The Editor,
After reading Jordan Baker's article entitled "Alleged tax evaders say act is illegal" on December 7, I was thinking it was a nice unbiased news story about the trial of the Desautels.
What I came to realize is it was biased and the title gave it away. While I was in court curiously watching the proceedings with Jordan Baker sitting in front of me, not once did Norman and Dorothy Desautels say this act was illegal.
What they did say is that the act does not exist and if it does . . . produce it here today. Three years ago when I was in the middle of an audit after I thought I was being a good taxpayer for 16 years, I asked the 30-year veteran auditor if he could get me a certified true copy of the income tax act of 1948 for my records.
1948 is when income tax first was introduced into law to stay and every revision since is supposed to be off this original act. That's the way the process works and I wanted to read it. To my surprise this Revenue Canada employee could not get me one. At first he said they would have it in their library, but in his final days at my business, he said he couldn't get me one and to find it myself.
This started me to doubt the whole process. I then asked a family member who financially supports the local MP out of Estevan and both times the request to the MP's office was not fulfilled. If we can find copies of the Bible going back 2,000 plus years why can't the people of Canada see a certified copy of the 1948 Income Tax Act and settle this or better yet maybe this is a case for myth busters.
Troy Foster,
Carlyle, Sask.
(Editor's note: Jordan Baker was personally thanked by the Desautels for his balanced coverage of their trial.)
