Canada — Taxes

A high-tax country you join as a builder Canada taxes its residents on worldwide income, with combined federal and provincial rates reaching roughly 53% at the top. There is no net-wealth tax and no federal inheritance tax, though death is treated as a deemed disposition that can trigger capital gains. Sales tax (GST/HST) runs about 5% to 15% by province. This is not a low-tax base — the draw is the country, not the rate.

The Start-up Visa is entrepreneurship, not passive investment Unlike a golden visa, the Start-up Visa asks you to build a real, innovative business backed by a designated organization — a business incubator (no committed capital), an angel group (from CAD 75,000) or a venture fund (from CAD 200,000). That capital comes from the organization; you must show settlement funds and do the work. In return, you receive permanent residence directly, for the whole family.

A fast, clear road to citizenship Permanent residents carry a 730-days-in-five-years obligation, and citizenship becomes possible after three years of physical presence within five — one of the quicker naturalisation timelines among major economies.

Residency, tax residence and duties elsewhere Canadian tax residence follows from residential ties and presence, and it does not remove obligations to a country that taxes on citizenship, such as the United States. Compare Canada with the United States EB-5 route and Europe’s golden visas like Portugal, read our residency hub and tax hub, and see how each figure is checked in our methodology.