On Honesty Fairness and Paying Your Taxes

My favourite Globe columnist uses the existence of a fictitious crotchety old school Uncle (Fred) to underscore the ludicrous nature of some of the things that happen in Canada - usually in politics. On Saturday he attempted to explain to Uncle Fred the mechanism by which Brian Mulroney avoided paying tax on half of the money he received from Karlheinz Schreiber. It's a question all Canadians were asking themselves after that revelation came out at the enquiry. I have taken selected quotes out to the column but the whole thing is well worth the read - just go to http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/uncle-fred-says-if-its-good-enough-for-brian/article1150076/. Interestingly readers were not allowed to comment on the article for "legal reasons". Too bad because I'm sure we all had lots to say. Hope you enjoy, Gary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeffrey Simpson Uncle Fred says if it's good enough for Brian … “You are supposed to be wise in the ways of public affairs. I have been following the Brian Mulroney inquiry, and I wish to know how I can make adjustments to my economic, tax and financial circumstances following what I heard from him at that inquiry.” ……………………………………………………………………………………… “I am a pensioner, as you know, as is Mildred. How can we get our pensions turned into what Karlheinz Schreiber paid to Mulroney - a ‘retainer,' he called it - on which you apparently don't have to pay tax for many years? It would appear, Fred, that you don't do any serious work for the retainer, just a conversation here and there. But when you do some work, or you fear someone might find out that you haven't paid tax, or you decide to spend the money, or some combination of the above, you make a voluntary declaration.” ………………………………………………………. “You hire a tax accountant, Fred. You send the accountant off to negotiate with the government. Then, you never ask any questions, or even look at your tax return and - presto - you pay tax on only half the amount.” ………………………………………………………