quote:

Originally posted by ResonantDrag Can someone please explain how being chairman of an incorporated 501 (c) (3) makes Gore the owner? maybe non-profits are run differently in Canada, but tax laws are slightly different here in the states. from the IRS website irs.gov i hope this helps clear things up for the herring hunters

Understood but I think you may be splitting hairs here.

The fact that he 'happens' to be a chairman on the board is rather curious no?

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

Not really. Why would he buy credits from another company/organization if he knows one really well already.

quote:

Originally posted by Sunsnail Not really. Why would he buy credits from another company/organization if he knows one really well already.

So in other words, you don't see a conflict of interest anywhere?

[edit]Legally or morally?

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

If I was interested in buying carbon credits or whatever, and I was chairman of a carbon credit selling organization... why shouldn't I be able to buy it from the organization?

quote:

Originally posted by Sunsnail If I was interested in buying carbon credits or whatever, and I was chairman of a carbon credit selling organization... why shouldn't I be able to buy it from the organization?

For the same reason I stated above, conflict of interest.

ie.

quote:

More generally, conflict of interest can be defined as any situation in which an individual or corporation (either private or governmental) is in a position to exploit a professional or official capacity in some way for their personal or corporate benefit. Depending upon the law or rules related to a particular organization, the existence of a conflict of interest may not, in and of itself, be evidence of wrongdoing. In fact, for many professionals, it is virtually impossible to avoid having conflicts of interest from time to time. A conflict of interest can, however, become a legal matter for example when an individual tries (and/or succeeds in) influencing the outcome of a decision, for personal benefit. A director or executive of a corporation will be subject to legal liability if a conflict of interest breaches their Duty of Loyalty.

>>Source<<

Being Chairman of the board probably means he owns some stock in the company he's buying from.
Given that, how does he not personally profit from these transactions?

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

So ethically, he should buy it from another carbon credit company? Just because he's chairman of one?

I can understand if you are a politician and you're using tax dollars to spend in a corporation that you are head of, but this is his own money isnt it?

quote:

Originally posted by Sunsnail So ethically, he should buy it from another carbon credit company? Just because he's chairman of one? I can understand if you are a politician and you're using tax dollars to spend in a corporation that you are head of, but this is his own money isnt it?

Well for one, it's highly illegal...

That's why politicians (especially politicians) normally set up a 'blind trust' when they are in a government position.

quote:

A blind trust is a trust in which the executors or those who have been given power of attorney have full discretion over the assets, and the trust beneficiaries have no knowledge of the holdings of the trust. Blind trusts are generally used when a trustor wishes to keep the beneficiary unaware of the specific assets in the trust, such as to avoid conflict of interest between the beneficiary and the investments. Politicians often place their personal assets (including investment income) into blind trusts, to avoid public scrutiny and accusations of conflicts of interest when they direct government funds to the private sector.

>>Source<<

A great example of this is our own PM Paul Martin.
While serving as Canada's PM, Paul was under a lot of scrutiny because he still had decision making ability under a company he owned, CSL Group Inc.
Technically, he should have had a 'blind trust' set up but instead, had a...

quote:

"Supervisory Agreement" to be managed by lawyers and financial advisers, although he would be allowed to intervene in company decision-making should events warrant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Martin

This was just one of the (many) reasons the Liberals lost the last election here in Canada.

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

The legal term is "arms-length transaction".

i like to call it a tax scam.

i'm so glad he's not out there like Edwards (a.k.a. The Silky Pony) talking about "two Americas" or some fake shit like that.

quote:

Originally posted by Fir3start3r Being Chairman of the board probably means he owns some stock in the company he's buying from. Given that, how does he not personally profit from these transactions?

we're still a little confused on the definition of a NON-profit. the board cannot financially gain from contributing to the company. although the boards (in most non-profits) are the main source of revenue for maintaining operating costs for the the companies.

ie. the only people that can profit from non-profits are the staff.

of course, there are tax advantages to contributing to 501 (c) (3)s, but he could get the exact same benefits contributing to his church or the boy scouts. there's nothing shady about that at all. that's why the tax codes are written that way.

quote:

Originally posted by Q5echo i like to call it a tax scam. i'm so glad he's not out there like Edwards (a.k.a. The Silky Pony) talking about "two Americas" or some fake shit like that.

lol.

so is cheney moving to Dubai as well in 2008?

tax scam my ass.

quote:

Originally posted by ResonantDrag tax scam my ass.

regardless of whether he draws an income as chairman (he prolly should and does), he purchases his carbon offsets from himself through a "transaction designed to boost his company's investments" and return a profit to his shareholders, i.e. himself.

= tax scam.