[rubicon]

An article taken from the "Money" Section of the Sun Sentinel June 24, 2012 reports that some 86,000 Canadians most from Montreal are moving to South Florida and Florida in general permanently to avoid taxes. The article reported that a Canadian making in excess of $80,200 was now subject to 46% in taxes. Apparently in the Quebec Province the sales tax exceeds 15% A financial planner who helps Canadian transplants says you can't go 10 feet down Hollywood Beach without hearing a french accent. The article also concluded that the 86,000 number would be more than doubled if you consider properties purchased through corporations, trust or partnerships.

I would like to hear from Canadians their point of view concerning this article its accuracy, causes, etc. Finally given that Canadians are required to live in Canada for six monts of the year in order to stay qualified for their national health care how this qualification is affected?

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by rubicon

An article taken from the "Money" Section of the Sun Sentinel June 24, 2012 reports that some 86,000 Canadians most from Montreal are moving to South Florida and Florida in general permanently to avoid taxes. The article reported that a Canadian making in excess of $80,200 was now subject to 46% in taxes. Apparently in the Quebec Province the sales tax exceeds 15% A financial planner who helps Canadian transplants says you can't go 10 feet down Hollywood Beach without hearing a french accent. The article also concluded that the 86,000 number would be more than doubled if you consider properties purchased through corporations, trust or partnerships.

I would like to hear from Canadians their point of view concerning this article its accuracy, causes, etc. Finally given that Canadians are required to live in Canada for six monts of the year in order to stay qualified for their national health care how this qualification is affected?

A bit of clarification Rubicon. Firstly, your statement that Canadians must live in Canada for six months of the year to qualify for national health care is not quite correct. Each province has it's own rules. For instance, in Ontario, we have OHIP, which requires that you can be out of the province for seven months and still qualify for provincial health care. Some provinces allow you to travel for eight months, and others, six months.

Secondly, Canadians cannot just decide to live and work in the US. They must go through a qualification process and obtain a work permit, and demonstrate they possess an essential skill. I had a Green Card many years ago, and it wasn't an easy process.

There is currently no such thing as a Retiree Visa. While we would love to stay longer in Florida where we own a home, currently the US Government dictates that we are only allowed to stay in the US for a maximum of 182 days in a calendar year. We are deemed "resident aliens". Don't get me wrong, we're grateful for 182 days!

[duffysmom]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

A bit of clarification Rubicon. Firstly, your statement that Canadians must live in Canada for six months of the year to qualify for national health care is not quite correct. Each province has it's own rules. For instance, in Ontario, we have OHIP, which requires that you can be out of the province for seven months and still qualify for provincial health care. Some provinces allow you to travel for eight months, and others, six months.

Secondly, Canadians cannot just decide to live and work in the US. They must go through a qualification process and obtain a work permit, and demonstrate they possess an essential skill. I had a Green Card many years ago, and it wasn't an easy process.

There is currently no such thing as a Retiree Visa. While we would love to stay longer in Florida where we own a home, currently the US Government dictates that we are only allowed to stay in the US for a maximum of 182 days in a calendar year. We are deemed "resident aliens". Don't get me wrong, we're grateful for 182 days!

And we're grateful that you are here 182 days a year.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by duffysmom

And we're grateful that you are here 182 days a year.

Thanks DM. The best thing about TV and TOTV is the wonderful people we've met. And we love escaping the Canadian winters, which we once enjoyed. We just wish we could stay longer! You Americans are lucky to have such a grand choice of sunny places to live!

Rubicon, honestly, I find it hard to believe reports of 86,000 Canadians moving to Florida to avoid taxes. I'm sure there are lots of Canadians who would like to move to the US, but it's not easy at all to get a US Work Visa. It's true that we have high taxes, and a lot of social programs. And of course, "free" health care means higher tax rates! We find Florida delightfully inexpensive.

[dkrhardy]

Barefoot - I am not an expert, and the way the USA handles Canadian citizens MIGHT be different, but my DW (Darling Wife) is a Japanese citizen with a green card, and she lives here 24/7. She is referred to as a resident alien. So, I wonder, what is the difference? Might be that the green card, which is not green, allows a resident alien to live here without many restrictions?
Don & Kaz

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by dkrhardy

Barefoot - I am not an expert, and the way the USA handles Canadian citizens MIGHT be different, but my DW (Darling Wife) is a Japanese citizen with a green card, and she lives here 24/7. She is referred to as a resident alien. So, I wonder, what is the difference? Might be that the green card, which is not green, allows a resident alien to live here without many restrictions?
Don & Kaz

If you are a US Citizen married to a Japanese Citizen, then for sure different rules apply for your DW. I'd think she would be fast tracked for a Green Card and for Citizenship. A green card allows the holder to live and work in the US for five years, at least that was the criteria when I had a card.

If I were lucky enough to marry a US Citizen, I would be fast tracked for Citizenship. But so far, Fireboy has said no to that idea.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

Thanks DM. The best thing about TV and TOTV is the wonderful people we've met. And we love escaping the Canadian winters, which we once enjoyed. We just wish we could stay longer! You Americans are lucky to have such a grand choice of sunny places to live!

Rubicon, honestly, I find it hard to believe reports of 86,000 Canadians moving to Florida to avoid taxes. I'm sure there are lots of Canadians who would like to move to the US, but it's not easy at all to get a US Work Visa. It's true that we have high taxes, and a lot of social programs. And of course, "free" health care means higher tax rates! We find Florida delightfully inexpensive.

Barefoot: I appeciate your posts. Please understand that I am only re-stating information provided in this article. According to the Sun Sentinel the 86,000 Canadians came to florida to buy a home and retire. The article contiued to explain that probably double that amount is utilizing trust corporation or partnerships to make the transfer.

I posted it because of the health care issue irrespective of the time limiations 6,7,8,9 months. The article left me with the thought that these folks abandoned their health care to move here because overall it was more economical to move here and purchased health care here. Most important the article did used the word "permanent" when describing the move to Florida.

Every Canadian i met in TV told me they had to return to Canada within 6 months, as did a woman I met from Wales.

[ilovetv]

How true this is, and how often U.S. citizens think the opposite:

"And of course, "free" health care means higher tax rates! We find Florida delightfully inexpensive." (By Barefoot from Canada, quoted above)


As the old saying goes: "You can't have your cake and eat it, too."

[dkrhardy]

Fast tracked? Wow, it was a long and painful experience for us! What a huge pile of this and that paperwork we had to do! If that was fast, I sure do pity the folks taking the longer route!


If I were lucky enough to marry a US Citizen, I would be fast tracked for Citizenship. But so far, Fireboy has said no to that idea.
Today 12:26 PM
?? Sorry, we are new on this forum and don't know much about folks yet!

Don & Kaz

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by dkrhardy

Fast tracked? Wow, it was a long and painful experience for us! What a huge pile of this and that paperwork we had to do! If that was fast, I sure do pity the folks taking the longer route!
Don & Kaz

I've heard it is a slow process, even for someone married to a US Citizen. But there is another process if you're not married to a US Citizen which is even longer and more painful. Back when i got a Green Card, I had to have a guarantor, and a job waiting for me.

Here is something I find fascinating. The young girl in TV that does my nails is from Viet Nam. She speaks some english, not much. When I ask her if Viet Namese people have any difficulty immigrating, she says, not at all. When she arrived, she started looking for work, she didn't have a job waiting.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

I've heard it is a slow process, even for someone married to a US Citizen. But there is another process if you're not married to a US Citizen which is even longer and more painful. Back when i got a Green Card, I had to have a guarantor, and a job waiting for me.

Here is something I find fascinating. The young girl in TV that does my nails is from Viet Nam. She speaks some english, not much. When I ask her if Viet Namese people have any difficulty immigrating, she says, not at all. When she arrived, she started looking for work, she didn't have a job waiting.

To get a Green Card, an immigrant still has to have much in place as you did and it is a long, long, expensive process (for those who apply legally rather than buying the phony papers as so many coming over our southwest border do).

For the Vietnamese, there were and probably still are special provisions for refugees immigrating legally, as there are for Cuban nationals who are able to get here and touch one foot down on American soil (Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966).....which though legal, still takes a long time to process.

Green Card Through the Indochinese Parole Adjustment Act
USCIS - Green Card Through the Indochinese Parole Adjustment Act

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by ilovetv

For the Vietnamese, there were and probably still are special provisions for refugees immigrating legally, as there are for Cuban nationals who are able to get here and touch one foot down on American soil (Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966).....which though legal, still takes a long time to process.

Green Card Through the Indochinese Parole Adjustment Act
USCIS - Green Card Through the Indochinese Parole Adjustment Act

Thanks for this information, how interesting, now I understand. TOTV is a wonderful website, always new things to learn.

[tkret]

Canucks visit our country .... bring plenty of money to help our economy .... carry their own medical insurance .... reside peacefully alongside of us .... respect our laws and way of life ... don't rush over to the HHS office to sign up for monthly assistance .... don't ask to educate their kids ... and our Government demands that they vacate in 6 months or less .... and, oh by the way, please come back again and bring more cash. The Canucks may have loonies and toonies for a couple of their coins, but I think it's we who are the REAL "loonies" for treating our very best neighbors like this.

[douga]

So true...My wife and I spend 6 months in The Villages and spend in excess of $20,000 each year and when we return home in April, the first thing we do is pay our income tax for the previous year.

My income tax is well below 40% and our goods and services tax (HST) is 13% on everything we do or buy...I would not trade our medical system for lower taxes no matter what some of the faults or shortcomings are that we face with our system.

Canadians cannot avoid income tax just by living in the USA for 6 months and in fact if we were to overstay our 182 days we would be subject to tax on our worldwide income for BOTH countries.

We must also fill our an 8840 form and send it to the IRS in Austin if our total number of days total more that 180 (all the days this year, plus 1/3 of last years days plus 1/6 of the days two years ago). This allows us a CLOSER CONNECTION to Canada so that we continue to pay only Canadian taxes.

Just a small price to pay in order to enjoy the fine people in The Villages.

Well said Tkret..

[tkret]

Originally Posted by douga

We must also fill our an 8840 form and send it to the IRS in Austin if our total number of days total more that 180 (all the days this year, plus 1/3 of last years days plus 1/6 of the days two years ago). This allows us a CLOSER CONNECTION to Canada so that we continue to pay only Canadian taxes.

Just a small price to pay in order to enjoy the fine people in The Villages.

..

Douga .......... Thank you and your fellow Canadians for staying with us and making The Villages an EVEN FRIENDLIER place. When you leave each Spring it seems a little colder here even though the thermometer indicates otherwise.
.
...... and I'm sure you may enjoy this story.........
Blessed Canada

On the sixth day God turned to the Archangel Gabriel and said:

"Today I am going to create a land called Canada. It will be a land of outstanding natural beauty. It shall have tall majestic mountains full of mountain goats, and eagles, beautiful sparkling lakes bountiful with bass and trout, forests full of elk and moose, high cliffs over-looking sandy beaches with an abundance of sea life, and rivers stocked with salmon."

God continued, "I shall make the land rich in resources so as to make the inhabitants prosper, I shall call these inhabitants Canadians, and they shall be known as the most friendly people on the earth."

"But Lord," asked Gabriel "don't you think you are being too generous to these Canadians?"

"Not really," replied God "just wait and see the winters I am going to give them."