Any proposal that would continue preferential tax treatment for trusts is unfair by definition. It fails to treat all Canadians the same for tax purposes. To the extent we can, surely that's the goal toward which we must strive--tax fairness in Canada. As I said, I hope to create more tax fairness in Canada, not less.
This most recent proposal of many proposals from the Liberal Party is a hodge-podge of a little bit of this and that. But it would continue the systemic, structural, preferential tax treatment of one form of corporate structure over others, at the expense of individuals in Canada.
The more useful commentary I've heard of late came from the New Democratic Party on the issue of accounting rules for income trusts. There has been some fairly informed commentary on this in the media and by the New Democratic Party. If further work were to be done on income trusts, I'd be inclined to look at the accuracy and fairness of the accounting that is being done to individuals in Canada who are unit holders of income trusts.
On the leakage issue, I know that some Liberals are fond of saying they don't believe the leakage numbers. I invite them to go back and look at their own figures in 2004 when Mr. Goodale was the Minister of Finance. The leakage, according to their own calculations at the time, was $300 million, and grew with the growth of the income trust sector thereafter.