Tag Archives: Canada US tax treaty

Canada’s Underused Housing Tax May Violate The Non-discrimination Clause In Tax Treaties

Purpose and summary of this post:

Because Canada’s Underused Housing Tax treats nonresidents of Canada differently, based on their citizenship, the tax may violate the non-discrimination Article in many of Canada’s tax treaties (including the Canada U.S. tax treaty). Nonresidents of Canada are treated differently depending on whether or not they are Canadian citizens. For example a Canadian citizen who is a nonresident of Canada is “excluded” from the tax. But, a U.S. citizen who is a nonresident of Canada is “affected” by the tax. This appears to violate paragraph 1 of Article XXV of the Canada U.S. tax treaty (and other Canadian tax treaties).

Paragraph 1 of Article XXV of the Canada U.S. tax treaty:

1. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subjected in the other Contracting State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith that is more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which nationals of that other State in the same circumstances, particularly with respect to taxation on worldwide income, are or may be subjected. This provision shall also apply to individuals who are not residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

The question is what is meant by “in the same circumstances”. Relevant commentary from the OECD and from U.S. Treasury underscores that the words “particularly with respect to taxation on worldwide income” include whether the individual is taxed as a tax resident of the country or as a nonresident of the country.

Arguably all “nonresidents” of Canada are “in the same circumstances” (in relation to Canada’s tax system). Hence, “nonresidents” should not be treated differently depending on their citizenship.

Discussion and analysis follows.

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Introduction – The Hypocrisy Of Representative Brian Higgins Continues

“Good Americans should NOT have a Canadian tax imposed on them!”

This is a recent statement from Congressman Brian Higgins. Click on the following tweet to listen to a recent interview with the Congressman.

The background …

As discussed here, Canada has a number of “Vacant Home Taxes“. Canada’s Underused Housing Tax is taxation based on citizenship and/or immigration status. (It is NOT based on “tax residency” and “tax residency” is irrelevant.) Notably the United States is the only major country in the world that makes citizenship and/or immigration status a sufficient condition for “tax residency”. In fact the United States imposes worldwide taxation and FATCA compliance on a approximately one million Canadian residents. Nevertheless, Congressman Higgins is certain of the injustice of Canada’s imposition of a citizenship based tax on U.S. residents. (The fact that the tax is based on property located in Canada appears to him to be irrelevant.) Furthermore, he seems intent on NOT acknowledging that:

“Good Canadians should not have an American tax imposed on them”.

Apparently what’s okay for the USA is somehow not okay for Canada.

But, hypocrisy aside …

Congressman Higgins’s objections hopefully will generate a discussion of the injustice of citizenship taxation generally. While ignoring the fact that the U.S. citizenship tax regime imposes direct U.S. taxation on the Canadian source income of millions of Canadian residents, Congressman Higgins is certain that Canada’s tax (which affects at most a few thousand Americans) violates the U.S. Canada tax treaty. In other words, Congressman Higgins’s hypocritical position appears to include:

Only the United States has the right to impose taxation on the residents of other countries under the principle of citizenship taxation“.

In the spirit of affirming that Canada’s citizenship tax on Americans is in violation of the principle that only the United States has the right to engage in citizenship taxation, Congressman Higgins appeared as a witness before a Canadian Parliamentary Committee to discuss Canada’s Underused Housing Tax. The hearing took place in June 2023. During the hearing he raised the spectre of two possible legal challenges to Canada’s threat to the (presumptive) U.S. monopoly on citizenship taxation. The claim that Canada’s Underused Housing Tax violates the “non-discrimination” Article of the Canada U.S. tax treaty (and other Canadian tax treaties) is the subject of this post.

Food for thought:

The non-discrimination clause in the standard tax treaties suggests that certain kinds of citizenship taxation may be inappropriate. (How this reality bears on the question of U.S. citizenship taxation generally will be the subject of a separate post.)

Outline:

Part A – About Canada’s Underused Housing Tax
Part B – Representative Brian Higgins June 5, 2023 testimony to Canadian Parliamentary Committee – Includes “potential violations”
Part C – Thinking about the “non-discrimination” clause – A basic analysis
Part D – What does U.S. Treasury’s Technical Explanation suggest?
Part E – What about Canadian tax treaties with other countries? – Considering the Canada UK treaty
Part F – Appendixes – Various Tax Treaties

Part A – About Canada’s Underused Housing Tax

The statute and regulations are here. S. 2 of the statute deems certain individuals to be “excluded owners” of residential property. Those “excluded” from the application of the Act are defined to include:

(b) an individual who is a citizen or permanent resident, except to the extent that the individual is an owner of the residential property in their capacity as a trustee of a trust (other than a personal representative in respect of a deceased individual) or as a partner of a partnership;

To put it simply: Canadian “citizens” and those with the legal status of being “permanent residents” of Canada are excluded from the application of the statute. They are not subject to the tax. Those who are NEITHER Canadian citizens NOR permanent residents of Canada are (depending on the occupancy of the property) subject to the tax. This means that (in general) U.S. citizens, living in the United States, are subject (as”affected” owners) to the statute and may (depending on the occupancy of the property) be required to pay the tax.

To simplify the application of the law:

Canadian citizens and permanent resident owners (regardless of whether they are tax residents of Canada) are not subject to the tax.

U.S. citizens (who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents) are subject to the tax.

To simplify the context:

Imagine four neighbors living in Buffalo, New York. They all drive Ford trucks. They all drink Budweisers. They all watch the Buffalo Bills on Sundays. They all work for the same company. They all file taxes jointly with their spouses. They all own seasonal homes (in their names only) located in Fort Erie Ontario, Canada (where they become “neighbours” instead of “neighbors”. Interestingly and completely arbitrarily, Canada’s Underused Housing Tax may or may apply to them. Let’s see how the tax might affect each of them.

Neighbor 1: Neither a Canadian citizen nor permanent resident of Canada – subject to the tax

Neighbor 2: A dual citizen of Canada and the United States – NOT subject to the tax

Neighbor 3: A U.K, citizen who has the legal status of “permanent resident” of Canada, but also a U.S. Green Card holder – NOT subject to the tax

Neighbor 4: A U.K. citizen living in the United States on an L visa – subject to the tax.

Notice that all four of these neighbors live in Buffalo, New York and are NOT tax residents of Canada. Neighbor 2 (Canadian citizen) and Neighbor 3 (permanent resident of Canada) are NOT subject to the tax. Neighbors 1 and 4 (neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents of Canada are subject to the tax).

Part B – Representative Brian Higgins June 5, 2023 testimony to Canadian Parliamentary Committee – Includes “potential violations”

Excerpt from his testimony:

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Part 46 – Why Other Countries Should File Amicus Briefs In The Moore MRT Appeal

Why U.S. deemed income events cause problems for U.S. citizens living in other countries and erode the tax based of the countries where they live

All countries in the world have an interest in the Moore MRT appeal and should file Amicus briefs in support of the Moores.

The U.S. citizenship tax AKA extraterritorial tax regime applies to ALL U.S. citizens and residents wherever they live in the world. With its very expansive definition of “tax residency”, the United States claims the tax residents of other countries as U.S. tax residents. Those unlucky dual filers are subject to additional administrative fees, additional taxation and the opportunity cost of the inability to effectively engage in retirement and financial planning.

In the Moore MRT appeal the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether “income” requires the actual receipt of income or whether “deemed income” meets the 16th Amendment test for income. Does the 16th Amendment require objective tests that must be satisfied before “income” can exist? The answer to this question will have profound implications for both the “U.S. citizen” residents of other countries and (2) the countries where they live. As previously discussed, if income does NOT have to be actually received, this opens the door for the U.S. tax the residents of other countries on income they have never received. Often the taxable event in the U.S. will take place before the taxable event in that other country.

The following post describes some examples where the United States is already deeming income to have been received for U.S. tax purposes before income has been received in the other country.

The following post describes how the U.S. deeming income to have been received for U.S. tax purposes prior to income having been received in the other country may result in (1) double taxation to the individual and (2) erosion of the tax base of the other country.

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To TFSA Or To Not TFSA, Whether Tis Better For A US Citizen Living In Canada To Open A TFSA Or Not

Update March 29, 2023 …

On March 28, 2023 the Government of Canada officially announced that the Canadian “First Home Saving Account” will be available to Canadian residents as of April 1, 2023. As explained in this description of the “FHSA”, this will be of value to U.S. citizens who are resident in Canada. The circumstances surrounding the TFSA are similar to the FHSA. Here is a more complete discussion of US citizens residing in Canada and the use of the FHSA.

Introduction And Purpose

As the article referenced in the above tweet makes clear, a very small percentage of Canadians can expect their retirements to be funded by pensions. The message is that individuals have an obligation to themselves and to their families to engage in responsible financial and retirement planning. Governments have a clear, important and sustainable interest in assisting their residents to achieve and maintain financial stability. The tax laws in every country have provisions in their tax codes to both incentivize and facilitate this planning. They facilitate planning planning vehicles through provisions in their tax codes. Almost all of these planning vehicles are based on “before tax” advantaged vehicles (RRSP or Conventional IRA) or “after tax” vehicles (TFSA or ROTH IRA) which allow for tax free growth. Canada is home to many people who are dual Canada/US citizens. Canadian residents who are also U.S. citizens are subject to the U.S. tax code. This means that they are required to comply with the tax codes of both Canada and the United States (two of the most complex tax regimes in the world). But, what happens when the financial planning provisions in Canada’s tax law are not recognized in the tax code of the United States? What Canada giveth, the U.S. (possibly) taxeth.

The purpose of this post is to take a “deeper dive” into the mechanics financial planning and investing for U.S. citizens who reside in Canada. Most U.S. citizens feel completely disabled by U.S. tax laws. I don’t believe that this is necessarily true in all cases. This is intended to be one of a series of posts to address the specific issue of:

“Retirement And Financial Planning For U.S. Citizens Living Outside The United States”

If you have an idea for a topic send me an email. I encourage you to subscribe to this blog.

U.S. Citizens In Canada And The TFSA

I am frequently asked by Canadian residents who are US citizens whether they should open a TFSA (“Tax Free Savings Account”) in Canada. The purpose of this post is to discuss this very issue. As usual there is no “one size fits all answer” that is correct for everybody. In order to analyze this question I am joined by Oliver Wagner of “1040 Abroad” who has provided his thoughts, experience, commentary and some sample tax US tax returns which illustrate the various principles.

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