Note: This shows merely a 'perception' of corruption.
Perhaps people in countries such as Canada are better at hiding their corruption or have legalized it*.
The reason why I'm writing about this issue is because I am passionately against public-sector corruption and waste of tax money as I have seen many cases of inefficient, irresponsible, incompetent government employees wasting away hard-earned income of Canadian (gathered through Canadian income tax paid to both federal and provincial government as well as sales tax - harmonized tax).
Not coming from the privileged class that benefits or have benefited from these corruptions and scandals and being a mere common citizen, I find that it is outrageous when a country like Canada (which I have very high esteem for) show layers of corruption decaying and destroying social safety net slowly but...surely
The recent scandal I would like to talk about have a very alluring title for all readers: Senator's husband put $1.7 M in an offshore tax haven - titled 'The Lawyer, The Senator and The Government.'
To summarize, media-friendly and therefore high-profile class action suit lawyer Tony Merchant has been carefully stowing away money offshore- in Cook's island- to evade tax in Canada.
Senator Pana Merchant, left, was named as a beneficiary of a trust set up by her husband, lawyer Tony Merchant.
He was very clever about it - so in order not to get caught, he managed to avoid any paper trail or tried extremely hard to do that. No fax, no e-mail, no phone calls - correspondence through mail only and he would pay the bank fee in cash in mail - no wire-transfer. He and his wife Pana Merchant, current senator, was so careful that Pana Merchant didn't declare herself beneficiary, which she was - and she also did not report any foreign income.
CRA has actually been on his case for years and to evade this, Tony Merchant took this outrageously disgusting plan to action... Isn't making over 120 million from suiting government 'on behalf of natives' not enough that you have to avoid paying tax? are you forgetting that your wife's also getting paid by the government, with tax payers' money in a form of salary of 130K? for doing....what exactly? what does she do exactly?
This came in light as soon as the massive leak of document revealing undisclosed financial records of more than 100,000 people around the world in relation with offshore tax havens - suspected to include hundreds of Canadians.
And the media, CBS, has not disclose the name of all 450 Canadians yet, and there is an excuse article for this: Why CBC isn't naming all 450 Canadians in offshore leak
And delicately tread they must, as CBC's Amanda Lang is the niece of the recent headliner, Tony Merchant, 'the lawyer' in the above mentioned article - meaning the list must be comprised of very high-profile people very closely connected with the politic. And as in Anna Karenina, where Vronsky is begging other high socialite to invite Anna and include her, the lady says: if she broke the law I don't care, but she broke the rule!! - which means that rule of upperclass people must work differently than us commoners. This hypothesis was actually validated by Senator Downe who is seeking answers from Pana Merchant, 'the senator' in above article that
"The government is not taking any action," he asserted. "You go on the CRA website and you'll see all kinds of examples of Canadians from coast to coast to coast charged and convicted with domestic tax evasion. You'll see carpenters in Eastern Canada, doctors in Western Canada. What you will not see is one person charged with overseas tax evasion….
"Domestically, Canadians are treated one way, and people who hide money overseas — very rich Canadians trying to avoid taxes — are treated completely different. It’s grossly unfair." - files from CBC's Curt Petrovich ---Click here for the full article
The reason why I cry foul, is not because of this recent incident - politician, public sector employees and corruption has always been a synonym. Hardly anything new.
For example, Merali's sinister orchestration with e-health in Ontario which costed previous early retirement of then health minister and millions and millions to tax payer in Ontario, and then our incompetent government not taking any action - despite the fact that it was all OVER the MEDIA!!! but of course in another province, the same corrupt people welcomes him and then gives him all-expense paid by the tax-payer card and he racks up huge expense- big cost to the government. There's an old idiom from sage, "Bitch's habit does not leave the Bitch" and yes, Merali is a living example to that idiom.
All the while, CRA (Canadian Revenue Agency) is understaffed with recent cut introduced by the finance minister Tom Flaherty, and what's more, the CRA has a disgusting habit in that they go after the small fish that does not have political power or the wealth to defend themselves.
They would go for cases that are easy win - independent business owners, doctors and etc - not that they should let them get away - but if someone's evading tax by millions and millions and not thousands, shouldn't you go after those millions and not the thousands?
* Referring to the inefficient and horrible life-time appointment of the senate system (changes made to limit the age of participation/retirement as there were senators who had Alzheimer's who still took part of the discussion making it a laughing stock, as well as sexual assault convict and senate who could possibly be dyslexic as he 'made mistake' from ticking the box asking for yes/no answer (Mike Duffy) and etc)
* Also referring to Toronto Transit Commission ticket collector who makes over 100K, although this is bad management than 'corruption' - but people let it slide were being very noncontinuous with the tax money, thus mismanaging public purse would also mean corruption.
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