Now, I know people have gotten a bit tetchy with me because I pillory anybody who takes advantage of the corporate income tax structure to abuse the tax system be it a small or large business, and sometimes this hits a little too close to home.

But the fact is, this litany is unbelievable, and just scratches the surface of what CIBC is doing while screwing workers out of legitimate overtime pay.

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# Step 1: Change your last name to Limited, Incorporated, or (best of all) Trust.

# Step 2: Instead of declaring wages like a normal working stiff, declare capital gains. Then you only owe tax on half of your income. Better yet, declare flow-through dividends, and pay virtually no tax at all.

# Step 3: Shrink yourself, and pay less tax. For some reason, smaller incorporated businesses face a lower rate than bigger ones. That's worth $4-billion per year.

# Step 4: Find a valuable non-renewable resource that belongs to someone else, dig it up, and sell it. Then pay the owners a big fat one per cent royalty. That's how it works in the oil sands -- no wonder oil profits are so high.

# Step 5: Individuals have good years and bad years. But they have to pay tax when the good times are rolling, as if they'll never stop. Businesses, however, get to carry forward losses to reduce taxes in the good years. That saves $5-billion per year.

# Step 6: Make friends in high places who cut your tax rates year after year -- whether you need it or not.

# Step 7: When you've finished your return, open a bottle of really expensive wine to celebrate your successful tax avoidance. Then go back and write off half its cost as a legitimate business expense.

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