Job Discussion Forums

[grace]

Hello fellow Canadians!! As you already know, Paul Martin has called for an election on the 28th of June. I was wondering if anyone knows how Canadians in Japan can vote, since I'm eager to cast my ballot. Thanks everyone!! Grace

[Gordon]

I asked a similar question and was given this site
www.elections.ca

I'm not sure if non-residents can vote or not. One of the stipulations in order to vote is if you intend to live in Canada again. It is kind of a loaded question as when you apply for non-residency they ask when/if you are going to move back to Canada. So would voting hurt your chances of staying a non-resident?

[licorice]

Yes Gordon is correct. If you want to vote you have in effect stated you intend to move back to Canada and thereby will have made yourself a resident- at least for income tax purposes.

Yes Canada has a tax agreement with Japan but all that means is you can deduct the less than 10% you pay in Japan from the 30 or 40% you will owe the federal and provincial governments.

[Mike L.]

[ellethecat]

i understood that is virtually impossible to gain non-resident status, especially if you keep any ties to Canada. The application form asks if you have any pets or personal belongings still in country...

Im keeping a bank account to pay student loans, and furniture in storage. i understood that disqualified me....

[Gordon]

No, you are allowed to have some ties, 6 I believe. I am a non-resident, I have a bank account, passport, driver's license, and RRSP's.

[JimDunlop2]

I used to work with a girl who was doing the paperwork for non-residency. She told me that the way it was explained to her, was that it works on a "point" system... For each tie you have to Canada you are awarded a certain number of points and when you reach a pre-set threshhold they'll turn down your non-residency application..... Which sounds reasonable... I also you cannot really consider non-residency unless you've been abroad for a minimum of 181 days.

I still haven't gotten around to doing this.... I was asking about it, and had a family member consult an accountant specializing in foreign investors, off-shore, etc.. etc.. He told her that I didn't have to do ANYTHING in regards to declaring non-residency. He just said to declare any earnings you had up until your departure date and you don't have to file in subsequent years. But somehow I don't think that's 100% correct.

As an aside, I think the whole election thing is f*****g bogus! They won't let someone with "landed immigrant" status vote in Canada -- you have to be a citizen. But yet, if I'm a citizen of Canada, I should have the right to vote regardless of where in the world I am. Either it IS based on residency or it is NOT.... And I don't agree that a national election should be based on BOTH. Not that I care much about Canadian politics anymore anyways. It's just the principle of it that bugs me somewhat. The right to vote in any country has traditionally been a privilege of citizenship, incuding Canada, yet because I don't live in Canada, I've now become a second-class citizen in the eyes of the Canadian governement, so I will now get denied this right unless I agree that my intention is to move back? Un-friggin-believable! /rant

[Mike L.]

[johanne]

I lived in Japan from 1993-1997 and simply didn't file tax returns for those years. There were no problems. However, when I filed my return for the latter half of 1997 (I returned in July and started working right away) and admitted on the return that I had come back to Canada in July my deductions and tax credits were pro-rated for the time I had been back, meaning that I was only allowed about $3500 as a personal deduction instead of the standard $7000. This resulted in an unexpected tax bill

I'm not sure, but I was under the impression that you could vote at any Canadian embassy and I think stating that you intend to return to Canada one day is pretty vague and unlikely to result in any "non-resident" problems. However, that's just an opinion. I don't have any hard facts.

[canuck]

You only have to file a tax return if you don't owe money (the government owes you money).