Moving from Singapore back to Toronto - repatriation -Niagara Falls Buffalo New York

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I have been looking at your website and wonder if you can be of help:

My situation is as follows:
* I am a Canadian non-resident living in Singapore, moving to Toronto on
March 01, with my spouse. We intend to buy a house and start a family there.
( I have been advised already about repatriation tax issues)
* I will be employed by a US based company, which has no Canadian presence.
I will spend most of my time in the US, the rest working from a home office
in Toronto. For Yr 2004 I will spend approximately 183 days in the US, but
this can be managed depending on the best tax situation that arises.
* The advice I need will be: is there a tax advantageous way to be employed
due to this unique set-up? Is there a better place to be paid? (in the US,
or Canada) I am assuming a TN1 visa is the correct visa.

Can your firm advise on such issues.
Thanks

david ingram replies:

If your home and family are in Canada, article IV of the US / Canada and you are in Canada, article IV of the Treaty makes you taxable on your world income in Canada.
It does not matter if you are paid form the States or Canada. You will keep track of your days and pro-rate your income to US source (where you did the work - not where you were paid from).

The US will get tax on the amount of income actually earned in the USD by number of days.

It will all be reported in Canada and you will claim a foreign tax credit for any tax paid to the USA.

Go to www.centa.com and read the 27 page [US / Canada Taxation] section.

Unless you can justify paying your wife a salary to split your income, your tax will be significantly higher in Canada than if you were living 150 miles away in Niagara Falls, or Buffalo, New York. A further advantage of paying your wife is that it would give her a Canada Pension Plan as well.

Hope this helps - You should likely book an hour phone consultation which would cost you $350. Canadian while you are out of the country and $374.50 after you move back (GST)