Hello everyone
I will try to explain my situation as it is not a usual one; excuse my english as it is not my native language.
I just moved to Canada (Toronto) from Switzerland, been here for 3 months. My wife is living in Switzerland with my 4 and 7 year old children. We are living separately since Jan.2010.
Initially the plan was to move all together to Canada and give it a go together again because the relationship was improving; but unfortunately after I accepted the job offer in Canada our situation deteriorated dramatically, hence we decided it was to risky to move to Canada and therefore, for the moment they should stay in Switzerland.
First, I would like to clarify that neither of us (including the children) are Swiss or Canadian, this rules out any country bilateral tax agreements since these are based on citizenship.
As mentioned previously, my wife and I are separated since more than two years. Separation in Switzerland works somehow differently there, the easy way when there are no conflicts between the parties (which is the way my wife and I went), is to download a form from the internet, fill up information like, child support, distribution of property/wealth, who has legal custody of the children, visiting schedule, etc. Both parties sign this form and send it to the tax office, yes: tax office, there are no judges, no lawyers involved, nothing, none, nada. You can somehow call this a tax separation. This concept does not seem to exist in Canada (since there is no legal involvement) and due to this, the office doing my work visa indicated that in Canada I figure as legally married.
Tax wise, what happens afterwards is that each party is taxed independently, myself as single, my wife as single with 2 children. In Switzerland, the amount of money I provide as child support is deducted from my yearly income (hence I pay less tax at the end of the year, but as a single I am on a higher tax bracket) and is added to the income of my wife (her income increases, but she is on a lower tax bracket because of having two dependents). Bottom line is, there is a lot of money going down the drain in tax (I am taxed on my income in Canada and then my wife is being taxed again); also there are some traveling costs involved for me visiting my children (which in Switzerland can somehow be deducted from taxes too). I am wondering how to avoid this situation, it seems I cannot benefit of any of the tax benefits (day care costs, sport activities, etc) because the children do not live in Canada.
I have spent hours looking for information, unfortunately my case is very unusual.
My questions:
1. Would changing my legal status to separated bring anything in terms of taxes?
2. From what I have read, separation in Canada seems pretty much final, can this be undone? Are there possibilities for reconciliation?
3. Most likely I will need to consultant a professional, but have no idea which kind, a Family Lawyer, a Tax Advisor or an Immigration Lawyer?
Suggestions?
Thanks in advance for your replies
I will try to explain my situation as it is not a usual one; excuse my english as it is not my native language.
I just moved to Canada (Toronto) from Switzerland, been here for 3 months. My wife is living in Switzerland with my 4 and 7 year old children. We are living separately since Jan.2010.
Initially the plan was to move all together to Canada and give it a go together again because the relationship was improving; but unfortunately after I accepted the job offer in Canada our situation deteriorated dramatically, hence we decided it was to risky to move to Canada and therefore, for the moment they should stay in Switzerland.
First, I would like to clarify that neither of us (including the children) are Swiss or Canadian, this rules out any country bilateral tax agreements since these are based on citizenship.
As mentioned previously, my wife and I are separated since more than two years. Separation in Switzerland works somehow differently there, the easy way when there are no conflicts between the parties (which is the way my wife and I went), is to download a form from the internet, fill up information like, child support, distribution of property/wealth, who has legal custody of the children, visiting schedule, etc. Both parties sign this form and send it to the tax office, yes: tax office, there are no judges, no lawyers involved, nothing, none, nada. You can somehow call this a tax separation. This concept does not seem to exist in Canada (since there is no legal involvement) and due to this, the office doing my work visa indicated that in Canada I figure as legally married.
Tax wise, what happens afterwards is that each party is taxed independently, myself as single, my wife as single with 2 children. In Switzerland, the amount of money I provide as child support is deducted from my yearly income (hence I pay less tax at the end of the year, but as a single I am on a higher tax bracket) and is added to the income of my wife (her income increases, but she is on a lower tax bracket because of having two dependents). Bottom line is, there is a lot of money going down the drain in tax (I am taxed on my income in Canada and then my wife is being taxed again); also there are some traveling costs involved for me visiting my children (which in Switzerland can somehow be deducted from taxes too). I am wondering how to avoid this situation, it seems I cannot benefit of any of the tax benefits (day care costs, sport activities, etc) because the children do not live in Canada.
I have spent hours looking for information, unfortunately my case is very unusual.
My questions:
1. Would changing my legal status to separated bring anything in terms of taxes?
2. From what I have read, separation in Canada seems pretty much final, can this be undone? Are there possibilities for reconciliation?
3. Most likely I will need to consultant a professional, but have no idea which kind, a Family Lawyer, a Tax Advisor or an Immigration Lawyer?
Suggestions?
Thanks in advance for your replies
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