Moving to Canada - Bringing money/paying taxes

[PaulSarab]

Hi.

I am brand new to this forum and have gone through many interesting questions with even more amazing answers from fellow members.

I am currently an Indian settled in Thailand for over 40 years and we have been approved for emigrating to Canada. We are awaiting the final document - the medical check which strangely is taking a long time.

I am in the process of doing pre-emigration tax planning and have some questions.

1. A chunk of my assets is with a US broker and I understand there are estate taxes in USA. But I also read that Canadians are exempted Estate tax if our total assets does not exceed 11.4 Million US$ (the tax treaty expires in 2025).
https://ca.rbcwealthmanagement.com/documents/10192/1505167/U.S.+estate+tax+for+Canadians-+EN.pdf/d0cc31e6-a95d-4fcc-81cc-8ba219cbeb57

I would like to set up a trust to mitigate this uncertainty. Any recommendations?

1.1 Can the trust structure be made after we get our medical call? It's been a few years since we were approved but this medical document is taking a long time and I would like to pay the ongoing charges for trust only after we get ready to move.

2. I would like to buy a Whole of Life insurance policy. Does it have to be Canadian compliant carrier or could I go ahead with a carrier in Singapore/Hong Kong/ Bermuda?

3. If I make donations in Thailand to charitable causes, can I deduct the donations from the payable taxes for the year?

4. How is interest income/dividends calculated? Is it added to our income tax? As the dividend is already deducted at source at the US Broker at 15%, do I need to add the dividends to the amount for taxes payable?

5. I have local Thai life insurance annuities paying annuities and the final sum is due in 2022. Will it be taxable in Canada?

6. I have social securities due again in 2022 when I reach the age of 55. Not a big amount. Is it taxable?

7. Thailand does not have capital gain tax. I understand about the properties that if I do not want to pay the CGT, I need to sell it before I move to Canada. Is it the same system for Thai stocks? I presume it should be but just wanted to be sure.

Thank you so much for all the selfless work done by the team. God bless

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi.

I am brand new to this forum and have gone through many interesting questions with even more amazing answers from fellow members.

I am currently an Indian settled in Thailand for over 40 years and we have been approved for emigrating to Canada. We are awaiting the final document - the medical check which strangely is taking a long time.

I am in the process of doing pre-emigration tax planning and have some questions.

1. A chunk of my assets is with a US broker and I understand there are estate taxes in USA. But I also read that Canadians are exempted Estate tax if our total assets does not exceed 11.4 Million US$ (the tax treaty expires in 2025).
https://ca.rbcwealthmanagement.com/documents/10192/1505167/U.S.+estate+tax+for+Canadians-+EN.pdf/d0cc31e6-a95d-4fcc-81cc-8ba219cbeb57

I would like to set up a trust to mitigate this uncertainty. Any recommendations?

1.1 Can the trust structure be made after we get our medical call? It's been a few years since we were approved but this medical document is taking a long time and I would like to pay the ongoing charges for trust only after we get ready to move.

2. I would like to buy a Whole of Life insurance policy. Does it have to be Canadian compliant carrier or could I go ahead with a carrier in Singapore/Hong Kong/ Bermuda?

3. If I make donations in Thailand to charitable causes, can I deduct the donations from the payable taxes for the year?

4. How is interest income/dividends calculated? Is it added to our income tax? As the dividend is already deducted at source at the US Broker at 15%, do I need to add the dividends to the amount for taxes payable?

5. I have local Thai life insurance annuities paying annuities and the final sum is due in 2022. Will it be taxable in Canada?

6. I have social securities due again in 2022 when I reach the age of 55. Not a big amount. Is it taxable?

7. Thailand does not have capital gain tax. I understand about the properties that if I do not want to pay the CGT, I need to sell it before I move to Canada. Is it the same system for Thai stocks? I presume it should be but just wanted to be sure.

Thank you so much for all the selfless work done by the team. God bless

You can't have been approved for PR without the medical being approved. The medical really doesn't take long and certainly not a few years, so that makes no sense. Under what immigration stream did you apply?

As for your tax questions, that is not something you are going to get answers from on here. Anyone who can competently answer will be a professional and they don't advise for free on public forums. They generally like to make money for offering their services.

 

[PaulSarab]

Thank you for the answer. I sincerely appreciate you taking to time.

Yes, I understand that I will need a professional cross borders tax advisor but I just wanted to get an idea before engaging one.

I applied for the Quebec Investor program and our family was approved through an interview selection in 2014. We have had a few communication with our immigration lawyer but they have been sparse -usually my follow up and their assurance. The uncertainty with the timing is causing discomfort as we cannot make any major decision. We are ready to move.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thank you for the answer. I sincerely appreciate you taking to time.

Yes, I understand that I will need a professional cross borders tax advisor but I just wanted to get an idea before engaging one.

I applied for the Quebec Investor program and our family was approved through an interview selection in 2014. We have had a few communication with our immigration lawyer but they have been sparse -usually my follow up and their assurance. The uncertainty with the timing is causing discomfort as we cannot make any major decision. We are ready to move.

That is a program with extremely long processing times but that shouldn't be held up by the medical. You may want to consider contacting IRCC directly and ordering GCMS notes.