Finance committee  No, other than to express what a pleasure it is to be back here, and hopefully we'll be able to proceed with some of the work here today. Thank you very much.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  With all due respect, Mr. Chair, first of all, it's not up to me, as a civil servant, to table amendments to any bill. I did not bring up any amendments to the bill the last time I was here because that is not my place. I cannot table amendments to the bill. I can explain amendme

Finance committee  You can ask the parliamentary secretary.

Finance committee  Yes, and I am not aware of any other project that may have been prepared by the department in respect of this bill for submission to our—

Finance committee  In the long run, it should be neutral. By making an election under this, it may happen that you recognize some income in earlier years that wouldn't be recognized if you left the provisions to apply as they were as of 2007. That would imply a revenue increase to the government. B

Finance committee  It's not an additional tax break. In fact, it's proposed that this bill, which, generally speaking, introduces new tightening measures vis-à-vis foreign investment entities and non-resident trusts, applies not only from 2007 onward, which is what the bill says, but on an elective

Finance committee  It responds to a change in circumstances that arose with the tabling of this bill, in which the coming into force provision for the parts that relate to foreign investment entities and non-resident trusts was moved forward--or later, whichever way you look at it. Instead of start

Finance committee  This happened in November. It was generally regarded that this was going to be something that was not controversial, and well accepted. And afterwards, out of the woodwork, came...you know, there are 30 million taxpayers in Canada, and--

Finance committee  That's what I'm explaining. Something did happen. The coming into force got changed from starting in 2003 to starting in 2007. That's reflected in this bill.

Finance committee  Last November.

Finance committee  The bill was tabled as a notice of ways and means motion, I believe around November 22 or something like that, carried forward as a bill. This is the first opportunity for the government to propose amendments to the bill, so this is when they're being proposed.

Finance committee  A good two-thirds or better of the amendments proposed in here all say the same thing. Effectively, what it's about is allowing taxpayers to elect to apply the amendments that deal with foreign investment entities, FIEs, and non-resident trusts, or NRTs, to taxation years before

Finance committee  You might have a situation, for example, in which, relying on the foreign investment entity rules and the market provisions, a taxpayer generated a capital loss in an earlier year--in 2003, 2004, 2005, or 2006--or the taxpayer generated a capital gain that was offset by a capital