Hi I’m a newbie to forums in general so please bear with me if I commit any so called forum “sins”!
I’m a recent graduate from Canada and the plan was to come to Taipei for an internship. Now it looks I’m here to stay for at least a year if not longer. But as a recent grad you can imagine I don’t really have a lot of savings so I was counting on the last cheque from my USC Education Savings Plan to help pay off the rest of my student loans.
Lo and behold, when I finally do recieve the last of my payments in the mail, I learn that the Canadian government has decided to knock 50% off on the account of Non-Residency because they want keep their “students in Canada.”
I’ve made calls to USC and two revenue offices in Canada and while everyone was sympathic to my plight calling me “dear” like only Canadians can, I’m none the wiser and still very much confused. Instead of telephone tag, I figure I’d post on here to see if there are any other fellow Canucks with a similar experience or advice.
I’m supposed to fill out a NR73 - Determination of Residency Status first, and if I qualify I can submit NR7-R Application for Refund of Non-Resident Tax Withheld. The only thing is I didn’t recieve any straight answers about how staying in Taipei for longer will effect my chances of getting a refund. Plus, the NR7-R form is f-ing confusing!
Personally I think I’m entitled to the full amount as I do have intentions to go back and become a tax paying citizen again once I’ve saved enough to be on my own in Ontario. I was informed that generally the goverment might pocket back 25%. 50% is just way too much!
On a matter of principle, I’m fighting this but I still support the system even with it’s flaws. Again if anyone has any advice, I’d love to hear from you. Also getting to know some other Canadians would be nice. Yay multiculturalism, hockey and poutine. How I miss it!
[quote=“chiquita”]Hi I’m a newbie to forums in general so please bear with me if I commit any so called forum “sins”!
I’m a recent graduate from Canada and the plan was to come to Taipei for an internship. Now it looks I’m here to stay for at least a year if not longer. But as a recent grad you can imagine I don’t really have a lot of savings so I was counting on the last cheque from my USC Education Savings Plan to help pay off the rest of my student loans.
Lo and behold, when I finally do recieve the last of my payments in the mail, I learn that the Canadian government has decided to knock 50% off on the account of Non-Residency because they want keep their “students in Canada.”
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From their agreement: “Students must be Canadian residents to receive the CESG.” If you are here only on an internship would you not still have residency status? Did you somewhere change your permanent address from Canada to Taipei thereby causing them to change the value of your pay out? I assume you haven’t declared non-residency yet.
I don’t know this plan and as such am of limited help. I would be interested in hearing how this works out for you as we will be looking into something similar in the not so distant future.
Yes, there is no reason under the sun they should consider you a non-resident because you are leaving for a year. In general residency is determined by the links you maintain with Canada. If you can prove you are maintaining close ties to the homeland such as keeping your bank accounts and credit cards active, keeping your health insurance, perhaps a car with insurance, (a house would be the tops), then you can argue that you are still a resident. In fact, you shouldn’t even need to argue as these are evidence of residency. This will make you liable for taxes on any income earned in Taiwan, however.
I declared non-residency after two years when it was clear was not going back. I had to cancel my medical, credit cards and the like to make sure that the government couldn’t come after me later. Ultimately, residency is decided by the government though there are the guidelines I mentioned.
It really sounds like they are cheating you, unless residency regulations have really changed in the past few years, which I doubt. Your uni must have legal aid. Go to see them and yes do fight them because if you plan to go back in a short time and maintain bank accounts and the like, you are a resident.
Thanks kelake and Mucha Man for the helpful links and insight I haven’t filed my status yet, mostly because I’m still confused as to what I’ll be doing over the next year. Identity crisis of a recent grad mixed with wanderlust. But I probably won’t be canceling my credit or OHIP anytime soon in the advent I do go back now and then.
And the suggestion to get an ombudsman from my university is a really good one except the bureaucracy is quite merde at my now alma mater (yay! finally!). Also I’m not sure if I should even be getting money in the first place, considering I zipped through the summer session in order to make it in time for my internship. So technically, my student status in Canada is null and void. But money is money and from an education savings plan no less. They can’t penalize me for finishing my degree earlier than planned!
I think the following applies to my situation:
The usual Part XIII tax rate is 25% (unless a tax treaty between Canada and your home country reduces the rate).
Mucha Man pointed out there is no known tax treaty to speak of and the CRA agent I spoke to also said that at most they should deduct 25%, not 50%! So I will definitely be doing the following:
If you think an incorrect amount of Part XIII tax has been deducted from your income, contact the International Tax Services Office.
I’ll keep everyone posted. Hopefully things will eventually pan out and I can get back to studying Bopomofo…eek, I need a miracle!
I feel honoured that my first reply is from both a Canadian and an admin! Now to fill out those forms…