Six-month stay being reduced to four for Quebecers?
Posted date : Nov 13, 2017.
Dear Bird Talk,
I am told that in the Harper budget, it would make changes for long-term stays in the United States, four months instead of six months. True or false?
Daniel Gouvrette
Mirabel, QC
Response:
Ed.: We felt that these two letters should be answered together. The Harper budget will have nothing to do with length-of-stay issues, ever. So – FAUX (false). The federal government delegated those decisions to the provinces and each individual province and territory has total control over its own residency regulations. CSA has fought several provinces on exactly this issue and they have won every time, so far. There is a possibility that Quebec is looking at their residency requirements again, hoping to find more tax revenue. This is ridiculous, as snowbirds still pay all of their taxes even while they are away. There is a small loss in gas and HST taxes, but these are far outweighed by the huge savings in medical care and reduced usage of infrastructure. My usual comment on this is that if the government wants to save money, it should give everyone over age 65 a free ticket to Florida, or Arizona, or Texas, or…?
We will contact the Quebec government and see if this is on their formal agenda.
