36.5 BILLION GONE

[cottonpicken]

36.5 billion of market capitalization gone on the income trust thing. Surprise move on the conservatives part.

[silverback]

It has only disappeared on paper.

There has been a huge run up on trusts over the past few months that maybe wasn't justified.

I think it is a good time to buy some units (if I had some money) because there is still at least 4 years of no changes correct?

[cottonpicken]

Only disappeared on paper?

[crusher]

Now you see it, now you don't. Kinda reminds me of the PRO for CPS 2005/6. When I signed up my tonnes October 2005 the PRO was $160/tonne. The latest PRO is $145 and Kansas wheat has gone up over 50% in that time.

Yee ha!!

Sorry dinosaur directors but I'm doing everything I can to see that you are on out of here. Go Henry! Go Tom!

Sorry to get off topic cottenpicken but I CAN"T TAKE IT ANY MORE.

[silverback]

Yes, on paper.

It's only worth something if it is sold (IMHO)

[agstar77]

The market will recover but the government has done a lot of damage for no reason. They have acted irresponsibly and without a proper accounting for their actions. They will be rewarded at the next election. They could have put a moratorium on new trusts and phased the rest out over 10 years. The decreased market value of oil and gas trusts make them easy takeover targets for foreigners. American unit holders get a better tax deal than Canadians , Canadian oil and gas trusts will have a harder time raing capital to find new reserves etc. etc.

[silverback]

Or they could have leaked what they were going to do to their friends before the announcement so they could sell it off and then change their mind and leave it the way it was when everyone got upset.

[agstar77]

How do you know they didn't leak it to their friends?

[agstar77]

You might also want to check out Steve's editorial in the Oct 26 2005 National Post, to see what a good thing they have done.

[silverback]

Because they markets didn't sell off like they did before the announcement by the Liberals, that's how!

Do you remember the panic and outrage by the seniors at that time who were upset?

What did this government do for them this time? Income splitting ring a bell?

Would you like to see the corporate profit taxed at the investor level rather than corporate? Should these big bad companies pay tax or not?

Just because a tax saving idea like income trusts were invented shouldn't mean that we can't look at them and decide if that is how it should be now.

[agstar77]

Everyone agreed the trusts were getting out of hand. But when a political party boasts they are not going to touch them to get elected and then does. What does that say about the honesty and integrity of all politicians? The Liberals screwed up and the Conservative/Reform did them one better.

[cowman]

The fact is Harper blatantly lied on this one? No two ways about it? It was on the news last night?
Thats twice(Remember when he appointed Fortier?)! Three times and he should be out?
I don't know if both these lies were necessary...but when do you say hey wait a minute, this guy is just another lying politician? Stevens halo is getting pretty tarnished right about now?

[silverback]

I think I had it backwards. Did the Liberals say they were going to tax them and the price dropped, then after people got upset, they leaked that they weren't going to do that so the price went up and the traders had a good day??

Sorry, can't remember properly today.

But what would the reaction have been if they did nothing and things carried on to a critical point? People would have been screaming that they should have done something! There is no way to win no matter who is in power with this taxation situation.

[agstar77]

If you wish to see how bad this proposal really is go to www.theglobeandmail.com/bnfiles/business/2006/PDF/canaccord.pdf.

[northfarmer]

i have my money invested in farming and commodities/production, not in income trusts.......do not need tax loopholes for raising capital....farm is not large enough to use income trust model to take my money out of the business ....plus the hiccup in the dollar is good for my commodities...

plain and simple..they closed a Liberal created coorporate tax loophole that was growing out of control and likely in ways the Liberals did not even intend it to...they give a four year phase out adjustment period.....and BCE and Telus do not get in on the big break...big deal...

thanks Steven and Jim for having the fortitude to do what is right....move the break to seniors on fixed incomes and pensions...level the coorporate tax playing field and simplify...the lawyers, accountants and financial advisors and banks will lose on the fees generates by moving and managing the move to the trust structure...big deal......the markets will recover when the shock of the change is digested.....they are open makets and they will abritrage to normalcy over time...

.....so the marekt dropped 36.5 billion....it should over time move to relect the actual tax implication of the change, plus overhead, which is a small fraction of that number....I would suggest that is a buy signal to go back into the market and average your cost down on your trust investments if that is where your money is, and make more money of the hysteria the media and the liberals have created...