Doing Business in Canada with US Firm?

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pwml
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 12:46 pm

Doing Business in Canada with US Firm?

Post by pwml »

I have been employed under TN status with the same firm here in the US for the last 4 years.

However I may have to ask for a leave of absence to return back home for a few months for personal reasons. While I struggle to make this decision, I was wondering if there is any possible way that I could still work for this firm while in Canada. Could I set up a small, home based business in Canada and contract myself back to the firm, performing much the same duties as I do now - except remotely? My job is such that this is quite possible. (I worked for about a month from my US home last year after a nasty leg break - everyone thought it went quite well!)

Aside from the business set up and tax implications on the CA end for me - are there are negative aspects/tax implications etc for the US firm? If this leave does indeed happen, I would of course consult an accountant before doing anything, but I was just wondering if this is even a viable option.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
nelsona
Posts: 18359
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

If you set yourself up as a contrator this is quite easy, since the firm would then not be responsible for any fringe benefits, nor for ant Cdn tax withholding.

They would simply cut you a check every month and be done with it.

If you wanted to remain an employee, they would now be responsible for setting up a Cdn payroll, and *might* even have to file a Cdn tax return -- not entiely desirable from their point of view.

<i>nelsona non grata</i>
Carson
Posts: 182
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 1:00 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Carson »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by nelsona</i>

If you wanted to remain an employee, they would now be responsible for setting up a Cdn payroll, and *might* even have to file a Cdn tax return -- not entiely desirable from their point of view.
<i>nelsona non grata</i>
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

FYI, I don't believe "might" would apply in this case. Having a Canadian employee means a Canadian branch has been set up, thereby requiring a Canadian T2 corporate tax return.

There is a big penalty these days for non-Canadian corporations who "conduct business in Canada" and who do not file the required return.


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Regards,

Carson Hirner
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