I am a dual Citizen that was born in Canada & has been living in the USA since 2000. My husband & I own a camp site in Canada that we visit once a month but we live 11 months of the year in the US. My Husband is only a US citizen not dual like myself.
There is a great opportunity to buy goods here in the USA & import them to Canada for resale. We already have a LLC for our business in the USA & operate as a Non-Resident Importer to Canada, We are the only 2 members of the LLC. Please correct me if Im wrong but I have been told that I (the Canadian non-resident citizen) has to be the one selling goods to the Canadian public & not my husband since he is not a citizen. But he can Bring & import goods across the border providing they are already sold to a Business ahead of time.
other questions we have:
Also Is selling direct to the public in Canada in person considered "carrying on a business in Canada" the source for the buyers is online & we have no store front. We warehouse the goods at our camp site.
Would I or Should I Reactivate my SIN number (it is dormant since I have not been living in Canada since 2000).
Is a USA LLC the way to go. I understand I cant start a Canadian corp since I am a non resident & you need at least one resident of Canada on a corp.
My husband finds & purchases the goods in the USA & I import them to Canada & sell them. Is there a way we should be seperating the activites on paper?
Will I /we be paying Canadian Corp taxes on the LLC?
Is it ok or a good Idea to have a business bank acct in Canada for the purpose of accepting Canadian cheques/checks & to keep the money seperate.
Sorry for all the questions . Thank you in advance for any answers!
Dual Citizen living in USA selling goods in Canada
Moderator: Mark T Serbinski CA CPA
1) You can reactivate your CND SIN anytime it does not expire
2)You can set up a CND corp with non resident shareholders under provincial charter ( ie Quebec allows you to have non resident directors) however under Canada CBCA non resident directors are not allowed but you can have non resident shaerholders but doing so disqualifies you from teh small business tax rate since you are not considered a CCPC.
3)Of course these activities must be seperated in your bookks under the name of teh business and the business has to obtain its own CRA BN number with an Import number ( same as your BN but different prefix).
4) If you are taxable in Canada and it depends on your activities here and you operate a LLC this is a corp for CND tax purposes.
5) Opening up a CND bank acct is one other aspect of whether or not you are carrying on business in CND, if you do require it then it is also required reporting to disclose it to IRS, best not to open one up if not needed.
2)You can set up a CND corp with non resident shareholders under provincial charter ( ie Quebec allows you to have non resident directors) however under Canada CBCA non resident directors are not allowed but you can have non resident shaerholders but doing so disqualifies you from teh small business tax rate since you are not considered a CCPC.
3)Of course these activities must be seperated in your bookks under the name of teh business and the business has to obtain its own CRA BN number with an Import number ( same as your BN but different prefix).
4) If you are taxable in Canada and it depends on your activities here and you operate a LLC this is a corp for CND tax purposes.
5) Opening up a CND bank acct is one other aspect of whether or not you are carrying on business in CND, if you do require it then it is also required reporting to disclose it to IRS, best not to open one up if not needed.
JG
Thanks for the reply. It answered much of what I was asking.
What I still need to figure out is if I sell online from the states but physically meet & exchange the goods in Canada am I "carrying on a business in Canada".
& Can my husband bring in the imported goods to our camp, provided he isnt selling anything to the public. The way I understand it is that he could sell goods to a "Business" online & import it then deliver it right to that business. But he Cannot solict the public or deal directly with the public since he isnt a citizen (no work permit either)
If it is considered "carrying on a business in Canada" is that really all that bad with Corp taxes being 15% fed & 10% ontario starting next year.? & our llc would be treated that way I assume?
thanks.
What I still need to figure out is if I sell online from the states but physically meet & exchange the goods in Canada am I "carrying on a business in Canada".
& Can my husband bring in the imported goods to our camp, provided he isnt selling anything to the public. The way I understand it is that he could sell goods to a "Business" online & import it then deliver it right to that business. But he Cannot solict the public or deal directly with the public since he isnt a citizen (no work permit either)
If it is considered "carrying on a business in Canada" is that really all that bad with Corp taxes being 15% fed & 10% ontario starting next year.? & our llc would be treated that way I assume?
thanks.
If you sell online in the US to Canada you are not carrying on a business. If you meet teh goods physically in Canada than store tehm on your campsite to me this constitutes a Perm Establishment which means you are carrying on a business in Canada.
So you will need to file tax returns in Canada pay the tax and claim it back in the US as a tax credit.
So you will need to file tax returns in Canada pay the tax and claim it back in the US as a tax credit.
JG