is deafening...
They now had much less incentive to retain those earnings and reinvest them in equipment
The final straw for the government was a recent pair of announcements by two of Canada's biggest companies -- telecommunications firms Telus Corp. and BCE Inc.
As mentioned above... Bank Act Insurance Act... now we even have a comedy act in parliament...
OR
Doctor, my finger is infected... ok, your arm will have to come off...
Really has nothing to do with O&G trusts. That is why so many likened them to Ponzi schemes. Reits not touched ?
the change will be phased in during the next four years
so trust holders fret and worry as to when they should all try and squeeze through that door over 4 years... like pulling wings off flies..
(at least among those not enamored of the income trusts)
25 billion... in two days...
the decision may even increase support for the government.
Sadly this may have some merit
OR
The trouble with democracy..
They will need to do exactly what they denigrated the previous Liberal government for.. and pander to that less informed (my euphemism) class that thinks a rich (sigh) chap with 1 million bucks including a 500K house after working for many years should be sharing that with them...
Harper will have little problem explaining to his grassroots allies in Canada's Prairie Provinces that a tax regime allowing foreign investors and big business to evade taxes needed changing
That will be the spin but some of his grassroots own trusts and the spin will mainly be directed at other than his supporters.
Foreign investors like you and the Americans on these boards have already been hit with a 15% tax, no ? That could always be raised (sorry :O).
Another finger / arm analogy.. as to big business ... covered above..
Those 'grassroots' followers are only enough to make him a regional party... that's it.. He got unexpected support from Quebec last time.. Ontarians and Quebecers will take any chance to bail IMO, now that he has broken his word.. which a far more serious thing for him (honesty and integrity almost the essence of his campaign) than a 'regular' politician... the old Liberal scandal issue will have far less credibility IMO (how soon we forget).. people will see him more as just another in a line of interchangeable politicians... PLUS our participation in Afghanistan is seriously eroding the support he garnered from the Liberal scandal... and the situation will become ever more suspect ... as the electorate looks at Stephen Harper and sees George Bush. A recent poll here shows 93% of Canadians think that George Bush is the third most dangerous threat to world peace on the planet.
going to throw their lot in with the scandal-ridden (not to mention leaderless) Liberal Party Stratfor should be wearing a kick me sign.. Majority of Canadians have identified with the Liberal centre and left of centre for a long time.. Do they even know how Harper had to align himself with the Separtist Bloc to form a still tenuous minority government.. He made a deal with the NDP... to save his government over this trust.. most Canadians see Harper and they see Bush... Harper barely overcame that.. with fresh Liberals in the running people have a choice again... and Canada lists left... The last few generations of Canadians identify much more easily with the Liberal party, rightly or wrongly. There are other issues where he is walking a fine line on breaking promises.. I wonder where Stratfor thinks this increased support will come from ?
Anyway I'd say throw another C on the bar-b.... (no not you Condor)...
regards
B
Edit... O and I've voted Reform---> Alliance -->>>>> Conservative for a long time.. and I owned no trusts.. this is not a full of rancor opinion.... just a dissapointed, maybe ex, supporter. |
