When is enough, enough?

In the course of my life out side the blogsphere I met by chance a CEO of oil and natural gas company based out west. We struck up a conversation as were we both waiting for our appointments. I asked him who he was waiting to see and after he told me I made a glib remark that he would be entering what I nicknamed “the badlands”. He asked me if I was from out West. I told him no, but if the West separates they have to take me with them. There was no way I was going to be left behind to have the very marrow of my bones sucked dry by the pencil lickers in the Confederation. What ensued next was a conversation concerning tax rates in Canada.

Now I am still outraged that I had to come up with tax shelters and strategies for a 12 year old child that was not legally old enough to work and never had, all because she won a scholarship to a private secondary school, and because it was a secondary school, she was not allowed to utilize all the same deductions that a post-secondary student can. It wasn’t always this way in Canada but you know the Liberals. They are quite content to ensure that the public purse stays fat even if that means its on the backs of our children. In my particular case, I was surrounded by some very astute acquaintances that pointed out the tax implications long before the school year started for her so that I did have time to plan and wasn’t hit with a surprise horrendous tax bill come April 30th, unlike many other families of exceptional children in this country.

Mr. X. commiserated with me and said if it was any consolation his accountant had determined that in the course of his lifetime he had ponied up and shelled out more than $10 million in taxes but what he wanted to know was when was enough, enough?

And that’s the real question. When is enough, really enough? I can hear the howls now. If he was able to generate the income necessary to pay taxes totaling $10 million he should not be whining but you know not every one can do that. He started out at 18 with a high school diploma and a dream and it takes a special combination of talent, determination and hard work to make a dream an ongoing reality. In the course of Mr. X pursuing his dream he created the environment to help countless thousands of others survive and prosper. Why are we punishing him? The man deserves a medal and a life time exemption from taxes for reaching $10 million. And unlike other Canadian businessmen I could mention his corporate locations all fly a Canadian flag proudly.