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Tax issue for PR

fruitips

Full Member
Mar 3, 2015
31
0
I and my wife are both PR, due to the job reason, I might need to stay in home country and my wife stay at Canada to obtain citizenship. If that's the case, I will lose my PR in view that I won't stay 2 years within 5-year period, and my wife get citizenship after fulfilling residency requirement. Do I need to pay Canadian tax? will Canada gov check why my wife have financial support?
 

Wonderland_1010

Champion Member
Aug 24, 2015
1,822
382
Regina, SK
Category........
PNP
I and my wife are both PR, due to the job reason, I might need to stay in home country and my wife stay at Canada to obtain citizenship. If that's the case, I will lose my PR in view that I won't stay 2 years within 5-year period, and my wife get citizenship after fulfilling residency requirement. Do I need to pay Canadian tax? will Canada gov check why my wife have financial support?

No you won't need to pay tax because you would be classified as non tax resident. Only your wife would be filing her taxes if she stays in Canada.
 

torontosm

Champion Member
Apr 3, 2013
1,677
261
No you won't need to pay tax because you would be classified as non tax resident. Only your wife would be filing her taxes if she stays in Canada.
This is absolutely false. As noted in the attached link, if your spouse is living in Canada, then you have significant ties to Canada and will be considered a resident for tax purposes. As such, the OP will be taxed on his/her global income.

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/determining-your-residency-status.html
 

fruitips

Full Member
Mar 3, 2015
31
0
This is absolutely false. As noted in the attached link, if your spouse is living in Canada, then you have significant ties to Canada and will be considered a resident for tax purposes. As such, the OP will be taxed on his/her global income.

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/determining-your-residency-status.html
so how about if I am no longer PR, expiry of my PR but my wife and child still in Canada, do I need to file tax in Canada? or just my wife need to file?
 

torontosm

Champion Member
Apr 3, 2013
1,677
261
so how about if I am no longer PR, expiry of my PR but my wife and child still in Canada, do I need to file tax in Canada? or just my wife need to file?
Tax status is not linked to immigration status. So, PR or not, you will still need to pay taxes in Canada if your dependents are living here and availing social services.
 

steaky

VIP Member
Nov 11, 2008
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Tax status is not linked to immigration status. So, PR or not, you will still need to pay taxes in Canada if your dependents are living here and availing social services.
So working parents living outside Canada who have children studying in Canada as international students or domestic student need to pay taxes on their worldwide income? What if they don't?
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,758
So working parents living outside Canada who have children studying in Canada as international students or domestic student need to pay taxes on their worldwide income? What if they don't?
If they are international students there is no need to parents to pay tax. For post-secondary students who are adults if they are no longer being claimed as dependents I would imagine you are not required to pay Canadian taxes.

If leaving your spouse and young children in Canada while you go an work abroad how would Canada pay for things like education and health care? If all primary income earners left their dependents in Canada and didn't pay Canadian taxes how would people expect the country to function? :Lots of people seem to plan to set up their dependents in Canada to use the services but don't plan on paying taxes. On top of that they receive child benefit! And no, property tax and sales tax don't count because they cover such a small percentage. Wish the Canadian government would focus on the people avoiding taxes on their global income.
 

steaky

VIP Member
Nov 11, 2008
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If they are international students there is no need to parents to pay tax. For post-secondary students who are adults if they are no longer being claimed as dependents I would imagine you are not required to pay Canadian taxes.

If leaving your spouse and young children in Canada while you go an work abroad how would Canada pay for things like education and health care? If all primary income earners left their dependents in Canada and didn't pay Canadian taxes how would people expect the country to function? :Lots of people seem to plan to set up their dependents in Canada to use the services but don't plan on paying taxes. On top of that they receive child benefit! And no, property tax and sales tax don't count because they cover such a small percentage. Wish the Canadian government would focus on the people avoiding taxes on their global income.
Isn't education (except post secondary) paid by property taxes (and land sales) and health care by medical services premiums?
 
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canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,758
Isn't education (except post secondary) paid by property taxes (and land sales) and health care by medical services premiums?
Yes part of your property taxes go to education but they also go to infrastructure and other things. Say you have a 1M house in Toronto your property taxes will be around 10k. It's a pretty typical 3 bedroom house and you have 2 children. That would mean a couple of thousand per child going to education so definitely not covered by property taxes. Many families around Canada pay much less than 10k in property tax and may have many more children or live in a multi-generational home where they could be multiple families with kids so that could end up less than 1k/kids going to education. Clearly educational funding involves much more than property taxes.

In terms of health care only 2 provinces have premiums. In Ontario they aren't really premiums but you are taxed a certain amount. In BC you pay a small monthly amount based on income but kids, students and lower income people don't pay If you go the ER to see if you broke your arm you will have exceeded the amount you paid into the system as premiums. Some people won't go to the doctor all year but many go their family doctors often especially if they have kids and other people with more complex needs require lots of tests and monitoring fro various doctors. If you are pregnant and having a child that will exceed your premiums. Maternity care is a large percentage of daily hospital admissions. The idea with premiums is to make make people involved in the cost of their care. They may think twice about going to the doctor if they have to pay premiums and they are conscious that if too many people go to the MD when they don't need to the premiums may increase. If you don't feel like you are losing money out of your pocket people figure why not go to the doctor becaue it's free. The problem i it's really not.

Income tax is major way that the government collects funds to pay for services. Hope this helps to explain the system.
 
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