Long-haul truckers and others who spend time working on the road are being invited to join a class-action suit against Ottawa to fight what are being called discriminatory tax laws.

A Yukoner is one of the official plaintiffs.

Although the issue has been actively pursued for two years now, the suit was only filed with the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Dec. 22, in Kelowna, B.C.

Class action spokesman Ernie Slump said in an interview Tuesday he expects the federal government will surrender in advance of a trial because it's hopelessly on the losing side and it knows it.

Under the income tax provisions, according to the 24-page statement of claim filed by a Summerland, B.C. law office on behalf of 1,900 participants, federal employees enjoy much greater expense advantages under income tax provisions.

Federal employees who are away on business are paid a non-taxable $73.10 per day to cover meal expenses, without providing any receipts, says the statement of claim.

It says truckers and others who spend time on the road, however, are only eligible to claim a non-taxable $22.50 per day to cover meal expenses, and receipts are required.

'There are already 1,901 Canadian taxpayers who have retained their counsel-of-choice for this proposed class action, and the plaintiffs estimate that there will be as many as 300,000 Canadian taxpayers who are potential members of this proposed class,' says the statement of claim.

The official plaintiffs are 11 truckers from across Canada, one from each province, and David Howie of Whitehorse.

Slump, the owner-publisher of the TruckSpeaker monthly publication, said from his Penticton, B.C., home and office that the federal government is fully aware of the discrepancy in income tax provisions between the private and public sector workers who spend time on the road.

Several of the truckers involved in the class action, for instance, have already received cheques of $10,000 as reimbursements from the federal tax man, Slump said.

When the issue started drawing attention, he said, truckers living in Liberal ridings in Ontario were able to claim the full meal deal without any federal resistance.

'We don't want these guys (federal employees) to get anything less; we just want the travelling public to get the same as these guys,' Slump said.

'We have taken them to court under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; either we are all the same, or not.'

Federal spokesman Shane Diaczuk from the office of National Revenue Minister John McCallum said Tuesday the federal government will not be commenting on the matter as it is now before the courts.

Slump said the trucking industry is going through tough times. More and more truckers are parking their rigs to go work in the oil fields of Alberta because they're having trouble putting food on the table from behind the wheel, he said.

Having the same tax advantage as federal employees would at least provide some financial advantage and flexibility, he said.

Slump said being able to claim the $73.10 as non-taxable revenue to cover meal expenses might make it easier for a trucker to do required maintenance, because a symptom of the tight times are trucks not being maintained the way they should be.

If a trucker could claim $73.10, but spend $25 for meals, he or she might use the $50-a-day advantage to do that maintenance, he said.

The money, said Slump, would go directly back into the economy in one way or another, so it's not as though Canadian taxpayers will suddenly be out all this revenue if the class action suit is successful.

One trucker from Manitoba who has provided a spread sheet of his annual expense claims for meals over the years filed a meal deduction of $6,539.50 for 2000, for example, Slump explained.

He said a federal employee working the same number of days on the road would be eligible for meal expenses to receive $23,520.68 from the federal employer, income tax-free, with no receipts required.

A committee of federal employees sets the per diem expense allowance for federal employees, Slump noted.

He said one of the problems is the intimidating nature of Revenue Canada and the muscle it tends to flex to keep taxpayers nervous and compliant.

But in two recent cases he knows of, the federal department has been admonished by the courts for what amounted to harassment of two taxpayers, and ordered to pay damages to them, Slump said.

What he says is all true, from the tax advantage being first extended to truckers living in Ontario Liberal ridings to the $10,000-reimbursements received by others, he stressed.

'I only publish the truth, and by doing that, I don't have to worry about what I said.'

The federal government, said Slump, knows it's up the creek without a paddle.

'I think there is real trouble coming here, and real soon, if they do not get their act together.'

There is a cost of $200 for anyone wanting to join the class action suit. Those who already have are being asked to contribute another $100, he said.

Slump said there is probably $30 billion in valid claims against Ottawa as a result of what he continues to call the discriminatory tax policies.

He doubts taxpayers will get it all back, though they are looking for a settlement. At the very least, they're seeking affirmation that truckers and others who work on the road will receive the same tax advantage as federal employees working on the road do.

'As a result of the defendants wrongfully receiving and retaining the plaintiffs and the class money, the plaintiffs and the class have suffered loss of enjoyment of life and consequential damages arising from being deprived to the use of these funds, particulars of which will be provided at the trial or other disposition of this action,' reads the statement of claim.

Tom Johnston, the Summerland lawyer who filed the suit, said Tuesday that 1,400 to 1,500 of the 1,900 who are in the class action have started filing for and receiving the tax benefit equivalent to the $73.10 per day, without receipts.

The key, he said, is proper records, providing the log book to show when a trucker driver was on the road.

Slump said there are some feelings out there that while the federal government will be forced to make amends with those in the class action, it may still try to hold back the additional tax advantage for anybody not in the class.