NEWS WATCH
On April 19, the Liberal Party tabled a private members Bill to the Canadian House of Parliament: an income trust Motion #19. On Taxation of Income Trusts:
During the second day of Finance Committee public hearings on income trust tax “losses”, two analysts questioned the methodology and assumptions used by the Minister of Finance and his Department to calculate there is a loss of corporate taxes due to the existence of income trust securities. Confronted with new low estimates, Finance Department personnel attempted to articulate the method to their findings. And ultimately, the contradicted the authoritative presentation of that method shown two days earlier by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Unfortunately, the Minister was supposed to be using information provided by the same staff who contracted him.
Another new group has jumped on the political band wagon to decry income trust taxes. At a press conference hosted by independent member of parliament, Garth Turner, CRIIA announced that it has arrived.
The group says it was formed to represent the interests of the millions of ordinary Canadians who are trying to cope with those difficulties facing retirees and pensioners. The group said that, “Canada’s population is aging. Two-thirds of our workers have no employer pension plan. Those Canadians have to save on their own for their retirement...Once retired, they then have to generate enough income off their savings to pay the bills. Increasingly, these people find themselves on the short end of the stick as interest rates and income returns have fallen and, more recently, as some government policies work against them.”
The newly formed Canadian Income Trust Investor Association has assembled a series of documents and useful reference materials in preparation for and promotion of its invitation to deliver a brief to the Canadian Parliamentary Finance Committee.
Hearings are set to begin as early as January 29’th 200 with less than a full day allocated to hearing briefs and questioning witnesses that appear before the Committee, according to CAITI volunteer.
CAITI position papers, pre-submission and other documents can be found on their web site.
The Canadian parliamentary finance committee announced that it will sponsor a series of public hearings and provide a platform for interest groups and financial experts to comment on a decision by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to impose taxes on income trusts in 2011.
iTrust Institute is studying the key features, perceived potential & benefits of income trusts starting from the premise that:
Equities managed and structured like income trusts to flow net gains through to owners by way of frequent and regular distributions of cash can offer superior rates of overall return, support market growth, enhance economic productivity and contribute to growth of the tax base with less risk than other equities given honest managers and a fully competitive market supported by open communications.
We will test this notion and explore related questions.