We own a vacant lot in the US and are canadian citizens. We want to build a
commercial building on the property to gain better access to the american
market for our canadian business. My question is : Do I have to contract
out all aspects of the construction or can I do some of the building myself?
Thanks.
JXXXXXXXXXX
-----------------------------------
david ingram replies:
If you were building a $5,000,000 waterfront house for your own use at
Newport Beach, you and your wife and minor children would be able to do as
much of the work as you were capable of doing with no problem (although the
USCIS and Homeland Security might want to talk to you to be sure it was not
going to be rented or used as a corporate getaway for your business and its
employees.
But if you wanted to build a $10,000 commercial storage shed on the land you
describe, do not get caught so much as undoing a tie down strap. strangely,
you could buy the shed in Canada and take it across the border on a trailer
or in your truck because that would be doing the job of a truck driver.
However, a Canadian truck driver can NOT:
* Make more than one drop off per trip (can't split a load between two
stops) or
* pick up a load in the US and drop it off in the US - one client was jailed
in Portland for going to a hardware store and buying a ladder and taking it
back to his $3,000,000 construction site.
. One Canadian company that makes a lot of deliveries to Point Roberts has
the same driver and truck going back and forth across the border for every
house it delivers to (they need a dual citizen as a driver).
You can oversee the construction site however. Just make sure you do not
hammer a nail or sweep the site clean or something silly like that.
One more thing. If you are expanding into the US with a warehouse, be
prepared to file a US 1120F return and if it is in Washington State, be
prepared to file a Washington State Business return to report gross sales
and pay tax on the value of the gross sales whether or not you make a
profit. In addition, if you or your employees are making sales calls in the
US, you must file US tax returns and sometimes and more likely returns for
states like Oregon and California (particularly important).
Go to www.centa.com and click on newsletters in the top left hand box.
click on 1999 and then November for a dissertation on Canadian businesses
expanding into the USA. We used to run seminars on this and should start
again.
Hope this helps
Answers to this and other similar questions can be obtained free on Air
every Sunday morning.
Every Sunday at 9:00 AM on 600AM in Vancouver, I, david ingram am a
permanent guest on Fred Snyder of Dundee Wealth Managers' LIVE talk show
called "ITS YOUR MONEY"
Those outside of the Lower Mainland will be able to listen on the internet
at
www.600AM.com <http://www.600am.com/>
Call (604) 280-0600 to have your question answered. BC listeners can also
call 1-866-778-0600.
Callers to the show and questioners on this board can also attend the
Thursday Night seminars on finance and making your Canadian Mortgage
Interest deductible.
David Ingram's US/Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
Home office at:
4466 Prospect Road
North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Cell (604) 657-8451 -
(604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325
Calls welcomed from 9 AM to 9 PM 7 days a week (please do not fax or phone
outside of those hours as this is a home office)
email to taxman at centa.com <mailto:taxman at centa.com>
www.centa.com <http://www.centa.com/> www.david-ingram.com
<http://www.david-ingram.com/>
Disclaimer: This question has been answered without detailed information or
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