Investment Q&A

Q: Hello, I know you do not recommend holding REITs in a taxable regular account. In that context, where is the best place to hold income funds such as Pizza Pizza (PZA) or Boston Pizza (BPF)? My understanding is that their distribution is in the form of a dividend portion plus a return of capital portion, is that effective from a tax perspective? Regards, Gervais

Q: I have a question about 1714,Hi,I would like to diversify out of Canada with a etf. If I bought VGG in my cash account,would I have to fill out a U.S. Tax form,or would it be included in my Canadian tax return? I file my own taxes and not interested in filing U.S.taxes as well.
Would Vgg be good for income 3-4% and a little growth or could you recommend something.
Thanks,Brad

Q: Can I have your thoughts on ZDI or an alternative you suggest. Yield and holdings look good. Also, what do you suggest as a foreign stock holding percentage for a portfolio not including US stocks. Looking to add foreign dividends and exposure with existing incoming Canadian dividends from portfolio. Does ZDI hold the stocks directly or through another ETF, I want to get as close as I can to the ownership of the stocks through the ETF avoiding any unnecessary extra fees.

Q: HI guys .if I hold US stocks in my TFSA ; do I have to pay US tax's on any profits or is it exempt like my RRSP or rif's as always Thank you GARY

Q: Good afternoon,

My question pertains to holding US equities in various accounts. Can you please validate or refute the following:

Cash account: US dividends are taxed as interest-50%, and a 15% withholding tax is applied which can be redeemed during tax season.

RRSP: US equities are supposed to be capital gains and divends tax free. However, I have noticed that some equities, such as limited partnerships have their dividend taxed at 38% with an additional 15 % non redeemable withholding tax. Can you confirm this, and are their any other types of US equities that are Exempt from RRSP tax sheltering?

I have also been told that US equity ETFs that are listed in the US are also have their dividends taxed. Is this true? And would this be the same for US equity ETFs that are listed in Canada (ex: those listed on black rock Canada website )?

Thank you for bringing some clarity to the issue. Any other tips you may have would be well appreciated.

Cheers,

KR

Q: Thank you, Alphonse for your question. It was the CRA that I wanted to know about. I wanted to know whether I should eliminate my losses before the federalistas suddenly change the way losses are handled. Is that a concern?

Q: On Nov.22 James asked you a question about gains of $200,000 vs loses of $50,000. He wondered if he should be concerned with this situation and if the federalistas would ever suddenly surprise him. When you answered you said the feds will not care etc.
When he and you mentioned the feds were you talking the USA or Canada Revenue.

Q: I have typically sold my losers and kept my winners, such that I have over $200,000 in unrealized gains against over $50,000 in realized losses. Should I be concerned with this situation? Would the federalistas ever suddenly surprise me?

James

Q: Hi Peter and Team

What Canadian listed ETF would you recommend today for US market exposure for the TFSA of a thirty year old with a long term time horizon? Would your answer be any different if it was for an RRSP where the 15% US withholding tax was not an issue? There seem to be hedged and nonhedged versions of all of them so would you recommend a hedged version now with the USD so strong?

Thank you!

Q: I am nearing retirement. Most of my savings is in a non registered account (75% non registered and 25% RRSP). Can you suggest tax efficient ways of managing the fixed income portion of the non registered component? I understand ZBD and BXF are tax efficient. Would you recommend these or do you have any other ideas? MERs are important and I noticed the management fee for BXF is about .2%. With a return of only about 1% does an investment in this make sense?

Q: Being a retired accountant I can't help but feeling compelled to add my two cents on the question raised on goodwill.

Goodwill is simply the difference between the purchase price and the net book value of a company acquired. Say, if Co. A buys Co. B for $12 million and Co. B has a net book value ("NBV") of $10 million, then Co. A will report a goodwill of $2 million in its books. It's that simple.

You can call it an accounting plug if you like and that's not far from what it actually is. As to whether goodwill is good or bad, that really depends on each acquisition.

Using the same example, the $2 million goodwill is considered "good" if Co. B's actual assets are worth more than the $12 million paid for by Co. A. However, if the same assets of Co. B are actually worth less than the $10 million NBV, then that $2 million goodwill is really not an asset. That is the reason why so many acquirer companies have goodwill write-offs a few year after initial acquisition - when the true value of the company they acquired becomes crystalized. Hope that helps.

Q: Hi Peter: I am 81 years. Am considering buying Fidelity Tax-smart withdrawal program. This fund invests 70% S&P/Capped 60 Index and 30% S&P 500 Index. If you can recommend the fund would a 50% to 75% investment of my funds be reasonable? Should I buy on my TD trading account or buy direct from a Fidelity rep? Would I receive the same net income either way? Thanking you for your valuable opinion. Ron Noble

Q: Is it best to hold Canadian bank stocks in an rrrsp or tfsa, advantages or disadvantages?
With thanks. Rose

Q: what is the closest proxy to CPG that you can think of? I want to sell for a superficial loss, however, I don't want to be out of the market for 30 days.

Q: Portfolio question..if I sell a security in my cash account at a loss, can I immediately buy the same security in my sheltered account (RSP or TFSA) without endangering the capital loss or do I need to wait 30 days?

Q: If I receive $10000.00 in dividend income, do I get an additional 18% contribution room in my RSP from this income?

Q: My portfolio is predominantly made up of 4 company's stocks. They are ATD.B, GIL, HCG and SJ. With the exception of SJ (bought it in 2006) I have owned them all since 2002. I have significant capital gains from them all and have been selling them off slowly over the past three years. In each of the past three years I paid significant taxes due to the sale of these shares. I have tried to offset some of the gains by selling some of my losers but the gains are much higher and selling my losers makes the imbalance in my portfolio greater. Do you have a suggestion on how I can help balance my portfolio and avoid paying significant capital gains taxes?

Q: If I sell POT. for a capital loss and buy AGU (same capital investment) am I doing any tax avoidance

Q: out of all the stocks you mentioned that could possibly present an opportunity during tax loss season/window dressing which would be top 5 in terms of potential and safety?

Q: When does tax loss selling start and end this year? Also what are the stocks that are most likely to be hit? The other part to my question is which, if any, of the tax loss selloffs would be worthy of acquiring?

thanks so much for the service you offer! I'll be a lifelong member!