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International immigration lawyer David S. Lesperance, Barrister and Solicitor, can assist you in immigrating to Canada. Whenever I mention to Canadians that I bring people to Canada as a tax haven, they shake their heads in disbelief. After all, Canada has a well-deserved reputation for having some of the highest marginal tax rates amongst the OECD countries.   What most Canadians do not realize is that Canada has a well-established regime of tax sheltering to attract new residents that it does not offer to its indigenous population. With proper pre-immigration tax planning, wealthy individuals can move to Canada and avoid income and capital gain tax on their non-Canadian source income and capital gain producing assets.

By David S. Lesperance Barrister & Solicitor. If someone were to ask us who the world's authority is on 2nd passports, we'd answer David Lesperance. Here he is.  If you've ever considered a 2nd passport, David is the man to see and this article is the place to start. Contact - Click Here - Escape From America Magazine Magazine Index  Submit an Article  Subscriptions are Free

Second Country Passports and/or Economic Citizenships

Second Country Passports and/or Economic Citizenship programs do carry a price tag, but in the right situation, a second citizenship may pay for itself many times over. Many folks are purchasing economic citizenships for tax, privacy and security reasons.

In considering economic citizenships, a simple but critical point to understand is that passports are the travel documents issued by a country to its citizens. First you become a citizen, then you get the passport. Some enterprising "consultants" are actually trying to sell "passports for non-citizens". This is an oxymoron, but, no doubt they have managed to separate some people from their money. 

Becoming a Non-Resident U.S. Citizen

In order for an American to become a non-resident "qualified individual", it is necessary to change residency from the U.S. The immediate advantage is a significant saving in income tax. 

As a qualified individual, you would not pay income tax on the first $72,000 of foreign earned income. Under the U.S. Taxpayer Relief Act 1997, this exclusion was increased by $2000 per year starting in 1998 and will be capped at $80,000 in 2002. After 2007, the $80,000 will be indexed to the cost of living adjustment. 

There is second advantage through the wise use of tax treaty provisions that grant relief on some foreign capital gains, U.S.-source income and pension income. You can also deduct housing expenses in excess of a base amount of approximately $7000 a year. 

You can become a "qualified individual" under either the bona fide residence test or the physical presence test. In either case, you must also have your tax home in a foreign country.

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