I have a growing number of US clients exploring the opportunities that the Canadian market has. In this blog I will provide some basic important information for US companies considering expansion into Canada. Incorporating a Canadian corporation is relatively straight forward. If you are
Corporate Amalgamations and Use of Corporate Losses
I recently had a client whose company (“PropertyCo”) had sold a property 2 weeks before making contact with me. The sale resulted in a relatively substantial amount of corporate tax. The client also had another company (“Opco”) with significant operating losses. The question was whether, by
A Simple Analogy to Understand an Asset vs. a Share Sale
A client recently asked me for some advice about a business opportunity which would involve stepping into an existing business to try to turn it profitable. His proposal was to work for several months in an attempt to turn around the business, in exchange for a certain percentage of equity in the
US Company Doing Business In Canada
It is a challenge to comply with one legal and tax system. Try TWO at the same time. Although costly, and more effort, as long as the two laws don’t contradict each other – things should be relatively simple. So, what happens when two different countries, jurisdictions, and treasuries are after the
What Type of Lawyer Should Draft Your Will?
If you have ever asked someone to refer you to a lawyer to draft your will, you were likely given the name of an “estate planning” lawyer, a “wills” lawyer or an “estates” lawyer. Alternatively, you may have been given the name of a family lawyer or a real estate lawyer, who often draft wills for
The “Butterfly” Transaction
I often see structures where a person operates an active business, and also holds the real estate in which the active business is operated, in the same company. There are numerous reasons why this is not a good structure (including that it will likely “taint” the company for capital gains exemption
Withholding Tax on Payments to U.S. Beneficiaries of Canadian Estates
Most people have heard the phrase “withholding tax”. And most people know that withholding tax may be applicable to payments that are made to non-residents of Canada. A very common scenario is where a Canadian estate or trust has U.S. beneficiaries. I recently encountered this type of situation –
Some Canadian Tax Basics
Clients often come to me with the desire to reduce tax. I am more than happy to help them in that regard – I particularly enjoy helping families keep their wealth rather than giving it to the government unnecessarily. Just as often though, I realize that not only do I have the opportunity to
