Canadian Tax

On June 6, 2023, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser announced an expansion to the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) program – only its second expansion since it was first introduced in 2015. The new expansion will allow those who meet the requirements to apply for an eTA instead of a visa, in a…

An alarming number of people living abroad don’t realize they’re US citizens who are subject to annual taxation and filing obligations to the IRS. They are commonly referred to as “Accidental Americans” and often discover they’re US citizens later in life through other family members, or when their non-US banks reach out asking them to…

The White House announced on May 1, 2023 that, starting May 12, 2023, the U.S. will no longer require Covid-19 vaccination or proof of vaccination to be presented by foreign air travellers entering the U.S. In news that will be of particular interest to Canadians, the Department of Homeland Security also issued a concurrent statement…

There are many things to look forward to during the year: Christmas, spring break, summer holidays, birthdays and more. But for American expats, US tax season is never one of these moments, and it can be a year-long obligation for most. Many are physically and emotionally exhausted after the time spent addressing the annual filings,…

On March 28, 2023 (“Budget Day”), the Honourable Chrystia Freeland delivered the 2023 Federal Budget (the “Budget”). While our Budget summary focuses exclusively on taxation topics relevant to our clients and friends, it’s worth noting that the Budget proposes a $40B+ deficit for the coming year with no plan to bring Canada’s finances back into…

In our renunciation blogs and webinars, we outline why American expats decide to renounce their US citizenship. The top reasons include the following: The cost of paying US taxes annually. The cost of double taxation (paying US tax AND tax in your home country). The US Estate Tax (the death tax) and succession planning. The…

First announced in Budget 2021, enacted June 9, 2022, and effective retroactive to January 1, 2022, the federal Underused Housing Tax Act mandates a filing requirement and potential 1% tax on the assessed value of vacant or underused housing in Canada (“UHT”). The UHT implements a tax aimed to deter non-Canadian ownership of residential properties…

On January 12, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the upcoming implementation of its final phase of premium processing expansion for Form I-140 petitions under the classifications of EB-1 multinational executive and manager and EB-2 advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking national interest waiver (NIW). Starting January 30, 2023, this phase will…

This year, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) decided to give us all a present for the holidays that is likely to result in a significant number of rejections of I-485, Applications to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. We must have all been very naughty this year. As part of the reimplementation of the…

Out of all the law and accounting firms you know you’re the mastermind Run, run Moodys Private Client, the CRA ain’t too far behind Run, run Moodys Private Client, Santa’s got to make the tax deadline Santa make them hurry, tell them your gifts to me are tax free and mine Run, run Moodys Private…

With a new year and a new semester just around the corner, many Canadians will be preparing to cross the border to pursue their studies in the U.S. as F-1 students. While most F-1 students must first obtain F-1 visas from a U.S. Consulate or Embassy, Canadians have the privilege of being visa-exempt for most…

A new trailer has debuted for the fourth season of the hit HBO series “Succession.” The show follows the exploits of the Roy family as they battle for control of their father’s media empire. While millions are glued to their screens for the latest round of legal maneuvering and back-stabbing, a real-life succession drama could…

Figuring out whether you are an American citizen can bring with it some incredibly complex and onerous tax surprises. You may be surprised to find out you are an American even if you have never set foot on US soil. And with that US citizenship comes tax on your worldwide income by Uncle Sam. In…

You don’t want to miss your chance to engage with some of the best and brightest industry professionals in the world of tax at our fifth-annual Moodys Private Client University. Due to popular demand, we have extended our early bird pricing of $425 to Wednesday, October 5! That leaves you with just one week to…

As was first reported by major news outlets on September 20, Canada has announced that all COVID-19 border measures will be ended as of October 1, 2022. The measures to be dropped include the mandatory use of the ArriveCan mobile app, which will become optional, proof of vaccination requirements, pre- or on-arrival COVID-19 testing, and…

On August 9, 2022, the Department of Finance released the latest draft legislation with respect to Enhanced Reporting Requirements for Trusts first introduced in the 2018 Federal Budget. The government first announced its intention to amend the Income Tax Act (the “Act”) to impose these new requirements and this latest set of draft legislation will…

On August 16, 2022, US President Joe Biden signed into law the sweeping $750 billion Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation focuses on tax, health care, and the climate. The Inflation Reduction Act seemingly spells bad news for US expats around the world as it includes $80 billion in extra funding for the IRS (that is…

The Supreme Court of Canada’s 2016 and 2022 decisions in the Fairmont Hotels and Collins Family Trust cases respectively have substantially reduced the availability to residents of all provinces – except Québec – of the equitable remedies of rectification and rescission to correct a tax-related mistake in completing a transaction or nullify the transaction entirely. As many readers will…

On Sunday, August 7, 2022, the US Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (H.R. 5376). The vote to pass the bill was strictly on party lines with the 50 Democratic senators voting in favour plus the tie-breaking vote of the President of the Senate and US Vice President, Kamala Harris. The House of…

As was stated by Alexander Pope in his poem An Essay on Criticism composed in 1709, “A little learning is a dangerous thing”. In the Federal Court of Appeal’s reasons for judgment in its recent decision in Canada v. Paletta,[1] the taxpayer intended to embark on forward foreign currency trading on a large scale in…

On July 12, 2022, USCIS announced revisions to its Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, used for EB-5 Investor cases. The changes split the previous version into two separate Forms, a Form I-526 that will be used by standalone EB-5 investors, and a new Form I-526E petition to be used for those EB-5 investors…

My name is Oliver Branch. I am a US immigration lawyer. I am obsessed with the E-2 visa program. Why the E-2 visa program? I’m so glad you asked. The E-2 visa program (officially the “E-2 Treaty Investor Nonimmigrant Visa” category) is a win-win for the US and for the E-2 investor that wants to…

Ever thought of moving to another country with a warmer climate, fantastic food, wine, and rich history? Portugal, which is ranked as the fourth-best country to retire in, is one of many countries offering a “Golden Visa” program where residency is granted to non-citizens based on financial investment, capital transfer, property acquisition or business investment.…

Introduction The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”)’s recent decision in Canada (Attorney General) v. Collins Family Trust, 2022 SCC 26(“Collins”) has seemingly closed the loop on the (lack of) availability of equitable remedies in cases involving income tax. Many taxpayers and tax practitioners are aware that one of the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”)’s responsibilities is…

In what is likely one of the least controversial court decisions in the news lately, on June 24, 2022, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in Behring Regional Center LLC v. Mayorkas ordered US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to allow previously designated EB-5 Regional Centers (RCs) to continue to…

If you have been paying any attention to the news recently, you are keenly aware of the controversial decisions made by the United States Supreme Court. While not without controversy, one of the Court’s decisions handed down on June 30, 2022, is largely being celebrated by immigrant advocates and immigration lawyers as a step in…

On June 10, 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the requirement that all international travelers to the US possess proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to boarding a flight to will be rescinded. The authors of this blog couldn’t be any more thrilled about this announcement as we…

It isn’t often that US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) provides the opportunity to expedite case processing, but the agency has recently done just that. The only catches – it comes with a premium fee for the speediness and is only applicable to cases that have been pending for quite a while already. On May…

A Canadian-controlled private corporation (“CCPC”) that earns investment income is subject to a refundable tax regime. The CCPC pays a higher corporate tax upfront (around 50% depending on the province), but part of the corporate tax is fully refundable to the corporation to the extent that the CCPC pays sufficient non-eligible taxable dividends to their…

If you attended one of our renunciation webinars or read our many blogs, you’ll notice we often group ‘US citizens living abroad’ and ‘US green card holders’ in the same category when discussing US tax obligations. That’s because, with certain exceptions, US green card holders are taxed the same way as US citizens living abroad…

Unlike nearly every other country in the world, the United States taxes its citizens on their worldwide income, regardless of where that income is earned, or where they live. These intricate and confusing requirements often result in substantial and burdensome tax compliance costs for US citizens living abroad. They also create ongoing risks of harsh…

  On April 7, 2022, the Government of Canada released the 2022 Federal Budget. Like the 2021 budget, which we blogged about here, the government is continuing to spend tremendous amounts of money with deficits that have no end in sight. For 2022-2023, the federal deficit is projected to be $52.8B and $39.9B for 2023-2024.…

The Canadian federal budget has a release date. It was announced today that the budget will be released on the afternoon of April 7, 2022. Some interesting Canadian media commentary about the federal budget and what might be coming can be accessed here. From a tax perspective, here’s a short list of things that our…

Well, Congress finally got something done. While I am being a bit tongue-in-cheek, we have been waiting since the EB-5 Regional Center Investor Program expired last Summer for Congress to act and they finally have reauthorized the program, with some changes of note, through September 30, 2027. This bill, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act…

We are pleased to announce that Doug S. Ewens and Nancy L. Golding have been recognized as leading lawyers in Corporate Tax and Estate & Personal Tax respectively, in the 2022 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory. To be included in this directory is an acknowledgement of excellence by a practitioner’s peers and colleagues.…

Several of my clients and colleagues have brought to my attention an article titled “Americans seeking to renounce their citizenship are stuck with it” written by Ed Pilkington in The Guardian. I would like to address several points in the article that may give readers a misleading representation of the current state of renouncing one’s…

Our MPC Immigration Legal Team is pleased to release the first of a new series of blogs exploring the history and framework of the US immigration system. While you may not be an immigration law and policy wonk like our team members, we hope this series provides insights into the major landmarks on the road…

Ready for some good news? By all accounts, recent data analysis indicates that this latest COVID-19 wave, which was largely driven by the Omicron variant, has peaked in Canada and case numbers have sharply declined. Ottawa has noticed and responded by announcing the lifting of a few travel restrictions that have been in place to…

Benjamin Franklin once said, “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” This statement is more relevant than ever for the millions of Americans living outside the US. The certainty is this: if you are a US citizen, regardless of where you live, your debt to the Internal Revenue…