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Letter
Sparks Response
from Regina's
LeaderPost
June 2002
view the scan of the article
or visit
The LeaderPost online
It is with
a sense of sadness, smoldering anger and indignation that I
read the letter from Barb Byers in The LeaderPost. Her
justification for limiting the salaries of CEOs to 10 times
the salary and benefits of the lowest-paid worker is, I believe,
uninformed at best and dangerous at worst.
I have often
read interviews with Byers and have always respected and admired
her dedication and devotion to her cause. In this instance,
I believe her views lack balance. No consideration has been
given to what it takes to get to a level where you are paid
an exceptionally high salary.
I am the
president, CEO, chief cook and bottle washer of a small Regina
business: a blue-collar worker who hopes to earn a salary someday
in excess of the 10 times mark. Let me show Byers how a person
might achieve this.
It all starts
with a dream and desire to make money in a job you enjoy. To
set your own hours and be the master of your domain... so to
speak. You spend time on a business plan. You take you severance,
your mortgage, your RRSP and whatever else you can beg, borrow
or steal to your local banker and ask for a chance to make your
plan a reality.
Unfortunately,
you encounter a 22-year-old account manager who believes, and
will throughout your career continue to believe, he knows more
about your business than you do. You are so financially tied
that you have to show up at his office once a week just to prove
you haven't left town. You put up with this because you believe
in yourself. So, onward you go.
For the
first three years, you don't get sick - you can't afford to.
You start at 8 a.m. and work until 9 p.m. There are precious
few moments with your family. When you sleep, you dream about
everything you have to do the next day.
There are
no coffee breaks. It is consumed on the run. Lunch is a luxury
enjoyed at the drive-thru. There are no holidays, weekends,
or long weekends. You believe God created Sundays so you can
catch up on your bookwork.
Then you
hire an employee or two and immediately double your problems
- sick days, holidays, stat holidays, payroll taxes, T4s, etc.
You have to learn to manage people and bureaucracy. But you're
growing, so onward you go.
Then, one
day, you have your first major revelation. You realize you are
the lowest-paid employee in the place. What's left after everyone
else gets looked after doesn't come close to minimum wage. Yet
you continue to bear all the risk. You still believe in the
dream.
The next
few years are harder still. You need a holiday, but you can't
leave for very long or be too far away from the phone.
Then comes
the second revelation. You are at work on a stat holiday and
realize that you're working to pay the wages of people who get
the day off. You're not working for yourself any longer. But
you still enjoy what you do, so onward you go.
Finally,
it starts to happen. You pay off a couple of loans, get some
respect from your banker and create a little cash flow. Then
you realize your competition has stepped up, your technology
is outdated (not to mention your vehicles). The weather is affecting
your business and you have to reinvent yourself.
Then comes
revelation number three. The stress and need to continually
grow to get ahead and stay ahead is never going to go away.
Every day, you fight the good fight all over. Fortunately, you
make some correct decisions, and in the end you have a credible
business. The serious money should be there and the experience
you gained along the way will help ensure it stays there.
If you don't
believe in the dream any more, you can take that experience
and be compensated for it elsewhere.
But wait
- another problem has arisen. Someone wants to legislate your
salary because they feel you have more than you need or deserve.
Byers has disrespected every business owner in Saskatchewan.
And she has disrespected every wannabe owner who has the desire
and work ethic and is trying to put their plan in motion. These
people walk and walk and talk and talk. While others look on,
they step up to the plate and put their capital on the line.
And they hire people - a lot of people.
There is
a cardinal rule a banker friend told me. Capital is a coward.
It will always take the easy route and go where it is welcomed.
Favourable tax laws, labour laws, business climate will always
take precedence over restrictions and uncertainty. In the context
of investing capital in Saskatchewan, the comments by Byers
are very damaging.
Perhaps
in Calgary, Toronto or Montreal, Byers and I would be at odds.
But in this province, we are on the same side. We are neighbours.
Our kids attend the same schools and we meet each other at various
functions. She wants capital and investment here for the benefit
of labour. Having more people here would be great for my business
as well. I hope she will keep our common goals and objectives
in mind when making future comments.
Jim
Kalyn
Kalyn
is president of Superior Vending Ltd.
Regina
Dealer
Appreciation
The Lunchbox
Marcine Kalyn
from Regina's
LeaderPost
November 2000
view the scan of the article or visit
The LeaderPost online
Whether it's a coffee break, lunch break or something in between,
The Lunchbox delivers on time, every time. Business, construction,
and sporting events can count on Regina's finest mobile catering
service.
We offer
the best selection of fresh pastry, sandwiches, salads and hot
food, all prepared by Regina Health District approved caterers.
Chef salad, Shepherd's Pie, Ukrainian Dinner, Corn Dogs - we
carry it all.
To
have one of the bright orange trucks stop by,
please call 539-3382
or visit us at www.SuperiorVendingLtd.com.
On
September 20, Superior Vending Ltd. hosted a BBQ for Saskferco
out at the Belle Plaine Plant
from Moose
Jaw This Week
October 1, 2000
view the scan of the article
[Image: Harvey Lauer & Garnet Owens cooking for event.]
On September
20, Superior Vending Ltd. hosted a BBQ for Saskferco out at
the Belle Plaine Plant
"We
have been providing vending services for Saskferco since October
1991" said Jim Kalyn, President of Superior Vending Ltd.
"In the past nine years we have been through orientations,
shutdowns and expansions. All throughout, they have made us
feel like we are a part of their team. As they have grown, so
have we. We added coffee services, cold food, frozen food and
novelties and bill changers to our lineup of cold drinks, chips,
and bars. With their support we are now Saskatchewan's largest
independent vending company. We wanted to say thank you in a
tangible way."
SUPERIOR
VENDING
First in Full-Service Vending
In
Moose Jaw our phone no. is 694-8363
or visit us at www.superiorvendingltd.com
CALL
FOR A FREE BROCHURE
Vending
machine operator dislikes tax
By BRUCE
JOHNSTONE
L-P Financial Editor
from Regina's LeaderPost
March 2000
view the scan of the article or visit
The LeaderPost online
At least one vending machine operator in Saskatchewan is worried
about the impact that an expanded provincial sales tax (PST)
will have on his business.
Jim Kalyn,
president of Superior Vending Ltd. of Regina, which operates
vending machines in Regina and Moose Jaw, says imposing a five-per-cent
sales tax on snack foods - as recommended by the Personal Income
Tax Revenue Committee - would be a major headache for his company.
"We
have one tax - the GST (goods and services tax) - included in
the price. Adding the PST would cause us to break the psychological
$1 (price) barrier," Kalyn said.
Unlike
the province's restauranteurs, Kalyn doesn't oppose the recommendations
of the committee, chaired by U of S accounting professor Jack
Vicq. In fact, Kalyn was in one of Prof. Vicq's accounting classes
in the College of Commerce in the early 1970s.
"We're
in agreement with the Vicq report. I support any tax cut,"
he said, referring to the $434-million cut in income taxes proposed
by the Vicq committee. "We're really asking for more time
to deal with this (PST expansion)."
Under the
committee's proposal, restaurant meals and snack foods would
be included in the sales tax base. At present, PST is not applied
on restaurant meals or snack foods, but the GST is. Basic groceries
are exempt from both taxes.
Kalyn said
the problem is not so much the amount of tax, but the expense
of upgrading vending machine systems, which have been changed
frequently in recent years to accommodate changes in coinage
and taxes.
First,
the machines had to be adapted to accept one-dollar coins, then
with the advent of the GST in 1989 a seven-per-cent consumption
tax.
In April
1991, the Devine government harmonized the PST with the GST,
which required another change. Then in October 1991, the newly
elected NDP government rescinded the harmonized tax, resulting
in another change.
More recently,
the machines had to be upgraded to handle two-dollar coins,
which cost anywhere from $90 to $300 per machine. And there
have been changes in deposits and environmental charges.
Now he's
getting the machines ready to accept a new quarter June 1, which
has a different metal content than silver quarter. And if the
Vicq recommendations are adopted, the sales tax will be expanded
July 1, requiring yet another change to the machines.
"There
have been changes every year - taxes, or deposits or environmental
charges."
Kalyn said
he's lobbied Finance Minister Eric Cline and NDP MLAs to delay
the PST expansion in order to give vending machine operators
more time to make the changes.
"Give
us a year to complete the upgrades to the machines," he
said.
An official
with the Finance Department confirmed that products sold from
vending machines would be subject to PST, if the Vicq recommendations
are adopted by the province.
Which,
if any, of the Vicq recommendations will be adopted by the provincial
government will be known in the March 29 budget, the official
added.
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