Offshore investments

[overthere]

The thing about tax havens is that they are often used to conceal assets.

If you are hiding assets then you are hiding income.

Canada, like most countries in the world, taxes residents based on your entire world wide income.

So you can park your money all you want around the world so long as you report the income earned and, if you qualify, fill out the T1135 form disclosing certain information about your foreign assets.

It is not a big deal as long as you follow the law.

But if you're trying to hide that income from your ex-spouse then you are also hiding it from the government which means tax evasion.

I know a few people who are CDN citizens but not residents, for tax purposes. It is not hard to do, but you do have to accept being out of country for long periods, like entire winters spend in tropical paradises. They aren't foreign assets if you are not resident.

[msj]

I know a few people who are CDN citizens but not residents, for tax purposes. It is not hard to do, but you do have to accept being out of country for long periods, like entire winters spend in tropical paradises. They aren't foreign assets if you are not resident.

Yeah, I have already mentioned many times that Canada taxes based on residency and if one doesn't want to pay taxes in Canada then one just has to cut residency ties and get out of the country - after paying taxes on deemed capital gains etc...

But this thread is primarily about Canadian residents for tax purposes and how to legally deal with their foreign assets and foreign income so I don't see the point on dwelling on something that I have seen bite many retirees in the behind when they come back to Canada because the big bad world isn't as great as it first seems as soon as you get older and your health goes south.

[jacee]

Yup, anybody's free to leave Canada ... legally.

Interesting piece on Canadian involvement in tax havens:

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=16107

In fact, Canadians were some of the pioneers of tax havens in the Caribbean. The Irving family were one of the earliest business families to use tax havens to shelter their income and many of the Canadian banks played a key role in setting up offshore tax havens in the Caribbean.

...

So for example, Starbucks, all their real estate in Canada is owned by offshore subsidiary so the rents, the payments that the Starbucks stores make goes offshore. It's a way to shift profits offshore and enables them to pay much less in taxes so really, even though it was justified by the previous government as a way to help businesses compete, in fact, they were undermining Canadian businesses, medium and smaller businesses that don't have the same kinds of ability to shift profits overseas like the big corporations do. So it's totally unfair

...

In terms of the RBC, it was found that they were involved in helping plant setup 378 offshore shell companies. My understanding is that they've actually pulled back from doing this under their new leadership, theyve realized that this is a risky business. CIBC, another Canadian bank that had a significant offshore engagement, they actually were getting nervous about all these offshore accounts and they sent a letter to all their offshore customers that had accounts in their offshore subsidiaries to asking them to send evidence that they have reported their offshore accounts in their annual income tax return. And as a result, they ended up cutting off a third of their customers.

...

Now much of the tax haven-related activity by individuals I would say 90% of that is illegal but a lot of what corporations do using tax haven subsidiaries is legal, but it shouldn't be. A lot of it is ways to shift profits. So we need to tighten up on the rules that allow companies to shift profits we need to make sure that companies pay taxes to governments on the basis of where they're making their profits where they have their staff and where their capital investments are.

Corporations using and benefiting from Canadian taxpayer funded infrastructure, services and support to earn profits here ... but not paying taxes on profits earned here.

The employees are paying taxes to support those Canadian services ... but their employer is not.

What the hell do we gain from that?

I say we run them out of town. ?

.

Edited April 14, 2016 by jacee

[jacee]

Panama Papers: Canada's annual tax revenues will increase by $7.8 to $20 billion per year

Canadians For Tax Fairness estimates that Canadian corporations have as much as $199 billion in offshore accounts in countries including Panama, Barbados, the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg. The group estimates that federal and provincial governments lose $7.8 billion a year in tax revenue because of this. The National Observer reports the sum could be more than $20 billion a year.

Revenue Canada's estimate of $2.6b over 5 years in offshore 'recoverables' seems to be very low, based on individuals only.

Now we have the full corporate picture.

The very first thing we can do with the money recovered from the rich crooks ... is to provide clean water systems for all First Nations.

To put those numbers in context, it would cost just $4.7 billion - over a ten year period - to provide clean drinking water and sanitation for First Nations peoples in Canada.

And over those 10 years, we'd still have $75-195 billion more revenue than now ... to close the gap in health, housing, education and social First Nations funding, settle land claims, make new treaties ... address all the First Nations issues that our governments have been kicking down the road for 200 years.

And help Alberta transition from oil to a clean energy powerhouse, and the rest of us.

Provide free postsecondary tuition and housing support.

Oh ... and Guaranteed Annual Income, of course: Get rid of poverty in Canada entirely.

Get our ducks in a row ... wisely.

I don't even mind if we make it 'amnesty' style ... sort of ...

Bring the money home without penalties or criminal charges,

BUT

... make the perps do some community service ... in soup kitchens, jails, community gardens, homeless shelters, street work, kids after school programs, First Nations urban programs and reserves ...

Hit the reset button.

.

Edited April 15, 2016 by jacee

[eyeball]

I don't even mind if we make it 'amnesty' style ... sort of ...

Bring the money home without penalties or criminal charges,

BUT

... make the perps do some community service ... in soup kitchens, jails, community gardens, homeless shelters, street work, kids after school programs, First Nations urban programs and reserves ...

Hit the reset button.

.

Amnesty!? To hell with that. Throw the book at them and their enablers, twice, for good measure.

Millions of people, hundreds of millions maybe billions have been forced to live and die in poverty because there's never been enough money to go around. Our society has been wracked by bitter ideological polarization because there's never been enough money to go around. Future generations have quite likely been condemned to live in a world of increasing deprivation because there's never been enough money to go around.

These f#$%^&* should be lined up against a wall and shot, twice, for good measure.

[jacee]

Amnesty!? To hell with that. Throw the book at them and their enablers, twice, for good measure.

Millions of people, hundreds of millions maybe billions have been forced to live and die in poverty because there's never been enough money to go around. Our society has been wracked by bitter ideological polarization because there's never been enough money to go around. Future generations have quite likely been condemned to live in a world of increasing deprivation because there's never been enough money to go around.

These f#$%^&* should be lined up against a wall and shot, twice, for good measure.

I'd save that for a second offence ... after they get one amnesty.

It may be necessary to lay charges to make the community service stick. I'm open to that.

I believe we can give these money makers one chance to prove they can be decent Canadians/corporate citizens.

We need that huge corporate money stash.

Edit to add ...

A lot of the corporations are not 'Canadians'. They're just registered as Canadian corporations for convenience, because our regulations and oversight have been pretty lax.

They have no Canadian 'conscience' or aspirations.

.

Edited April 15, 2016 by jacee

[eyeball]

There's a bunch of socialists who have gamed the system too so it's not just corporations. What's really on the line here is governance and power. Wealth on its own is nothing without these two.

We need to get on their back like, well...you know what I mean.

[jacee]

There's a bunch of socialists who have gamed the system too

? Do tell!

so it's not just corporations. What's really on the line here is governance and power. Wealth on its own is nothing without these two.

We need to get on their back like, well...you know what I mean.

Yes we do.

.

[eyeball]

? Do tell!

Go ask TimG, he's apparently in the know according to the LEAP thread, mind you he probably still thinks Putin is a commie.

I have no problem implicating socialists lest any of the usual suspects start beaking off about about socialists ALWAYS blaming EVERYTHING on capitalists for ALL the world's problems. You know how that goes.

Besides which I have no doubt there are socialists who are also involved in tax fraud - I'm just convinced their involvement has to do with the fact they were in positions of power not because they were socialists. Unless or until proven otherwise I'm also quite comfortable cutting capitalists the same slack.

Edited April 15, 2016 by eyeball

[SpankyMcFarland]

The news does not get better:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kpmg-canada-revenue-agency-receptions-conferences-1.3540285

[eyeball]

The Rideau Club operates under a code known as the "Chatham House Rules": to encourage open discussion, you can't reveal what others say at meetings.

Effing scumbags probably imagine this means they operate according to principles.

[jacee]

The news does not get better:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kpmg-canada-revenue-agency-receptions-conferences-1.3540285

"CRA top people" attended the party, he said. "They were being plied with drinks and getting on roaringly with all the tax lawyers and accountants."

Oh isn't that just ducky!

?

I am curious about Argus' take on this.

.

Edited April 19, 2016 by jacee

[GostHacked]

Effing scumbags probably imagine this means they operate according to principles.

The real kicker is, that there will be some short term fall out and a few big names will get taken out, but then it shall all simmer down and the elite will keep on doing whatever they can to hide their money to avoid taxes.

[eyeball]

"CRA top people" attended the party, he said. "They were being plied with drinks and getting on roaringly with all the tax lawyers and accountants."

Seen the Wolf of Wall Street?

[jacee]

Seen the Wolf of Wall Street?

Not yet.

.

[eyeball]

If you do you'll know why I asked.

[SpankyMcFarland]

Too funny:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kpmg-canada-revenue-agency-tax-industry-receptions-1.3536946

Why can't average criminals hold events like this and invite the RCMP? It's discrimination, so it is. Where's that lawyer's number?

Edited April 20, 2016 by SpankyMcFarland

[overthere]

Yeah, I have already mentioned many times that Canada taxes based on residency and if one doesn't want to pay taxes in Canada then one just has to cut residency ties and get out of the country - after paying taxes on deemed capital gains etc...

But this thread is primarily about Canadian residents for tax purposes and how to legally deal with their foreign assets and foreign income so I don't see the point on dwelling on something that I have seen bite many retirees in the behind when they come back to Canada because the big bad world isn't as great as it first seems as soon as you get older and your health goes south.

Health care that is better than Canada can be purchased, for a reasonable price, in many countries.

The only real handicap for expats who leave for tax purposes is that they can only visit family for six months less a day.

[overthere]

Purely hypothetical scenario. You're a fifty year old high flyer at CRA interested in fattening up the pension pot. What better way to impress potential future employers at ABCD accountancy firm (and for them to justify their enormous fees to client Mr. Moneybags) than to convey some intelligence on a big case? If a judge went to work for the Bandidos, every relevant case in his career would be reviewed. The revolving door has to stop before public trust is gone completely.

A fifty year old high flyer at CRA is an oxymoron, in terms of desirability for recruitment. Accounting firms don't want old civil servants, they are lazy and bureaucracy is deeply engrained in their very souls.

They do want young, skilled and knowledgeable accountants with a couple years experience, and that is exactly whom they try to woo away from CRA. It is not diffucult to do. Of course, your premise that they;d hire somebody who would sell out their employer is wrong and silly. If the person would sell out CRA to your firm, that person would also sell out your firm to to CRA eventually. They'd also lose their livelihood when caught either way.

[SpankyMcFarland]

A fifty year old high flyer at CRA is an oxymoron, in terms of desirability for recruitment. Accounting firms don't want old civil servants, they are lazy and bureaucracy is deeply engrained in their very souls.

They do want young, skilled and knowledgeable accountants with a couple years experience, and that is exactly whom they try to woo away from CRA. It is not diffucult to do. Of course, your premise that they;d hire somebody who would sell out their employer is wrong and silly. If the person would sell out CRA to your firm, that person would also sell out your firm to to CRA eventually. They'd also lose their livelihood when caught either way.

Please tell us more. We do have the names of a few of these people and some of them were not spring chickens. For example, this man was thirty, yes - thirty years in the agency.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kpmg-canada-revenue-agency-jeff-sadrian-1.3526618

You do realize how awful it looks at ANY age when the cats go to work for the mice?

Edited April 21, 2016 by SpankyMcFarland

[msj]

Health care that is better than Canada can be purchased, for a reasonable price, in many countries.

The only real handicap for expats who leave for tax purposes is that they can only visit family for six months less a day.

Healthcare that is better than Canada's is more often than not much more expensive than in Canada.

Yes, certain dental procedures can be had for cheap in Mexico and Thailand but of course they can: dental is a private health system in Canada so it is expensive.

[SpankyMcFarland]

There should be at least a ten year cooling off period between CRA and a private tax job. Gold plate their pensions, give them Senate seats, whatever, but don't let them work for the opposition.

[Bryan]

Health care that is better than Canada can be purchased, for a reasonable price, in many countries.

The only real handicap for expats who leave for tax purposes is that they can only visit family for six months less a day.

Yup. The older my parents get, the less time they spend in Canada. The whole winter is spent in a combination of tropical locales. Even serious health issues have been easily dealt with for very little cost. Most of the time they have been impressed with how efficient the "third world" health care has been.

[jacee]

Yup. The older my parents get, the less time they spend in Canada. The whole winter is spent in a combination of tropical locales. Even serious health issues have been easily dealt with for very little cost. Most of the time they have been impressed with how efficient the "third world" health care has been.

Everybody has the right to give up residency in Canada, pay all outstanding taxes, remove their money from Canada, pay for their own taxes and services elsewhere, stop using Canadian healthcare and other government services here, or pay cash.

What they don't have a right to do is to remove their money from Canada to avoid paying taxes, but continue to use health care and other government services here for free.

.

[jacee]

Please tell us more. We do have the names of a few of these people and some of them were not spring chickens. For example, this man was thirty, yes - thirty years in the agency.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kpmg-canada-revenue-agency-jeff-sadrian-1.3526618

You do realize how awful it looks at ANY age when the cats go to work for the mice?

Looks like corruption:

In fact, KPMG and other large accounting firms routinely recruited senior CRA compliance personnel and Department of Justice tax officials in the past 15 years, a CBC News investigation has found, as dozens of officials once tasked with oversight, audits or investigations of accounting firms and their clients switched sides to work for them.

Argus may have an interesting perspective on this, as he's said he's a former senior CRA official now working privately. However he hasn't participated in this thread. He's busy in another thread blaming 'single mothers' for making his taxes too high. ?

.

Edited April 21, 2016 by jacee