Moving out of Canada - question for accountants and lawyers

[GG2]

I was reading an article about how a co-founder of Facebook recently renounced his US citizenship so that he is taxed less http://finance.yahoo.com/news/facebook-co-founder-saverin-gives-up-u-s--citizenship-before-ipo.html

I wondered if something similar could be done as a Canadian. In discussions on other forums, I've learned that you can apparently keep your Canadian citizenship and are not liable for Canadian taxes, so long as you only stay 6 months or less of each year in Canada and you do not maintain any property and any bank accounts in Canada. Is this true?

If it is true, the only question that remains is in which country should one spend the other 6 months? Would a tax haven like Panama be best?

From a hobbiest's perspective, what about a place like Prague?

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_wage average disposable income for citizens in the Czech Republic is $16,000 per year. So if you move to Prague, you should be able to live like king. Beautiful EE women, real cheap, safe.

"[Czech Republic] has the highest human development in Central and Eastern Europe, ranking as a "Very High Human Development" nation. It is also ranked as the third most peaceful country in Europe and most democratic and healthy (by infant mortality) country in the region"

For those who have travelled to Prague, would you want to live there? Who should I speak to about Czech Republic tax laws, citizenship, and so forth?

 

[gww]

They cut your penis off if you are caught with a prostitute.

I would prefer to pay taxes.

 

[wetnose]

Basically you'd have to sever all ties:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/ndvdls/lvng-eng.html

So if you have kids, they have to come with you. Car/property/boat: sell. Cancel driver's license & ohip. As far as Prague goes, check internationalsexguide.info - I believe it was better a decade ago. Ukraine is supposedly better.

 

[oldjones]

OK. But no rescue fleet for you when Lower Slobovia erupts in a shooting-type civil war.

 

[LKD]

i'd totally move to a dozen other countries if money, jobs, career wasn't an issue.

Fuck, I can totally understand why that facebook co-founder is doing it. America taxes about 30 something percent of your income. Ridiculous!

 

[lenny2]

I guess the key questions are:

1. have you calculated how much you'll save on taxes
2. how much of a savings is it
3. is it significant

As for a safe destination with lots of cheap sex workers & being able to live like a king,
many people choose Thailand.

 

[oldjones]

I guess the key questions are:

1. have you calculated how much you'll save on taxes
2. how much of a savings is it
3. is it significant

As for a safe destination with lots of cheap sex workers & being able to live like a king,
many people choose Thailand.

Don't forget to factor in the stuff you get cheap here. My friends in Indonesia have a guard on their house-gate 24hrs a day, need a beefier car for the bad roads and of course pay their own medical, as obvious starters. They've found they're happier/feel safer with a local guy driving them, but they've also found they can't do anything about the raw sewage smell or dirty street just outside.

It isn't just the taxes.

 

[kkelso]

i'd totally move to a dozen other countries if money, jobs, career wasn't an issue.

Fuck, I can totally understand why that facebook co-founder is doing it. America taxes about 30 something percent of your income. Ridiculous!

"30 something percent"? I wish....

 

[LKD]

I guess the key questions are:

1. have you calculated how much you'll save on taxes
2. how much of a savings is it
3. is it significant

As for a safe destination with lots of cheap sex workers & being able to live like a king,
many people choose Thailand.

women are different... asian women and europeans can't be compared.. unless all you care about is pussy regardless of their looks

 

[lenny2]

Don't forget to factor in the stuff you get cheap here. My friends in Indonesia have a guard on their house-gate 24hrs a day, need a beefier car for the bad roads and of course pay their own medical, as obvious starters. They've found they're happier/feel safer with a local guy driving them, but they've also found they can't do anything about the raw sewage smell or dirty street just outside.

It isn't just the taxes.

True, there is more to consider than just taxes. Although your description of friends in Indonesia
doesn't make it sound very safe. OTOH Thailand has a rep for being a safe place to retire.

I think just the fact there are various poor countries to retire in and "live like a king" makes that
prospect enticing, apart from the matter of paying less in taxes.

BTW i believe Canada & Thailand have some sort of tax agreement, but not being a tax expert i
couldn't say if living there would result in paying less, more, or the same amount in taxes. I
suppose it might depend on various factors.

In general i'd say you could live in Thailand at the same standards for 2 or 3 times less than in
Canada. Sex workers of equal quality for 5-10 times less.

Also i'd suggest civilian girls are easier to pick up in LOS, even without knowing the lingo.

 

[lenny2]

women are different... asian women and europeans can't be compared.. unless all you care about is pussy regardless of their looks

I think both have many attractive lookers, but, like beauty, continental female preferences are in the eye of the beholder.

Are you saying you've never seen a stunningly hot Asian?

Some of my favs in Bangkok have coloured their hair red and wear blue eyed contact lenses.

In their natural state Thai girls tend to be smaller, shorter, slimmer, have black hair & dark coloured
eyes (which are sometimes "oriental"), and more often thicker "Angelina Jolie" type lips (great for
DFK & BBBJs!). Their skin is usually somewhat tanned, sometimes white or even black.

As to other aspects, they tend to be less feministic and more feminine, willing to please their man.

 

[Mikehorn]

Sell everything, buy a boat and sail the seven seas with your trophy wife. I've heard that works.

 

[lurkerdick]

if you're a multi-billionare...sure

 

[lenny2]

if you're a multi-billionare...sure

Yes, if you are very very wealthy ($10m CASH + $2m /yr ongoing income IMO)

In those cases i'd retire in Macau instead of Bangkok & go to the casinos (more lucrative than Vegas) every day.

 

[afterhours]

Yes, if you are very very wealthy ($10m CASH + $2m /yr ongoing income IMO) or you have good reason (like work or business) to be there.

what if you can retire say with a $30K or 50K income? you can be a nobody here, or you can be a king in Thailand, Bali, Goa, Cuba or a hundred of other places.

 

[afterhours]

In those cases i'd retire in Macau instead of Bangkok & go to the casinos (more lucrative than Vegas) every day.

casinos are lucrative if you own them, not if you "go" there

 

[lenny2]

casinos are lucrative if you own them, not if you "go" there

That's generally true. By "lucrative", though, i was referring to the casinos in Macau being more
so than those in Vegas, not those who gamble in such places. If i had the wealth of many
millions or billions, i'd have lots to burn in the casinos, if i so desired, as well as live in much more
expensive Macau rather than BKK. As it stands, i'm in Canada wanking every day.

 

[lenny2]

what if you can retire say with a $30K or 50K income? you can be a nobody here, or you can be a king in Thailand, Bali, Goa, Cuba or a hundred of other places.

I think that would probably be plenty enough to retire in Thailand, PI, & elsewhere. While not literally
being a king, you're dollar might go 2 or 3 times further. So if you spent 30K here, over there you'ld
spend 15K & put the other 15K in the bank (or spend it on SP's, etc).

 

[afterhours]

You'd still be a nobody, but have a bit more money than a local. And your money would go further in those second and third world places.

You are not going to "live like a King" anywhere on $30k

yeah maybe not like the king of England on $30K but you'll have a maid, you'll eat out whenever you feel like it, and you'll have more young pussy than you can service.

 

[lenny2]

yeah maybe not like the king of England on $30K but you'll have a maid, you'll eat out whenever you feel like it, and you'll have more young pussy than you can service.

Yes, that is easily doable. Minimum wage in Thailand, i think, is 300 Baht a DAY. About $10 Canadian. Which might suggest some idea of the average income, which i expect is far less than 30K. Here are some opinions from 5 years ago:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061221041301AAh5mKQ