"Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today, Oh how I wish he'd go away!" (Antigonish by William Hughes Mearns.)

While a phantom problem may be laughable in poetry, it's not a laughing matter when it comes to government taxation of Canadians.

26 May, 2009, CBC News reported that: "Thousands of Canadian workers who purchased stock options from their employers before the market downturn are expected to pay millions of dollars in taxes on income they haven't received because the shares have lost their value."

A little-known Canadian tax law requires Canadians to pay income tax on the market value of stocks when they are issued-not on their lesser value if they are later sold at a lower price. Those affected call it a tax on "phantom income."

The complexities and unfairness of our current income tax laws penalise hard working and unsuspecting Canadian employees who simply wanted to invest for the future. Tax lawyer William Cooper thinks Ottawa should allow people to claim their losses against the 'income.'

But Finance Minister Jim Flaherty indicated Ottawa has no plan to help affected taxpayers. "The tax laws apply to all of us equally," Flaherty said. "… So, I can't and I won't hold out any hope of any tax exemptions in respect to that."

There are no 'bail-outs' for the average, everyday, working Canadian.

The CHP does not support bail-outs, but we do believe that the tax laws should be simple and transparent. This is yet another example of why Canada needs a fairer and less complex tax system. The CHP offers a simpler and fairer form of taxation based on the simple principle of private property rights. The government has no business taxing private property; income, capital gains, estate taxes, or otherwise. As a nation that wants to be a world leader, we need to reward the hard work, entrepreneurialism, and innovation of individuals and industry, not punish it.

Cooper said that, in his experience with tax policy makers in Ottawa, the effects of unfair tax rules are often not taken into consideration.

The CHP proposed 'Fair Tax' is a fair and intelligent solution to the frustration and inequality of our current system-so complex that no one in the country, including the Finance Minister, understands it-and which subjects businesses to extraordinary burdens just trying to file their returns.

The 'Fair Tax' is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income taxes with a national retail sales tax, provides a pre-bate to ensure no Canadian pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, and is a dollar-for-dollar federal revenue replacement. It is gaining wide support in the US and is widely recognised by economists to be the most equitable form of taxation. 'Fair tax' is simple tax that would be administered by existing sales tax authorities. The 'Fair Tax' puts the taxpayer in control of how much tax they pay by taxing us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn.

The 'Fair Tax' will create jobs in Canada. It acts as an incentive to savings and investing, which is vital to a thriving economy. Canada has a massive trade deficit with other nations. 'Fair Tax' will provide a major boost to the competitiveness of Canadian industry. As a result, Canadian businesses will be much less likely to locate their production and head offices in other countries, and foreign companies will have an incentive to locate in Canada. The result of this real stimulus to our economy will be more Canadians gainfully employed.

The CHP has a fresh approach to stimulating the economy, providing jobs for Canadians and helping them keep their hard-earned income. The CHP is committed to revitalising the Canadian economy with a plan that is simple and transparent. Now that's fair!