National Post: Rotfleisch: The exit tax is a bit of a misnomer. It’s payable when you become a non-resident of Canada, and it’s one of the deemed dispositions under the Income Tax Act. A deemed disposition means it’s a legal fiction. It’s not an actual disposition, but the Tax Act says you have disposed of something. The most common one that’s going to affect all of us is the deemed disposition on death. When we die, all of our assets are deemed to have been disposed of, and the CRA collects tax on the accrued capital gain. The exit tax is another deemed disposition, on departure.
Moody: It’s a policy that’s been around forever. Any appreciation in value that you’ve accrued during the time that you’re a resident of Canada is deemed to be realized at that time. The policy intent is basically if you benefited from Canada’s economy and taxation regime, and you’re not going to pay tax in the future, then Canada wants to get its pound of flesh at the time that you leave…