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Canada and the U.S. – Two Countries, One Border, Divergent Rules on Wealth Transfers

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Canada and the U.S. – Two Countries, One Border, Divergent Rules on Wealth Transfers

Canadians and Americans share many things in common. Common language, one border, a love for teams in the National Hockey League, a slew of dual citizen individuals in Canada and Canadian residents in the U.S., and a common history up to the time of the American Revolution. But many differences exist, nonetheless. To illustrate, when wealth is transferred, the U.S. imposes gift and estate taxes based on value. Canada imposes capital gains tax. The U.S. imposes income taxes on global income based on citizenship as well as residence. Canada imposes income tax on global income based only on residence. Canada imposes departure taxes when any resident leaves the country to establish a residence elsewhere. The U.S. imposes departure tax only when citizenship is renounced, or when a long-term green card holder relinquishes his or her green card. These differences trigger several tax traps, many of which can be avoided by unique provisions in the Canada-U.S. Income Tax Treaty. But the treaty is not perfect. In his article, Andreas Apostolides explains the taxation rules for wealth transfers in both countries, the applicable provisions in the income tax treaty designed to be helpful, and most importantly, a solution that is followed by many Canadian tax advisers when the treaty fails to provide a solution for disparities in adjusted cost basis for certain assets received as a gift or a bequest.

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Corporate Matters: One Clause that Should Be in Every Partnership Agreement

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Our practice involves the drafting of many different types of partnership agreements and other agreements governing the relationship among individuals involved in a common enterprise. These agreements include general and limited partnership agreements, operating agreements or limited liability company agreements, and shareholder agreements for corporations. In this article, all these types of entities are referred to as “joint ventures.”

During the initial client discussions with respect to these agreements we highlight and discuss the usual laundry list of matters that co-investors should consider at the time of formation. One matter that we believe should be addressed in every joint venture agreement is what happens upon the death of a member of the joint venture. For obvious reasons, many do not want to focus on this point. However, the procedure to be followed when surviving spouses and heirs inherit an ownership interest is best handled at the beginning of the joint venture. While it may appear that all joint venture members have similar interests, relationships can change very quickly, and the bottom line is that while one may be very interested in being in partnership with a certain individual, the same interest may not attach to that person’s spouse.