Canadian Tax

A combination of complex tax requirements and greater dissatisfaction with governmental policies is pushing more US expats towards renouncing their US citizenship. Recent surveys highlight the significant burden and challenges posed by the US tax system, particularly the requirements to report income and bank accounts in their home country under laws like the Foreign Account…

In this first installment of our “Practical Immigration” blog series, we are going to address one of the questions our clients most frequently ask “So now that I have my visa and am ready to move to the US, what happens to my car?” Our team has had to figure this answer out for ourselves…

The E-2 Treaty Investor Visa Program offers a flexible and viable pathway for aspiring Canadian entrepreneurs and investors looking to establish or purchase a business in the United States. It’s specifically designed for individuals from countries with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation, allowing them to invest significant capital in…

In the recent fiscal year 2025 budget proposal from the Biden administration, there has been a notable push towards increasing tax rates, particularly on capital gains, which could have significant implications for US citizens living around the world. The proposal introduces a graduated taxing structure, with further modifications to include an increase to a 44.6% capital gains…

On April 16, 2024, the government of Canada released its Budget 2024.  Overall, this budget can be characterized as a very heavy spending budget with continued large deficits, no fiscal anchor, increasing public debt charges (now estimated to be a whopping $54.1 billion for the upcoming year…yes, that’s more than $1 billion per week) and…

So, You Wanna Be a Canadian? Since the signing of the Immigration Act, 1976 into legislation almost 50 years ago, Canada has become a world leader in welcoming new migrants from across the globe. The Act was the first piece of legislation to clearly outline Canadian immigration policies and objectives, which ultimately removed broad discretionary…

The weeks and months leading up to June 15 are typically referred to as tax season for the more than eight million US citizens living abroad. This time of year can also feel a lot like Groundhog Day. That’s because US expats are reminded yearly of the cost of maintaining their US citizenship, even though…

The latest data from USCIS is in, and suggests that the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is alive and growing healthier by the quarter. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released filing and processing statistics for the 4th quarter of the 2023 fiscal year, which included encouraging signs for the EB-5 Program. New filing numbers…

In a recent survey, one in five US expats (20%) is considering or planning to renounce their US citizenship. What’s the main reason? The headaches associated with filing US taxes, the complexities of US tax laws, and owing US tax. So far, in 2023, we have seen a big jump in the number of people…

This blog article is based on a CALU Report published by the Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting and authored by Kenneth Keung and Jason Lau.  It is reproduced with their permission.   Introduction Section 84.1 of the Income Tax Act [1] as we know it today got its start in 1985, concurrent with the introduction…

Air travel can be stressful. Rising airfares and hotel costs, flight cancellations, pilot strikes, long security wait lines, and lost luggage are just some of the headaches that travellers face as more and more people head to the US. According to the US Travel Association, flight demand was up by 12% in July alone. US…

On September 27, 2023, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced in a joint statement that the US would be admitting Israel into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). This expansion will be welcome news to Israelis wishing to visit the US as it aims to strengthen further…

The alternative minimum tax (“AMT”) was first introduced in 1986 to ensure that individuals and trusts pay some amount of minimum tax where they otherwise would not (or would pay what was perceived to be an insufficient amount) due to tax preferred forms of income such as gains from qualified small business corporation shares, qualified…

On Thursday, July 13, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a landmark decision to dismiss an application for leave to appeal a challenge to the constitutionality of Part XVIII of the Canadian Income Tax Act. The decision obliterated any hope of striking down FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) legislation that allows Canadian…

In a decision dated July 13, 2023, Gwendolyn Louise Deegan v. Attorney General of Canada, et al., the Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an application for leave to appeal filed by the appellant challenging the constitutionality of Part XVIII of the Canadian Income Tax Act. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a 2010…