The owner of a popular on-line forum for investors says it's surprised it hasn't been contacted by the RCMP as part of the force's criminal investigation into possible leaks about Finance Minister Ralph Goodale's tax plans for income trusts.
Stockgroup Information Systems Inc., which operates StockHouse.ca, said yesterday that on Nov. 23 at least one person posted information on its Bullboards forum about Mr. Goodale's plans several hours before the Finance Minister made his announcement. At about 6 p.m. that day, Mr. Goodale said the government planned to increase tax credits on dividends in order to level the playing field with income trusts, which are not taxed. He also ruled out a tax on income trusts.
The RCMP launched an investigation into a possible leak last month after several members of Parliament alleged that some investors got wind of the news earlier in the day and drove up the share prices of several income trusts and companies that pay large dividends. Mr. Goodale has denied any wrongdoing and said that speculation about the announcement had been widespread in the market throughout the day.
In a message posted on the StockHouse website, publisher Darin Diehl highlighted the Nov. 23 postings on the Bullboards forum. One message, posted just after 11 a.m., said: "Skuttlebutt [sic] is that [Mr. Goodale] will soon announce a reduction on dividend taxation to 'even the playing field.' "
Another posting just before 4 p.m. said: "The hot rumour is that the government's decision on the income trust issue is that they are going to make a more level playing field by reducing the degree of double taxation which currently exists on dividends by increasing the dividend tax credit."
Bruce Nunn, Stockgroup's vice-president of marketing, said yesterday that the company is surprised the RCMP has not followed up.
"If the RCMP is investigating this, then we were just surprised that they hadn't tried to speak to the people that were actually communicating this information in advance via our site," Mr. Nunn said.
He added that the company decided to issue a press release yesterday about the postings "to show evidence of how this information was communicated in advance of the Finance Minister's announcement."
He said Stockgroup does not normally disclose the identity of forum participants but would comply with a court order requiring disclosure.
RCMP spokesman Paul Marsh said the police will not discuss details of the investigation.
"We'll take the necessary steps to ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted," he said.
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