Wednesday, September 14, 2011

It's the LAW


Off-shore owners are required to send 25% of their rental income to Ottawa. Their agents are responsible to do this, or if tenants send their payments directly to the owner, they - the tenant- are responsible!

Then the owner is supposed to submit a special tax return at the end of the year and may then receive some of this money back.

However, they have to deduct it. No ifs ands or buts. Here it is in Black and white.

Ok how many of the gazillion properties owned by offshore owners and rented out are paying this? I would say very few. Probably some managed by Property Management companies are, I hope. However many are managed by realtors, and I have spoken to several and most had no idea they are supposed to deduct this. The rest are probably managed by a cousin or friend and the chances of deduction are zero.

We should disseminate the above link. Send it to those who rent out properties and remind them of their duty to pay Canadian taxes.

We need more aggressive CRA auditing eg of helicopter families who live in $3 M homes and declare very little income.

Enough of that.

Now to Whistler.

32 MmmmONTHS of INVENTORY. We are so far into bear country that sellers should only venture out with bear bells, spray and even a gun. We would be in fire-sale territory were it not for the still blazing Vancouver market and zero % interest rates which give sellers no incentive to sell ( sell and do what with the money).

HOWEVER...

..Prices are definitely DOWN. When was the last time you could pick up a nice up-dated suite, offered at $248/foot??

A VERY Long time ago.


5 comments:

  1. Damn that aint too shabby at all for a place in Whistler. I wouldnt pay it for a vacation place I would use maybe a month a year, but for someone living there, thats almost getting into somewhat reasonable territory.

    If things keep going the way they are I may end up buying a vacation place before I actually buy a primary residence. This begs the question though, if I was to buy that whistler place, use it as a vacation home for 10 years and then sell, all the while renting in Vancouver, do I have to pay tax on any capital gains made on the whistler place? I would assume yes, but I would also assume there are ways around this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If it is not your principle residence then you are supposed to pay tax on the gains, but I am sure there are ways, as you say.

    ReplyDelete
  3. check those strata fees and property tax before you buy it, you might be in for a surprise.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have heard of how incompetent our bureaucrats are that they refunded PTT to 1st time home-buyers who are non-residents and non-citizens. Shame.
    Those foreign owners had their PTT checks sent to them through their accountants, lawyers and friends here.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just got back from a few days in Whistler and boy, there are so many properties for sale. Glossy realtor magazines just stuffed with page after page of listings. I really feel sorry (not) for the greedy goofs trying to sell those 10+ million dollar pads.

    ReplyDelete