NEWS WATCH
The schedule has been set with an interesting set of presenters offering a potentially diverse range of ideas to the committee including people with some wonderful information along with opening witnesses including those with questionable data.
The quality of committee members’ questions makes or breaks the value of the hearings.
2 Hours on Tuesday January 30th - (changed) Witness List 1
2 Hours on Thursday February 1 - (changed and possibly further changing) Witness List 2
Where will the allocated additional 2 hours come into play? Who will have a say at that point? We will watch the Finance Committee Web site and schedule.
The meetings will be “televised”. If so then, it would be useful to watch the hearings and compile here, any and all key questions that need to asked, but aren’t within the hearings.
A note sent this week to call for “factual hearings” was rather tame, but provided as an example, questions related to the first witness - Diane Urquhart. The iTrust Institute’s initial comments and questions triggered positive response from government officials and others.
How best to engage in the process if not on the witness list?
The Institute is consolidating a Brief and a list of questions with pertinent factual background to provide Committee Members on an iterative basis. Tuesday questions gathered for Monday. Questions from the first session set out for use Thursday. Tuesday and Thursday questions and background gathered for the 3’rd leg in the Committee process.
Thoughtful member, guest and advisor input is .
ADDENDUM
In its wisdom and with leadership from Liberal members of the Finance Comittee, it has decided in a brief third day of closed-door discussion, to assemble a third day of public hearings for February 13.
CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE INSTITUTE
iTrust Institute Follow-up Brief with Facts for Hearings 2007-02-01.pdf
The non-partisan research and education organization, iTrust Institute has warned that the pending hearings about income trust tax are of significant importance to all Canadians.
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.
COPY OF LETTER TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
I am writing to you as the volunteer President of a not-for-profit, non-partisan research and education organization, iTrust Institute. The Institute was formed in response to the Department of Finance Consultation on Flow-through Entities in 2005 in the interest of supporting informed policy formulation and decision-making.
The Coalition of Canadian Energy Trusts has created a comprehensive study of the role of the trusts in the oil and gas sector as well as the Canadian economy. The CCET Report includes a number of downloadable elements (pdf). Their findings suggest that there is significant public harm including addition of environmental risk if the Conservative tax policies are allowed to cripple an otherwise healthy economic sector. The Coalition has called for due process and for policy makers to make decisions on facts and information. The iTrust Institute recognizes this report as an informative contribution to Canadian’s understanding of income trusts and related policy issues:
BACKGROUND Canadian Energy Trusts: An Integral Component of the Canadian Oil and Gas Industry
CCET REPORT (incl. executive summary)
Appendix A1 - Statement by the Minister of Finance - Oct. 31
Appendix A2 - Coalition Backgrounder
Appendix B - Taxation of Income Trusts: Is it Worth the Cost and the Turmoil? by Yves L. Fortin - Nov. 2006
Appendix C - The Inconvenient Truth about Trusts, by Gordon Tait (BMO Capital Markets)
Appendix D - A Perspective on Trusts and Taxes, by Gordon Tait (BMO Capital Markets)
Appendix E - Market Cap Weekly, BMO Capital Markets - Nov. 9
Appendix F - CO2 Enhanced Recovery: Where to from here? (ARC Energy Trust) - Nov. 21
Appendix G1 - Income trusts are efficient at investing and growing, PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP - Dec. 7
Appendix G2 - Income Trust Report, PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP - Dec. 11
Appendix H - Taxation Process for Trust Income
Appendix I - Comparison of Income Trusts and Public Corporations - Taxability
The release of the Report was made with a news conference that can be heard online.
The CCET should be applauded by investors and policy administrators for both the report and their invitation for public scrutiny. The Institute is further reviewing the CCET release in the context of prior reports and analysis.
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.