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Escape Room 2 – The NEW Real Estate Owner Tax Game – High Stakes Edition

Published

1 year ago

20 minute read

By Cory G. Litzenberger, CPA, CMA, CFP, C.Mgr – CEO | Director of CGL Tax

Justin time for Tax Season, we have a new version of our most popular game, but this time you are now trying to convert your Real Estate to tax-Freeland.

No those are not typos.

In 2017, we released Escape Room – The NEW Small Business Tax Game – Family Edition after then Federal Liberal Finance Minister, Bill Morneau, finally released the new version of

the Tax on Split Income (“TOSI”) or the so-called “income sprinkling” rules.

This time, in this game, there are fewer unconditional exits, and the stakes are higher.

So just like I said in December 2017:

“These rules are written like a bad “escape room” game. The way these rules are written, everyone is caught… unless you can escape… and the exits are not clearly marked.”

The talking points in the media have been that the Underused Housing Tax (UHT) Act would only apply to non-resident and foreign owners.

However, what they failed to mention is that many Canadians will be caught by the filing requirement and will have to file or face penalties, even if they won’t owe any tax.

This ain’t your Daddy’s failure to file penalty.

Failing to file a UHT return faces a minimum penalty of $5,000 per individual, per property and  $10,000 if you are a corporation.

This makes the failure to file a T1135 Foreign Property form look like pocket change.

So while you may not have to pay any UHT, you still might have to pay even more if you didn’t know you had to file it already this tax season because:

  • the Underused Housing Tax Act is not part of the Income Tax Act;
  • there are requirements to file even if you don’t owe;
  • it is due on April 30 irrespective of your ordinary income tax filing deadline
  • the filing is entirely separate from any other tax filing; and
  • at the time of this article’s publication, it cannot be e-filed – it must be filled out and sent manually.

The prescribed Form UHT-2900 only came out on January 31, 2023, and applies to 2022.

As a result, you will need to figure out if you must file it by April 30 this year or face a minimum $5,000 penalty, per person, per property, for failure to file.

As this is new legislation with large penalty amounts, some practitioners are unaware if their errors and omissions insurance even includes coverage for these returns. This means you can expect to see extremely high fees for preparing these forms.

Can you think of a better way to navigate the messy rules than by playing a game for you to play this Tax Season?

Escape Room 2 – Rules of the Game

IMPORTANT RULES OF THE GAME: This is not an all-inclusive list. The below information is a high-level summary of the more common areas of concern. You should seek specialist advice on your specific circumstances and how the new rules will apply to you.

1) Were you the legal owner (a person/entity registered on title), jointly or otherwise, of a residential property in Canada as of December 31?

If yes, you are still trapped and get to keep playing.

If not, Congrats! You escaped! You can go back to paying rent or sleeping in your vehicle without having to worry about the UHT.

2) Are you a publicly-traded Trust or Corporation that is incorporated under the laws of Canada or a province and listed on a Canadian Stock Exchange?

If yes, Congrats! You escaped! You may continue working on your Securities filings for your upcoming AGM.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

3) Are you a Registered Charity, Cooperative Housing Corporation, Municipality, Indigenous Governing Body, Government of Canada, Provincial Government, University, Public College, School Authority or Hospital Authority? 

If yes, Congrats! You escaped! You may continue dealing with your annual audit of financial statements.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

4) Are you an individually wealthy person that does not like to share with others?

For example, you own one or more multiple residential properties – but every single one of them is only in your personal name. No spouse, no corporation, no trust, no partnerships, no friends, no one!             

If yes, Congrats! You escaped! You may go back to swimming alone in your pool of wealth.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

5) Is the only reason you are on the land title because you are currently the executor or administrator of someone’s estate? 

If yes, Congrats! You escaped! You may continue to grieve and fill out the mountains of government paperwork while everyone else asks you “where’s my inheritance?”

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

6) Are you an individual Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada (under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act) that does not have a business, farm, or rental property owned with another person that could possibly be viewed as a partnership?

If yes, Congrats! You escaped! You may continue to live in your home, paycheque to paycheque, while your cost of payroll deductions and mortgage interest continue to rise and eat away at it.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

7) Does your business, farm, or rental property co-owned with another person have a residential dwelling on it? 

For example, is your home on the same land title as your farmland or business?

If yes, Congrats! … haha – fooled you! You’re still trapped, and now you get to play the UHT Escape Room Game – Advanced Edition

If not, Congrats! You just made it out – lucky number 7!

Welcome to UHT Escape Room Game – Advanced Edition

In this Edition, everyone must file or face a minimum $5,000 penalty per person on each property.

For example, husband/wife partnership with three residential properties = 2 x 3 x $5,000 = $30,000 penalty if you don’t file!

8) Are you a Specified Canadian Corporation where at least 90% of the ownership and control (direct and indirect) are held by other Specified Canadian Corporations, Canadian Citizens, or Permanent Residents of Canada?      

If yes, you have to file but you won’t have to pay. Don’t forget to file by April 30 no matter what your fiscal year-end date is!

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

9) Are you a Specified Canadian Partnership where every member of the partnership is either a Specified Canadian Corporation, or would not have to file if we ignored the whole “partner of a partnership” thing?     

If yes, Congrats! You have to file but won’t have to pay.

If not, You’re still trapped – keep playing.

10) Are you a Specified Canadian Trust where every beneficiary of the trust is either a Specified Canadian Corporation, or would have escaped from filing if they were the owner themselves?

If yes, Congrats! You have to file but won’t have to pay.

If not, You’re still trapped – keep playing.

11) In this filing year or last year, were you an owner of a property when another co-owner that owned 25% or more died?        

If yes, Congrats! It’s sure a good thing they died! You have to file but won’t have to pay

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

12) Did you die this year or last year (or are you the executor for someone that did and you were not on the land title before they died)? 

If yes, then UHT definitely puts the FUN in FUNeral! You have to file, but won’t have to pay – don’t forget to play again next year!

If not, you’re still trapped (but alive) – keep playing.

13) Did you buy the property this year and never owned or had your name on it before in the past decade?  

If yes, Congrats on becoming a home-owner, on your first… or second… or third… or… well it doesn’t matter how many homes you have, just as long as you bought it this year. You have to file but don’t have to pay – play again next year!

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

14) Was the property still under construction before April Fools’ Day of the filing year?          

If yes, Congrats – this isn’t an April Fools’ prank. You have to file, but don’t have to pay!

If not, You’re still trapped – keep playing.

15) Was the property finished before April Fools’ Day of the filing year, offered up for sale to the public, but never sold or occupied by an individual as a place of residence or lodging during the year?  

If yes, Congrats! Isn’t it fun making mortgage payments on a home no one wants? You have to file but don’t have to pay.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

16) Was the property unable to be lived in for at least 120 consecutive days because of renovations undertaken that occurred in a timely fashion?  

If yes, Congrats! As long as you haven’t used this escape door in the last decade, you can now use it. You have to file but don’t have to pay – otherwise, it’s still locked and you keep playing.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

17) Was the property unable to be lived in for at least 60 consecutive days in the year because of disaster or hazardous conditions caused by circumstances outside the reasonable control of an owner?             

If yes, Congrats! As long as you haven’t used this escape door more than once before for the same disaster or hazardous condition on the property you have to file, but not pay – otherwise, you’re still trapped.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

18)  Is the property unable to be accessed year-round because there is no maintained public access during the off-season? 

If yes, Congrats! You have to file but don’t have to pay.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

19) Is the property unsuitable for year-round use as a place of residence?        

If yes, Congrats! Keep following that boiled water advisory and burning everything around you to stay warm. The government is providing you with more blessings: you have to file but don’t have to pay.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

20) Is the property being used for at least a month consecutively and more than 180 days in the year by you, your spouse or common-law partner, child, or parent who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident? 

If yes, Congrats! You have to file but don’t have to pay – wasn’t this fun? – Be sure to play again next year!

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

21) Is the property the primary residence for you, your spouse or common-law partner, or for your child attending a designated learning institution? 

If yes, Congrats! You might have to file an election and your spouse must agree. If you need to convince them, tell them that marriage counselling will be cheaper than the failure to file penalty. That should get them to agree to anything. You have to file but don’t have to pay.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing.

22) Is the property a vacation property that is used by you or your spouse or common-law partner for at least 28 days in the year and is located in an “eligible area of Canada” (basically rural enough area where they might get dirty trying to find you)

If yes, Congrats on being able to take 4-weeks of vacation every year – you have to file, but won’t have to pay.

If not, you’re still trapped – and likely still at work – keep playing.

23) Speaking of work – is the property being used by you or your spouse or common-law partner for at least a month consecutively and more than 180 days in the year just while you are working in Canada, and the property relates to that purpose?        

If yes, Congrats! You have to file but won’t have to pay.

If not, you’re still trapped – have you considered renting it out?

24) Is the property being rented under a written agreement for at least a month consecutively and more than 180 days in the year to someone paying at least 5% of the property value per year as rent?     

If yes, Congrats! You have to file but won’t have to pay.

If not, you’re still trapped – keep playing – and raise that rent! We wouldn’t want anyone to have affordable housing.

25) Is the property being rented under a written agreement for at least a month consecutively and more than 180 days in the year to an unrelated person?    

If yes, Congrats! But why are you charging them less than fair-value rent? What kind of slum lord are you? Stop making things affordable! You have to file but won’t have to pay.

If not, you are still trapped and now move on to the UHT Escape Room Game – High Stakes Edition

Welcome to UHT Escape Room Game – High Stakes Edition

In this edition of the UHT Escape Room Game, everyone must ante up and Pay to Play!

26) Is the Fair Market Value of the property lower than both the Property Tax Assessed Value and the most recent purchase price of the property?

If yes, you must have a formal appraisal done effective as of a date in the filing year or before the filing deadline. Then you only have to pay 1% of this value multiplied by your percentage of ownership as your UHT.

If not, either get that appraisal done or be happy that your property has increased in value. In the meantime keep playing.

27) Is the Property Tax Assessed Value more than the most recent purchase price?

If yes, Congrats! Not only has your property tax gone up, but so has your UHT – you owe 1% of this value multiplied by your percentage of ownership.

If no, Congrats on your property being worth less than you paid for it – keep playing.

28) Congrats on making it to the end. If you’ve come this far, it means:

  • You own property in Canada;
  • You are not a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident;
  • You are alive, or you’ve been dead for more than two years;
  • You don’t rent out the property under a written agreement …or if you do, it is to a relative, and it is way too affordable;
  • If it is a vacation property, you don’t use it for 4-weeks of vacation likely because you don’t get 4-weeks of vacation;
  • You don’t use the property for more than 30 days consecutively, nor more than 180 days in the year for a work-related purpose;
  • You didn’t bother getting a formal appraisal done;
  • You paid more than the current Property Tax Assessed value for the property; and
  • You wonder why they didn’t just say all this in the first place

Congrats – you get to pay 1% of the purchase price when you last acquired the property multiplied by your percentage of ownership.

Do you feel like you won?

Now… as for next year…

… I want to play a game…

Related Topics:

CEO | Director CGL Tax Professional Corporation With the Income Tax Act always by his side on his smart-phone, Cory has taken tax-nerd to a whole other level. His background in strategic planning, tax-efficient corporate reorganizations, business management, and financial planning bring a well-rounded approach to assist private corporations and their owners increase their wealth through the strategies that work best for them. An entrepreneur himself, Cory started CGL with the idea that he wanted to help clients adapt to the ever-changing tax and economic environment and increase their wealth through optimizing the use of tax legislation coupled with strategic business planning and financial analysis. His relaxed blue-collar approach in a traditionally white-collar industry can raise a few eyebrows, but in his own words: “People don’t pay me for my looks. My modeling career ended at birth.” More info: https://CGLtax.ca/Litzenberger-Cory.html

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Australian politicians attack Elon Musk for refusing to remove video of Orthodox bishop’s stabbing

Published on April 25, 2024

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Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

From LifeSiteNews

By David James

The video is available on YouTube but Australia’s political class is singling out and waging war on X owner Elon Musk for his refusal to delete footage of the stabbing of Orthodox Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

In a demonstration of governmental overreach the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has attacked Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter) for not acceding to demands to put a worldwide ban on video footage of an attempted stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church.

Albanese is not alone; virtually the entire Australian political class has joined in the attack. Tanya Plibersek, minister for Environment and Water called Musk an “egotistical billionaire.” Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young described him as a “narcissistic cowboy.” Albanese chimed in by describing him as an “arrogant billionaire who thinks he’s above the law.”

Senator Jacqui Lambie went as far as suggesting that Musk be “jailed” for his refusal to bend to the demands of the Australian government.  

In response to Lambie’s comments, Musk declared her to be an “enemy of the people of Australia,” agreeing with another social media user who suggested it should be Lambie, not Musk, who belongs in jail.

The right wing Liberal-National coalition was only slightly less aggressive saying Musk was offering an “insulting and offensive argument” in his refusal to remove graphic footage of the stabbing. How Musk saying that posts should not be taken down is “insulting and offensive” was not explained.

The victim of the attack, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, an Iraqi-born Assyrian Australian prelate who is head of the Eastern Christ the Good Shepherd Church, has displayed a maturity and moral virtue conspicuously lacking in the political arena. Emmanuel recorded a message saying that he loved his assailant, and that he wanted the video to stay online, urging people not to respond to violence with violence.

After the incident there were riots outside the church, resulting in 51 officers sustaining injuries. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with a religiously motivated terrorist attack.

That formulation is inaccurate. There is no effective protection of free speech in Australia, unlike the US, which has the First Amendment of the Constitution. The Federal government is currently preparing a misinformation and disinformation bill to force social media companies only to allow content of which the government approves.

As Senator Ralph Babet of the United Australia Party observes it is a “censorship agenda” that will be pushed no matter which party is in power. “The office of the eSafety commissioner was created under the Liberal Party and is now being emboldened by the Labor Party,” he writes.

The public battle with Musk is better seen as an attempt by the Australian government to control what is on the internet. The newly appointed eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant directed X to remove the posts, but X had only blocked them from access in Australia pending a legal challenge. The government then demanded that the posts be removed world-wide.

That the Australian political class thinks it has the right to issue edicts in countries where it has no legal jurisdiction is a demonstration of the lack of clarity in their thinking, and the intensity of their obsession with censoring.

Musk accurately characterised the situation in a post: “Should the eSafety Commissar (an unelected official) in Australia have authority over all countries on Earth?” It seems that many Australian politicians think the answer to that question is “Yes.”

The childish personal attacks on Musk, typical ad hominem attacks (going at the person rather than the argument) are revealing. What does the fact that Musk is a billionaire have to do with the legal status of the posts? Does having a lot of money somehow disqualify him from having a position?

If he is “egotistical” or “arrogant” what does that have to do with his logical or legal claims? How does exposing Musk as a narcissistic cowboy” have any relevance to him allowing content on the platform? Wouldn’t a narcissist be more likely to restrict content? The suspicion is that the politicians are resorting to such abuse because they have no argument.

The Australian government’s attack on Musk, which borders on the absurd, is just one of many being directed at X. An especially dangerous initiative is coming from the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which can apply fines of up to 6 per cent of the worldwide annual turnover, a ridiculously punitive amount. The United Kingdom’s communications regulator, Ofcom is even worse. It will have powers to fine companies up to 10 per cent of their global turnover.

Western governments are mounting an all out push to censor the internet, and Australia’s aggressive move is just part of that. What is never considered by governments and bureaucrats is the cost of such censorship.

The benefits of “protecting” people are always overstated and inevitably infantilize the population. The price is a degradation of social institutions and a legal system that does not apply equally to the citizenry and to the government. It is a step towards tyranny: rule by law rather than rule of law.

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UN plastics plans are unscientific and unrealistic

Published on April 25, 2024

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News release from the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada

“We must focus on practical solutions and upgrading our recycling infrastructure, not ridiculous restrictions that will harm our health care system, sanitary food supply, increase costs and endanger Canadians’ safety, among other downsides.”

This week Ottawa welcomes 4,000 delegates from the United Nations to discuss how they will oversee a reduction and even possible elimination of plastics from our lives. The key problem is no one has ever figured out how they will replace this essential component of our modern economy and society. The Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada (CCMBC) has launched an information campaign to discuss the realities of plastic, how it contributes massively to our society and the foolishness of those who think plastics can be eliminated or greatly reduced without creating serious problems for key industries such as health care, sanitary food provision, many essential consumer products and safety/protective equipment, among others. CCMBC President Catherine Swift said “The key goal should be to keep plastics in the economy and out of the environment, not eliminate many valuable and irreplaceable plastic items. The plastics and petrochemical industries represent about 300,000 jobs and tens of billions contribution to GDP in Canada, and are on a growth trend.”

The UN campaign to ban plastics to date has been thwarted by reality and facts. UN efforts to eliminate plastics began in 2017, motivated by such terrible images as rivers with massive amounts of floating plastic and animals suffering from negative effects of plastic materials. Although these images were dramatic and disturbing, they do not represent the big picture of what is really happening and do not take into account the many ways plastics are hugely positive elements of modern society. Swift added “Furthermore, Canada is not one of the problem countries with respect to plastics waste. Developing countries are the main culprits and any solution must involve helping the leading plastics polluters find workable solutions and better recycling technology and practices.”

The main goal of plastic is to preserve and protect. Can you imagine health care without sanitary, flexible, irreplaceable and recyclable plastic products? How would we keep our food fresh, clean and healthy without plastic wraps and packaging? Plastic replaces many heavier and less durable materials in so many consumer products too numerous to count. Plastics help the environment by reducing food waste, replacing heavier materials in automobiles and other products that make them more energy-efficient. Many plastics are infinitely recyclable and innovations are taking place to improve them constantly. What is also less known is that most of the replacements for plastics are more expensive and actually worse for the environment.

Swift stated “Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has been convinced by the superficial arguments that plastics are always bad despite the facts. He has pursued a campaign against all plastics as a result, without factoring in the reality of the immense value of plastic products and that nothing can replace their many attributes. Fortunately, the Canadian Federal court overturned his absurd ban on a number of plastic products on the basis that it was unscientific, impractical and impinged upon provincial jurisdiction.” Sadly, Guilbeault and his Liberal cohorts plan to appeal this legal decision despite its common-sense conclusions. Opinion polls of Canadians show that a strong majority would prefer this government abandon its plastics crusade at this point, but history shows these Liberals prefer pursuing their unrealistic and costly ideologies instead of policies that Canadians support.

The bottom line is that plastics are an essential part of our modern society and opposition has been based on erroneous premises and ill-informed environmentalist claims. Swift concluded “Canada’s record on plastics is one of the best in the world. This doesn’t mean the status quo is sufficient, but we must focus on practical solutions and upgrading our recycling infrastructure, not ridiculous restrictions that will harm our health care system, sanitary food supply, increase costs and endanger Canadians’ safety, among other downsides.” The current Liberal government approach is one that has no basis in fact or science and emphasizes virtue-signaling over tangible and measurable results.  Swift noted “The UN’s original founding purpose after World War II was to prevent another world war. Given our fractious international climate, they should stick to their original goal instead of promoting social justice warrior causes that are unhelpful and expensive.”

The CCMBC was formed in 2016 with a mandate to advocate for proactive and innovative policies that are conducive to manufacturing and business retention and safeguarding job growth in Canada.

SOURCE Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada

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