Canada, Eh!

[bargainman]

 

wow, so apparently the folks racking up 50 million views pushing fake news and trying to egg on the separatists are...  Youtubers in Netherlands with no political conenctions, just trying to make a buck.

 

Amazing.  Of all the clicks to dollars paths to exploit...

[LC]

1 hour ago, bargainman said:

wow, so apparently the folks racking up 50 million views pushing fake news and trying to egg on the separatists are...  Youtubers in Netherlands with no political conenctions, just trying to make a buck.

 

Amazing.  Of all the clicks to dollars paths to exploit...

 

Same story in a lot of western countries, all these youtube/instagram fake shills pushing fringe, far-right opinions.

 

If I recall it was mainly Russian funding, at least here in the States.

[Spooky]

3 hours ago, Cor said:

Hey fellow Canadians, looking for some help with retirement planning for senior family members. Does anyone have recommendations for a portfolio mix? They’ve been advised to do 50-50 bonds/stocks by an advisor. I’m wondering if you were to go through Questrade or IB what would be a good bond fund to buy to satisfy this component? Or are we thinking about this the wrong way?
 

We were also wondering if anyone knows the tax implications of holding in a TFSA while retiring abroad (Portugal in particular)?

 

Vanguard has some interesting ETFs which are a portfolio in a can if you scroll to the end of the list: https://www.vanguard.ca/en/product?product-type=etf

 

I would probably choose the balanced one - it is a classic 60/40.

 

You can also look at what ETFs they are using for the different components like the bond components for some inspiration.

 

Edited May 5 by Spooky

[Spooky]

4 hours ago, Cor said:

We were also wondering if anyone knows the tax implications of holding in a TFSA while retiring abroad (Portugal in particular)?

 

I would double check this but if you are breaking residency with Canada you can't keep the TFSA and will have a deemed disposition for tax purposes.

[Lazarus]

What sort of tax implications could there be for a TFSA? The whole purpose is that it's tax free? 

[SharperDingaan]

Keep healthcare and residency by staying abroad a total of no more than 6 months less a day. No difference between a snowbird in Florida or in Portugal.

 

Most would treat Portugal as the family cottage. Kids visit Portugal in winter and gran/grandpa visit Canada in the summer. Works so long as everyone can fly to/from. 

 

Substitute India, South Africa, Botswana, Australia, etc for Portugal; the overall approach is pretty similar.

 

SD

 

[bargainman]

You probably all knew this but I just learned Greg Abel Mr. CEO of BRK is Canadian!  

[Parsad]

1 hour ago, bargainman said:

You probably all knew this but I just learned Greg Abel Mr. CEO of BRK is Canadian!  

 

Did you know Mary & Charles See of See's Candies were also Canadian?  Both from Toronto!  They moved to LA and started See's! 

 

Still my favorite chocolates of all time!  Cheers!

[Cor]

Thanks you guys for the replies much appreciated! Spooky, appreciate the Vanguard link, great place to start looking for sure. 
 

What I was getting at with TFSA is if the 6mo thing doesn’t quite work out, I heard some countries don’t view a TFSA as tax free vehicle and you would get taxed the same a regular margin account. 

[SharperDingaan]

6 hours ago, Cor said:

What I was getting at with TFSA is if the 6mo thing doesn’t quite work out, I heard some countries don’t view a TFSA as tax free vehicle and you would get taxed the same a regular margin account. 

 

It is a lot worse than that .... As a resident of the country (Country X) you have moved to, from the date your residency changed; all future gains/loss/tax-treatments are as they are for every other resident of Country X.

 

All dividends, gains/losses in the TFSA taxed as investment income; same thing in the RRSP unless Country X has a broadly equivalent investment vehicle. All CAD div/interest income (and most pension plan income) now net of withholding tax. Potentially any future unrealised gain on your principal residence now taxed; but mortgage interest potentially deductible (if that is Country X practise). The list goes on .....

 

Snowbirds watch their days away ..... for very good reason! Want to spend more time in Portugal/Europe ? .... split it over 2-3 years, travelling to/from at different times of the year. 4-5 months at a time, with 1-2 months 'in reserve' for any other 'out of Canada' travel that you may wish to do.

 

Very smart thing to Snowbird .... not so much, changing residencies and giving up health care.

 

SD

[Spooky]

Agree with Sharper, just make sure that you don't break residency with Canada. The deemed disposition rules suck, especially if you are closer to retirement + plus any dividends etc. earned in the TFSA will be taxed in the new country of residence. 

[Lazarus]

If you want to make a clean break with Canada you would collapse your TFSA before leaving Canada so that you don't have 'gains' that will be taxed by Portugal. But yes, you'll lose the ability to grow anything further tax free in a TFSA.

 

Portugal has lower tax rates than Canada so you would likely end up paying much less tax overall (depending on your financial situation). As for RRSPs, Portugal generally has special rules for foreign retirement plans - gains while trading should still be tax deferred (if that's wrong, then just put your RRSP money in an ETF and stop trading). The withdrawals will be taxed, just like they would in Canada (but at a lower rate) and there is a tax treaty between Canada and Portugal to avoid double taxation - you'll end up paying less tax on it than you would in Canada. Same for any other type of pension you might have.

 

It's not all doom and gloom. Talk to a cross border tax specialist to get advice on how to develop a departure plan, timing of asset sales, etc. The loss of the ability to continue to grow your TFSA is the biggest loss, but the other issues aren't that big of a deal if you truly want to move. 

 

Edited May 6 by Lazarus
Editing to say 'lol' at Canadian health care

[cwericb]

My sister and her husband have been living in Portugal for the past number of years and spend only about 3 months in Canada. They own homes in both countries and I sent her a copy of this discussion and she says that they maintain their TFSA with no problem. However there are certain conditions. 

 

I would just suggest that people with this situation in mind should do their own DD.

Edited May 6 by cwericb

[Cor]

16 hours ago, cwericb said:

My sister and her husband have been living in Portugal for the past number of years and spend only about 3 months in Canada. They own homes in both countries and I sent her a copy of this discussion and she says that they maintain their TFSA with no problem. However there are certain conditions. 

 

I would just suggest that people with this situation in mind should do their own DD.

This is encouraging, thank you for the additional data point!

[bargainman]

Anyone else had their flight(s) cancelled by Westjet?

 

 

[SharperDingaan]

4 hours ago, TB said:

Completed our business visit to Vancouver Canada. Met with business and start-up leaders primarily.  Had an opportunity to meet with political leaders but that didn't happen because of schedule issues.

 

Keep in mind that around start-up financing, Canada is just more conservative; the later stage 'show us' (via successful funding rounds in the US), and land that contract first. Thereafter, financing will be very competitive, particularly if it also generates new sales to markets largely outside of the US. Frustrates start-up founders, focused on immediate financing to meet cash burn.  

 

While Trump will eventually pass, US business relations are not going back to what they once were. Business will continue between friends, but the overall aim will be to reduce the US share. Healthy diversification.

 

Example. Within Canada, most aluminium beverage cans come from the US (raw aluminium ingots exported to the US, and imported back as cans). Today, they are increasingly being made in Canada, and the US bypassed entirely; the new production a joint venture between friends  ....

 

SD

Edited May 16 by SharperDingaan

[bargainman]

7 hours ago, TB said:

Completed our business visit to Vancouver Canada. Met with business and start-up leaders primarily.  Had an opportunity to meet with political leaders but that didn't happen because of schedule issues.

 

Our approach was to be respectful of the local system and add value during our visit. People to people relationship is good and friendly; didn't see any issues despite the rhetoric by some curmudgeons in this message board. 

 

Vancouver is an expensive place with prices rivaling Silicon Valley area. Canada has a lot of cash based on real estate prices alone and can run deficits for a long time without any issues. 

 

On the innovation front; there are some good people/ideas but investments are difficult to come by; many companies register/operate in the US or are required to do so by US investors to gain traction.

 

 

 

 

I'm curious, if you don't mind sharing, what is the nature of your business(es)?  Were you looking to invest, ink deals, buy or sell product(?).  Would love to hear details.

[bargainman]

Not sure who follows the nba.  I like that there are Canadians representing..  I just wish the 2 most famous ones weren't SGA the flopper and Dillon the Villan.   wish Nash were back  

[Parsad]

50 minutes ago, bargainman said:

Not sure who follows the nba.  I like that there are Canadians representing..  I just wish the 2 most famous ones weren't SGA the flopper and Dillon the Villan.   wish Nash were back  

 

SGA isn't a flopper.  He just gets the benefit of alot of calls just like Kobe did. 

 

SGA never begs for a call unlike Doncic...who is a legitimate flopper, as skilled as he is offensively.  Doncic is so busy arguing for fouls that he never plays any defense. 

 

Like the phantom call SGA received when De'aaron Fox was called.  SGA didn't motion for a call, nor even look at a ref.  The ref made the incorrect phantom call. 

 

You will rarely see SGA call for a foul and he doesn't jump into a defensive player when they are in the air.  He gets them to step back with his forearm, and forces them to jump into him as he is coming down after elevating...unlike other players like Luka and Harden who lean right into the defensive player while they are in the air...which shouldn't be allowed!

 

Anyway, it's really the French who are being represented here...we are witnessing the emergence of the greatest big man to play the game since Wilt Chamberlain!  They probably won't win this year, but we've got 7 games to say we saw Wemby begin to dominate. 

 

He puts on another 20 lbs over the next couple of seasons, perfects his gangly footwork, and there will be no one to stop this guy.  People always wondered what Shaq would have been like if he could shoot free throws...how about Shaq if he could shoot free throws and 3-pointers!  Cheers!

[jm25]

So exciting to watch Wemby. Living up to the hype just like LeBron. I really think Wemby has GOAT potential if he stays healthy - he's already the best player in the league. He's already a lock to be the best defensive player of all time - it's amazing how he influences the play when he's out there. It's crazy that he is paired with a 20 and 21 year old. I think this could be an OKC and Spurs league for the next 10 years! 

 

Big Shai fan... but definitely a flopper: 

 

 

 

[cubsfan]

31 minutes ago, jm25 said:

So exciting to watch Wemby. Living up to the hype just like LeBron. I really think Wemby has GOAT potential if he stays healthy - he's already the best player in the league. He's already a lock to be the best defensive player of all time - it's amazing how he influences the play when he's out there. It's crazy that he is paired with a 20 and 21 year old. I think this could be an OKC and Spurs league for the next 10 years! 

 

Big Shai fan... but definitely a flopper: 

 

 

 

 

Young Wembly looks like a young Chamberlain.

[jm25]

4 hours ago, cubsfan said:

 

Young Wembly looks like a young Chamberlain.

Having not seen much of Wilt (other than the odd grainy clip on YouTube) it's how I imagine he looked at the time relative to the competition. 

 

Wemby is definitely the biggest freak since Wilt. Pull up 3s from the logo, ball handling skills, easy one handed alley-oops, all while being the clear best defensive player out there. He really changes what it means to be a 'unicorn' after the most recent 'unicorns' like Porzingis, Giannis, Embiid, etc. 

[Parsad]

7 hours ago, jm25 said:

So exciting to watch Wemby. Living up to the hype just like LeBron. I really think Wemby has GOAT potential if he stays healthy - he's already the best player in the league. He's already a lock to be the best defensive player of all time - it's amazing how he influences the play when he's out there. It's crazy that he is paired with a 20 and 21 year old. I think this could be an OKC and Spurs league for the next 10 years! 

 

Big Shai fan... but definitely a flopper: 

 

 

 

 

Shai's not a flopper...he falls a lot like Steph because of momentum.  But Steph doesn't get any calls unlike everyone else.  Steph and Kyrie Irving have one of the highest ratios of most points per game and least FTA in history.  Can you believe that?  Cheers!

[Parsad]

2 hours ago, jm25 said:

Having not seen much of Wilt (other than the odd grainy clip on YouTube) it's how I imagine he looked at the time relative to the competition. 

 

Wemby is definitely the biggest freak since Wilt. Pull up 3s from the logo, ball handling skills, easy one handed alley-oops, all while being the clear best defensive player out there. He really changes what it means to be a 'unicorn' after the most recent 'unicorns' like Porzingis, Giannis, Embiid, etc. 

 

He's still gangly and uncoordinated...wait till he puts on some weight and muscle, and starts getting control of his feet and legs.  Yeah, he's the closest thing we've seen to Wilt.  Wilt was already a man when he came into the league...Wemby will take a couple of years...but this is the start!  Funny how every 15 years or so, we get a game changing player in each conference and two teams that are going to create historic rivalries!  Cheers!

[Viking]

Very insightful speech and Q&A with Mark Carney. He is increasingly looking like a man of the times for Canada.

 

There is a question at the beginning of the Q&A about elevated inflation (19:39 minute mark). Carney said it is a necessary price to pay for what needs to be done - he didn’t even try and deny or downplay it. I am liking Fairfax’s views on inflation (higher highs and higher lows) and the positioning of their bond portfolio (low average duration) more and more. 
 

Great quote from Carney:

 

“…comment from Finish president Alex Stubb (13:16 minute mark):

 

“…people consistently do three things:

1. over rationalize the past 
2. over dramatize the present, and
3. underestimate the future”

 

Implication from Carney: “The right response to the rupture happening today is clearer than it feels.”

 

The quote from the Finish President applies equally to investors and investing…

 

 

Edited Friday at 12:45 AM by Viking