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> That population paid, on average, $1,400 in income tax 10 years after immigrating. How's that possible - do they all become non-resident after receiving thei

by geoka9 10y ago

> That population paid, on average, $1,400 in income tax 10 years after immigrating. How's that possible - do they all become non-resident after receiving their passports?

Kluny 10y ago
Capital gains tax in Canada is ludicrously low, also the richer you are the more tax loopholes you can afford to find out about.
- geoka9 10y ago
  I wouldn't say it's ludicrously low - it's still half of income tax, which itself can be pretty high for people who make a lot.
- wattt 10y ago
  Keep in mind if you get capital gains you pay tax twice to both governments. You make it sound like it is a huge deal but factor in the increased accounting costs and in most cases the advantage isn't that great at all.
mhkhung 10y ago
Vancouver is a retirement haven.. 10 years they all retired. Those needing to work go to Toronto.
- geoka9 10y ago
  Wealthy investors without any capital gains?
krrrh 10y ago
They don't report their global income. There's a term in the Chinese investor immigrant community: "astronaut dads". Kids get Canadian citizenship and a good education, dad might keep working in asia, or may have made enough. During the 5 year immigration process (and also after receiving citizenship) people are supposed to report worldwide income, but the Canadian government has very limited resources and capability to investigate. The interest-free loan of $400,000 to the Canadian government was also a weak test for 'investors'. The Canadian banks would front the money on behalf of the immigrant, if they prepay the interest on the loan. I was told by a banker that this was at a pretty high rate of around $120,000. This amounted to paying $120k to a bank in exchange for a clean citizenship path. Lots of people benefited from this system (banks, property owners, developers) so it went on for a long time. Ottawa ended the program in 2013, but one of the problems is that Québec hasn't--they control their own immigration policy to an extent. So it became common for investor immigrants to apply to Québec but then move to Vancouver.[1] In theory, immigrants that bring a lot of wealth with them sounds great, but I was also shocked by the stat showing that they paid less taxes than refugees after 10 years. [1] Quick reference: http://www.news1130.com/2015/04/01/investor-immigrants-using-quebec-as-back-door-to-vancouver/ http://www.news1130.com/2015/04/01/investor-immigrants-using... > “Quebec gets the benefits from that loan, which lasts for five years. It’s a very lucrative program as far as Quebec is concerned but the downside is that the people don’t actually end up living there. There’s plenty of data that shows 90 per cent of those arrivals actually end up living elsewhere. I think it’s fair to estimate that a large majority end up living in Vancouver.” TL;DR People who try to launder money and escape capital controls in China have a high overlap with people who cheat on their taxes in Canada.

by geoka9 10y ago

> That population paid, on average, $1,400 in income tax 10 years after immigrating. How's that possible - do they all become non-resident after receiving their passports?

Kluny 10y ago

Capital gains tax in Canada is ludicrously low, also the richer you are the more tax loopholes you can afford to find out about.

geoka9 10y ago
I wouldn't say it's ludicrously low - it's still half of income tax, which itself can be pretty high for people who make a lot.
wattt 10y ago
Keep in mind if you get capital gains you pay tax twice to both governments. You make it sound like it is a huge deal but factor in the increased accounting costs and in most cases the advantage isn't that great at all.

mhkhung 10y ago

Vancouver is a retirement haven.. 10 years they all retired. Those needing to work go to Toronto.

geoka9 10y ago
Wealthy investors without any capital gains?

krrrh 10y ago

They don't report their global income. There's a term in the Chinese investor immigrant community: "astronaut dads". Kids get Canadian citizenship and a good education, dad might keep working in asia, or may have made enough. During the 5 year immigration process (and also after receiving citizenship) people are supposed to report worldwide income, but the Canadian government has very limited resources and capability to investigate. The interest-free loan of $400,000 to the Canadian government was also a weak test for 'investors'. The Canadian banks would front the money on behalf of the immigrant, if they prepay the interest on the loan. I was told by a banker that this was at a pretty high rate of around $120,000. This amounted to paying $120k to a bank in exchange for a clean citizenship path. Lots of people benefited from this system (banks, property owners, developers) so it went on for a long time. Ottawa ended the program in 2013, but one of the problems is that Québec hasn't--they control their own immigration policy to an extent. So it became common for investor immigrants to apply to Québec but then move to Vancouver.[1] In theory, immigrants that bring a lot of wealth with them sounds great, but I was also shocked by the stat showing that they paid less taxes than refugees after 10 years. [1] Quick reference: http://www.news1130.com/2015/04/01/investor-immigrants-using-quebec-as-back-door-to-vancouver/ http://www.news1130.com/2015/04/01/investor-immigrants-using... > “Quebec gets the benefits from that loan, which lasts for five years. It’s a very lucrative program as far as Quebec is concerned but the downside is that the people don’t actually end up living there. There’s plenty of data that shows 90 per cent of those arrivals actually end up living elsewhere. I think it’s fair to estimate that a large majority end up living in Vancouver.” TL;DR People who try to launder money and escape capital controls in China have a high overlap with people who cheat on their taxes in Canada.