Forget it, Ms. Gentes-Hawn says. Not everyone who prefers to spend most of their time elsewhere wants to give up their Canadian resident status. But tax-wise, there are pretty compelling reasons to do so. But Canada has signed tax treaties with numerous countries that, in many cases, reduce withholding taxes or wipe them out altogether. If you're an American resident, you don't pay withholding tax to Canada for private and government pensions, Ms. Gentes-Hawn says.
Pensions are only taxable there, at U.S. rates.
What's more, the withholding tax on investment interest is only 10 per cent. On dividends, it's 15 per cent. Your new country will credit what you've paid to Canada against what you owe there and, since tax rates in many other places are considerably lower, it can work out to a whole lot less than if you'd stayed in Canada. But that's more than offset by the near-zero taxation on your investments made there. If travelling that route doesn't appeal, there are other options.