Hi guys,
hope you are all doing well.
Have a question regarding Canadian tax filing for my sister, who has been living in Hong Kong for 8 years now.
Here is the situation:
- she still has Canadian citizenship and Canadian passport.
- she went back to Hong Kong in 2010, thinking she would come back, but she ended up staying there, she DID NOT declare non-resident status but she wants to do it now.
- she DID file her taxes in 2010 before she left
- she does NOT have any properties or assets in Canada, not even a bank account
- she only renewed her driver license once, which is still in effect, but not health card, so she has no health card.
- she does NOT have spouse/common law here in Canada
- she has absolutely NO source of income in Canada.
- she has been working full-time in Hong Kong all these times and been living with grandma.
- she has a bank account in Hong Kong and all her income for these past 8 years was from source in Hong Kong
Now what i am wondering is:
- is she considered a non-resident in the eyes of the CRA and immigration? even tho she never declared non-residency when she left?
- if she declares now, will CRA chase her back for any taxes? is her income in Hong Kong taxable?
- She does plan to come back to Canada in the future, but she hasn't "informed" Canada she was non-resident all these times. is it a good idea to declare now? or should she just wait til she wants to come back? suggestions?
thank you so much for the help in advanced!
Regards