Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

Great news.

Now to deal with the red tape. I am not impressed with the cost of incorporating. Are there so-called "umbrella" companies in Canada?

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

I'll umbrella you for five bucks an hour, you get paid when we get paid. You will note that you'll only be losing $40/day after a month and a half of working, a small price to pay for the convenience!

I would have thought the cost of incorporation, around $1,000, was not a big deal. It's the cost of wrapping up the corporation when it's no longer needed that you should be concerned about.

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

That Umbrella is cheap! how do I sign up. Presently I have a client who is 8 months late on an invoice...so I'm used to waiting.

I incorporated in England for £50 a long time ago. It seems to have become even cheaper - advertised online for £10! (crikey). So that's why I find $360 unimpressive.

In the long term - yeah it's a small price to pay.

I had a hassle getting a business account as I was only in England a month - I had to sweet talk the bank manager . I managed to even get a credit card as well by asking for a £400 limit!

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

Send me a PM.

" Isn’t self employed with an HST number sufficient"

No, pimps (or prestigious providers of expertise on a consulting basis) want the arm's length relationship afforded by the incorporation and generally won't deal with someone who's not incorporated.

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

I'm not sure why this isn't a problem for estate agents, maybe because they're paid 100% commission. The exposure is that, as employers move to using casual labour to avoid funding benefits, contracts get longer and longer and the contractors tend to have only one client. It's no longer unusual for someone to have a 40 hr/week contract in one place for five years. The taxman may deem the contractor to be a de facto employee and that means trouble for both the contractor and the employing entity. If the contractor is incorporated then the employing entity is his or her incorporation and the pimp is shielded somewhat. There are other considerations concerning various liability issues but the taxman is the main one; none of us really wants to know what EHT and CPP stand for.

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

It has been over 6 months since we provided an update on our move to Toronto from the UK. Today, we had record snow fall of 26cm in downtown. 30 January 2019 is predicted to be the coldest day this winter with a high of -15c. It's tax season now and we are learning all the interesting aspects on filing payroll, corporation tax and HST returns. We are using RBC for our corporate account and TD for personal banking. National Bank is used for our trading account as they charge no fees on stock or etf purchases when ordering 100 or more units. We are using Vanguard VBAL as our one stop stock and bond investment. The etf covers Canadian and world stock markets as well as Canadian and foreign bonds. Mutual funds are so expensive in Canada with 2% fees or more. The housing market is beginning to show signs of slow down and about time. $600k for an average 2bedroom condo and $1m+ for a 3bedroom house is crazy. Sales volumes are dropping double digits and hopefully in the next 6-12months the prices will start to fall. We had an idea of buying in Barrie, but seeing how much snow they get in winter has put us off the idea. Now considering the university town of Guelph. Will update later when we have completed all our tax returns for 2018. In the meantime we are looking to open a TSFA for2019.(equivalent to an ISA in the UK),altho although not as generous as Canada limits the tax free account to an annual $6k. We are glad to be in the East end near the beaches and close to little India. The subway although small compared to London England, is very quick to get to the downtown core. Metro is our go to grocery store, although Sobeys is closer. We find food and phone mobile costs more expensive than the UK, but fuel cheaper. So far, we are loving the experience and find the locals friendly and helpful. Good luck to all who plan to make the move in 2019.

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

We live about 25 mins north of Guelph and its our nearest 'big' town. I really like it, has some great restaurants and seems to operate at a much more relaxed pace than places closer to Toronto. Property prices are much more reasonable too. It's not exactly snow free here but it may be better than Barrie. Thanks for the update - this thread has been an interesting read and has brought back quite a few memories of our first few months here.

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

If it was a choice of Guelph or Barrie the Woolwich Arms would be a tipping point....to the OP what about KW.?

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

I work in Guelph (and lived here for a couple of years). A colleague commutes from Barrie. It's certainly snowier in Barrie.

I no longer suggest eating at the Wooly.

Re: Diary of our move to Canada
 

Ah, I'm strictly a 'having a pint once a twice a year when I'm in Guelph' kind of guy. I can't remember eating there. What was the problem with the food?