Investment Q&A

Q: Will these be subject to proposed tax if held in tfsa?

Q: I hold the above stocks in my RRSP. I understand that as of January 1, 2023, the IRS will require a 10% withholding tax when Canadian residents sell a limited partnership. Does this only apply to US based partnerships? Would it apply to BIP.un or BEP.un? Does it apply to partnerships held in an RRSP? It appears this could apply even if you sold at a loss. Thanks for your advice.

Q: Just received a letter from my discount broker advising of changes to US withholding tax on distributions and dispositions starting January 1, 2023 that "might" apply to Canadians holding publicly traded partnerships in any account, including RSPs. As a long-term holder of both BIP and BEP, I have significant capital and gains on both. These are held in an RSP, so I have never been concerned about any tax implications. But now . . . ? The Brookfield site advises that they "do not expect" non-US investors to be subject to any withholding tax, and there is also a letter from their tax lawyers with the same claim with a bit more positive wording, but it ends with a disclaimer (hey - we could be wrong!)

I do not want to sell either BIP or BEP, but it would annoy me more if I ended up losing the withholding tax on distributions and (particularly) dispositions. Not sure how the IRS can withhold tax on a Canadian selling a non-US based company, but obviously there is a way, as the letter came from my Canadian big-bank brokerage which also has a significant presence in the US. Also assume that with the stocks being in an RSP, there would be no means of recovery through tax credits.

I would appreciate any comments you have on this matter. If the stocks should be sold, it would have to be done this year. Would this problem also apply to BIPC and BEPC, if I just did a switch?

Thank-you, Grant

Q: Hello, I know your are not tax expert, but I risk myself asking because I am sure other members will receive a similar letter from their online broker. This is about the new US regulation code 1446. The letter I received today says:

Changes to the U.S. Taxation of Publicly Traded Partnerships.

New US regulations taking effect on January 1, 2023, will result in new withholding taxes for sales of publicly traded partnerships by non-US account holders.

Once these rules take effect in 2023, when a non-US national sells an interest in a publicly traded partnership, 10% of the gross proceeds of the sale will be withheld. The withholding taxes will be remitted to the US Treasury, and the non-US national will be responsible for filing a US income tax return and claiming any potential refund of the amount withheld.

Not all publicly traded partnerships will be subject to withholding. However, at this point it is difficult to say which publicly traded partnerships will and will not fall within the scope of the new rules...

I did phone my online broker to know more. I was told that I have two companies in my account affected by this: BEP.UN-CA and BIP.UN-CA. Even if they are held in a RRSP, these will be subjected to the new tax if I sell after January 1, 2023. I argued that these are Canadian companies, but they replied that because they are limited partnership and trade on both the Canadian and US markets the new 1446 regulation will apply.

According to what you know of Brookfield, is that true that this new tax will apply on both BIP.UN-CA and BEP.UN-CA starting from January 1, 2023? Thank you,

Q: A full analysis please. In my opinion the metrics are not good however it is being rated a buy by analysts. I am curious as to your thoughts versus theirs. Thanks

Q: Hi, further to your answer to Nick on Dec 2nd, it is best to hold BIP.PA in a registered account (TFSA, RRSP, RRIF) as,, it is an LP and pays distributions (not eligible dividends like most preferreds) which are subject to onerous tax reporting if held in a margin account.

Q: What's the reason why BIP.UN drop so much this week? Any bad news coming? Thanks.

Q: I hold these in an RESP with the following weighting (BIP 18%, Goog 18% VGRO 23%, XAW 41%) and I am considering selling to purchase a 3 year GIC as my eldest child is approaching post-secondary education.

Which holding would you reduce?
Can you rank these holding in terms of risk?
Is there an alternative security other than a GIC that should be considered?

Thanks!

Q: Hello Peter,
I own all three. After the spinoff, I will have Brookfield Corp (that will own parts of all three, BEP, BIP, and BAM) and BAM (the asset manager). In this scenario, will BAM be direct competitor to Blackstone? Also, how is the spinoff different from the Trisura one? Lastly, the performance of BEP has not been that great so should i move on or just stick with all four for long term hold? Thanks very much

Q: This is a question further to what has already been recently answered. I also own BIP.UN and BEP.UN. As we know, post spin-off there will be the new BAM, and BN. Which one of these two would best compliment my existing BIP.UN and BEP.UN positions as an add-on ?

Is it best to buy the current BAM.A now and sell the one unit, or does it make more sense to wait after the spin-off......or is too hard to call ?

Q: Is the below option better to invest in than buying actual stock? Can notes be sold anytime or are they lockin? How do notes work in this environment? Can you please give me a brief explanation of the notes?


Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP) said Thursday it has agreed to sell 700 million Canadian dollars ($517.6 million) in medium-term notes.

Thanks for the great service.

Q: Was there a dividend increase announced in their last report?

Q: Can you please rank the above utilities for Value. I used EV/EBITA data from Yahoo Finance and got this: NPI (8), BIP.UN (11), FTS (12.7), BLX (13), BEP.UN (15), NEE (26), AQN (28)
Thanks!

Q: Hi 5i
5i's thoughts on the quarter and current price vs valuation - I have been scratching my head with this one for a while ....the market keeps trading it down, even with the decent certainty of inflation protected future cash flows. Appreciate your reply.

Q: Why BIP.UN today traded at almost 8 times the normal volume (6.4 million units today vs. 800K units normally) and down about 2.6% too? Any story or issues behind that? Thanks.

Q: I have a son who is 31 and is just beginning his investment journey. He currently is looking to learn and has $15,000 to invest. With the uncertainty in the market he is thinking of investing 1/3 now 1/3 in the first quarter and 1/3 in the 2nd quarter. Is 5 stocks a good start with the intention of monthly contributions in the future to build a diversified over a 20-30 year time horizon. My suggestion was a equal amount to start in Royal Bank, Telus, Brookfield Infrastructure, CN Rail and a REIT.
What do you think of this plan or do you have other suggestions.
Thanks,
Doug

Q: Hello,
Which of the Brookfield companies quality for the dividend tax credit?
Also, which Canadian dividend ETF’s also quality for the dividend tax credit you would recommend?
Thanks for your great service.

Q: I am sitting on significant cash holding. I understand that predicting the bottom is not a strategy, but I am looking at taking advantage of the recent pullback.

Given that most predict we are heading into a recession, is deploying 1/3 of the cash at this point a good strategy and deploying the remainder over the next 6 months.

I am looking for Income and growth over the next 3 to 5 years. I was looking at FTS, BIP, SLF, ENB, AQN, RY, TD, BCE. Is there any of these names you would not buy now?

Thanks
Tim

Q: I am looking to retire in the next year, and positioning our portfolio more toward income.

Within the utilities sector we held AQN, BEP.UN, BIP.UN and CPX at close to equal weights 3.1-3.3% each (market value).

I recently sold AQN at a 20% tax loss and initiated a new position in FTS (yielding 4.25% after it's big drop). This will be a long term position.

I'm up approx 50% in CPX and even on BIP.UN.

I'm currently carrying a 16% loss on BEP.UN, and am thinking of selling it for a tax loss (I have significant realized capital gains to offset).

I'm considering either splitting the proceeds between BIP, CPX and FTS; or waiting to sell BEP after the 30 day period on AQN has passed, repurchasing it to regain the lost dividends and for diversification.

From recent questions I understand that AQN's dividend is likely safe, and is considered sufficiently different from FTS to support owning both. I like that it is at 2019 levels, and think there is a good possibility it may reward a patient investor. Is debt a concern?

Which course of action would 5i recommend, and why?
1. Sell BEP at a tax loss and split the funds between BIP, CPX and FTS; or
2. Sell BIP at a tax loss and repurchase AQN,
3. Or is there another course of action that you'd recommend?

Thanks!

Q: What do you make of the slip in share prices of BEP.UN (-15%) and BIP.UN (-9%) during the last 30 days or so? These drops are rather substantial for those two traditionally stodgy unit trusts. Thanks.