Hi there,

I was hoping somebody could shed a bit of light on this through any experience. I currently reside in Canada, and I have an opportunity to move to New Zealand for work. While the opportunity to work/live in NZ excites me, I'm finding that I may have a sticky tax situation here in Canada. I had a few questions I wanted to ask including:

1) Capital gains tax/options: I currently have a couple of registered savings/retirement accounts (maxed out RSP/TFSA), along with an employer pension. I get that these are exempt from any 'departure' capital gains tax in Canada. However, I have most of my savings are in non-registered accounts, largely stocks in Canadian and US companies. Apparently this account would not be exempt from taxes. I've done some eyeball math and my tax penalty if I did a deemed disposition could be around $50000. With the goal of an early retirement within 5 years, I am not prepared to part with that kind of $$ and disrupt the portfolio especially if the goal at this time is to return to Canada. I have heard that there is a deferral/security option instead of paying the tax but can never get through at CRA to confirm this and how it works. Would anyone know how this option might work and its advantages/disadvantages?

2) Dividend taxes: I believe in NZ there is a 4 year global dividend tax holiday that you can request. And I have also heard that Canada will impose a non-resident withholding tax on dividends. So, on my US investments, the overall withholding tax would be something like 30% and for Canada, 15%. Would anyone know if you can claim these if you are a tax resident of NZ?

3) Online trading accounts. Much like Canada Revenue, I can't get a clear answer on this. I have my accounts through TD Direct Investing here in Canada. While I understand that as a non-resident of Canada, I cannot contribute to RSP and TFSA but what is not clear is whether I can continue to maintain and trade within these accounts while I am away. I have heard the US is much more restrictive on this, but I'm not sure about the rest of the world/New Zealand.

I haven't been able to find an accountant who knows this stuff so if anyone has a recommendation in the Edmonton area, it would be greatly appreciated! Any insights are much appreciated. Thanks