If you’re a U.S. citizen living in Canada, you may be wondering about the impact on your U.S. Social Security benefits. Or maybe you’re a Canadian citizen with questions about how your U.S. residency will impact your CPP/OAS benefits. What are the tax implications for these programs when you live across the border?

Fortunately, there’s been a lot of cooperation between the U.S. and Canada on the subject of Social Security. Since 1984, a totalization agreement has been in place between the two nations regarding their respective Social Security programs. (Note: Quebec has its own agreement because of a special pension plan operated in that province.)

In a nutshell, those who have earned Social Security credits in either country may qualify for benefits from one or both countries. Those meeting the necessary requirements under one country’s program will get a regular benefit from that country. Those who don’t meet the basic requirements may still qualify for a benefit under the totalization agreement.

U.S. Social Security Benefits for Americans Living in Canada
Let’s look at a case study as an example. Our client Robert is a U.S. citizen who lived and worked in the U.S. for 25 years before moving to Canada for a job five years ago. He plans to work for five more years before retiring in Canada. Robert came to us with questions about Social Security benefits since he has lived abroad and plans to retire outside the U.S.

When it comes to taxes, the totalization agreement between the U.S. and Canada is quite favorable to Robert when it comes to the taxation of his U.S. Social Security benefits. These benefits will be subject to tax only in Canada, meaning Robert will be taxed the same way as other Canadian residents even though he’s a U.S. citizen. Here’s the math. In his Canadian taxable income, Robert will include 85% of his Social Security benefits and the remaining 15% will be exempt from Canadian taxes.

Robert’s Canadian tax situation will determine how much Canadian tax, if any, Robert will pay on his U.S. Social Security benefits. Of course, if Robert retired in the U.S., the tax would be lower, but in this situation the additional tax isn’t too onerous.

CPP/OAS Benefits for Canadians Living in the U.S.
How does it work with Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) benefits from Canada? What if our case study example Robert was a Canadian citizen residing in the U.S.?

Essentially, if Robert was a Canadian living in the U.S., his benefits would only be taxable in the U.S. When it comes to taxes, the Internal Revenue Service sees CPP/OAS benefits as equivalent to U.S. Social Security benefits. This means that Robert should report this income on his 1040 form, and it will be taxed at the 85% inclusion rate. Another upside of the U.S./Canada totalization agreement: CPP and OAS income aren’t taxable in Canada and aren’t subject to Canada Revenue Agency withholding for non-residents.

Need help exempting your U.S. Social Security benefits from U.S. taxes? Questions about the taxation of your CPP or OAS? Whichever side of the border you’re on, the cross-border experts at Cardinal Point Wealth Management can help you maximize your benefits and avoid double taxation of your income.

Terry Ritchie is the Director of Cross-Border Wealth Services at the Cardinal Point, a cross-border wealth management organization with offices in the United States and Canada.  Terry has been providing Canada-U.S. cross-border financial, investment, tax, transition, and estate planning services to affluent families for over 25 years.  He is active as an author, speaker and educator on international tax and financial planning matters. www.cardinalpointwealth.com

For the two years, the Inchcape shipping agent has led worldwide in offering maritime services. The agency has 240 offices spread in 68 countries employing more than 3800 people. The agency has a diversified customer base serving container and bulk commodity sectors, cruise, and intergovernmental clients. The company is led by the able leadership of Frank Olsen, who has worked hard to sharpen the company’s focus on values of ship agency and traditional business.

About the Company

The company offers humanitarian logistics, landside commercial, offshore support, transit, and other related marine services. It also provides a growing variety of outsourcing services, including spare marine logistics, global crew, port agency management, and sophisticated project planning solutions. The company uses modern technology to deliver its services and operations, thus gaining its clients’ trust in managing cargo and vessels globally.

Frank Olsen points out that the company is unique by having a single-minded focus and being heavily involved in logistics. Although the agency has other activities, all of them revolve around the ship and port. The company launched a transparency initiative that aimed to create and build meaningful relationships with the clients, thus solving the problem of the ship agency market being fragmented by smaller players who lack trust from the clients.

Company’s Role

The shipping agent works on behalf of ship owners, ship managers, and charters to ensure that port operations, services, and crew changes are carried out efficiently. The agency makes sure that all documentation needed by the port authorities is taken care of before the ship arrives. It also makes sure that everything is paid per the requirements to enable smooth operations in the port. Inchcape also takes care of any issues that may arise and maintains constant communication with the ship-owner. Inchcape Shipping Services is a financially stable agency, thus gaining the trust of many clients who are always sure that their operations will be carried out smoothly without financial constraints. The company also arranges crew changes, thus ensuring all the operations carried out by the crew run smoothly without any hiccup.

The Agency Focus

The shipping agency is working hard to demonstrate and prove trustworthy, valuable, and transparent partners to its customers, thus building a corporate culture that enhances service delivery. Inchcape is also investing in modern technology in its services, such as ports digital database of the ship and port information. During this Covid-19 pandemic, the agency is offering vital details on ports across the globe and continuously updated by the staff located in different zones that collect the information needed in its global network. The company has been working with ship managers, operators, and several international groups to find a global solution to the crew’s changes.

The agency has been determined to ensure that all crew problems are solved, and full collaboration is enhanced between different parties regardless of their competitive factors. This means that the agency has always been focused on improving service delivery to its esteemed customers. With an able leadership of Frank Olsen, the company has moved to greater heights and has gained customer’s trust due to its quality services.

With Inchcape, the shipping industry has grown to a higher level, and there are encouraging signs that aim to improve services at the port. This means that the human factor that is delivered by the agency trumps everything. It has made it easier for ship owners to monitor their ship without accompanying them all over the world. Olsen believes that the company will expand in the coming years, thus serving more people worldwide. The shipping industry has a fragmented market, but with transparency-based operations, the agency will always be unique in its customers’ eyes.

It’s a privately owned company that has been operating for the last 40 years, and they offer their clients a platform for a digital supply chain that has made a first-class Cloud Inventory and supply chain solutions that are mobile-first. A specialist in the inventory management process, from the manufacturing to the distribution, to the last stretch, and they assist more than 300,000 businesses in over 50 countries. Data systems international has shined and assisted its customers in attaining their goals via their four value system: compliance, revenue generation, productivity, and optimization.

1.COMPLIANCE

The distribution and manufacturing of goods in regulated industries typically need compliance with defined standards and data systems international assists consumers to reach their compliance via their platform that is continuously monitoring the supply chain. The CEO and president of Data Systems International say, “Our clients depend on the Cloud Inventory solutions we provide for them to meet the regulatory mandates and compliance for their products. We have multiple clients from the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, delivering important medical devices and products. To fight counterfeits and make sure that the business or client ordered the correct prescription, we provide proof of delivery solutions. This proof is then relayed back to the manufacturing point of the product.”

2.REVENUE GENERATION

Clients know time wasted is money wasted while time saved equals money saved. Being able to reduce the time spent on tracking materials can lead to an increase in the revenue generated. Data Systems International says,” We offer our clients a horizontal view of their inventory. In today’s world, it’s needed in a digital economy and looking at it as a revenue chain instead of a supply chain.”

3.PRODUCTIVITY

Saving money depends on how productive your business and workers are. When your associates and workers have greater access to information, the possibility of productivity increases. The primary solution offered by Data Systems International is Cloud Inventory, and it is an application that has been made available via a mobile-first platform. The CEO notes,” Businesses can use any device with either android, an HTML5 device, or IOs. So depending on the device you choose to use, the application will ensure the worker using it is productive.” The platform has been configured to keep track of resources both offline and online, which is essential when workers are in areas with terrible reception or no internet access.

4.OPTIMIZATION

The optimization of inventory is vital to success. The CEO of Data Systems International says, ” The optimization of field inventory is an important area to optimize as managing inventory while in the field can be a tricky procedure for many businesses this is because most warehouse management systems and ERPs don’t do a great job. Field inventory is basically any material, inventory, or assets that need to be tracked while they are outside the warehouse, and this procedure can be very complex. The optimization of field inventory begins by knowing where the inventory is located. Ensuring there is the visibility of the available resources, and it is in the correct place on time is crucial for improved customer service and profitability.”

Elton Pereira, a Victoria, BC resident, is no stranger to the ins and outs of the business world.  As an entrepreneur, technologist, and visionary, he has a history of launching and supporting a series of successful startups and growing these into multi-million dollar enterprises. Most notably, Elton Pereira is a co-founder and former CEO of ParetoLogic, a company that grew exponentially in a matter of a few short years to become one of the leaders in Internet security solutions in the world, with sales in every country.  

Preparing himself for a career in the business world, Pereira received a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, specializes in entrepreneurship and finance at the University of Victoria in British Columbia in 1998. His first appointment after earning his degree came at CIBC, where he managed over $60 million worth of assets and received the CIBC Annual Achiever Award three years in a row, earning national recognition as one of Canada’s top financial planners.

ParetoLogic: The Little Family Business that Could

While Pereira has a string of successful companies in various industry sectors that he is involved with, the shining star in his entrepreneurial crown to date has been ParetoLogic, a Victoria, BC based software technology company specialized in Internet security that he founded with family members in 2004. 

Elton Pereira founded ParetoLogic in 2004 along with his two brothers Adrian and Myron Pereira and brother-in-law Don Wharton, a long-term business partner. The company specialized in PC and cloud-based Internet security platforms, providing optimization, backup, and privacy solutions, and other utility software services, serving small businesses as well as independent home users. 

The company was launched with a small investment of personal capital on the part of each of the co-founders, and a wealth of market research on the part of Pereira. This led to an extremely successful launch, thanks to a robust online marketing campaign, a triumphant move that provided cash flow from the very beginning, which led to constantly expanding opportunities for growth. Pereira recalls these early days in his own words:

“My bros and I started with our own online marketing companies, took out large credit lines on our Visa and started to play. Throughout the trial and error process of selling a variety of software online we discovered a niche market in the anti-spyware space that turned out to be the beginning of our growth journey. As a reseller, we were having success marketing and selling hundreds of units of an anti-spyware product per day but we had bigger dreams and aspirations.” 

Those dreams and aspirations manifested in the form of dedicated hands-on approach on the part of the ParetoLogic team, and this spirit of determination paid off generously. Between 2004 and 2015, the company grew rapidly from a tiny team of 5 employees and $3.9 million in revenue to an enterprise with 70 employees, 350 million downloads, and $24 million in sales, with customers in every single country around the world.

“We grew fast and furious because my brotherly founders, the executive team and I had ambitious goals of introducing 2-3 new products to market each year (including anti-virus, privacy controls, pc optimization, data recovery and backup, parental controls, etc), recruiting the top marketers in the world and never taking our success for granted,” Pereira recalls. 

The company valued innovation, creativity, and a healthy and focused work ethic. The executive team brought in talented personnel and encouraged individual employees to expand upon their unique skills and interests.  The team also valued a family-oriented workplace culture that allowed employees to flourish as professionals, and encouraged having fun as part of the path to success.

The core values that led ParetoLogic to its rapid growth and success were passion and drive, coupled with integrity, trust, respect and love for one another, all of which fostered a loyal team spirit, and a fun and creative work environment. It was this inspiring environment that led to the innovation of top quality software solutions and exceptional customer service on the part of the ParetoLogic team. 

“We appealed to the mom and pops of the world providing very simple, user friendly one click applications that took up very little computer system resources, worked lightning fast with exceptional live and timely customer service. We were also willing to reward our marketers handsomely for their expertise, execution, support and loyalty. 

“But even beyond the solid product and customer acquisition strategy, I would have to say our PURE success was directly a result of our highly talented, passionate, warm-hearted, driven, committed and loyal team. Each and every one of them played a part in our growth journey. Even during our biggest challenges as a tech company in a competitive world, I was inspired by the team’s positivity, resilience, drive and thrive attitude. It was all heart and soul that allowed us to provide software solutions to over 10 million customers in all 196 countries in the world for 17 great years.” 

Community Giving as a Unifying Force

The ParetoLogic team was also committed to the belief that companies have a responsibility to harness their capital, influence, and resources, as well as their economic power and access, and use those to positively impact human lives in communities both locally and globally.

Elton Pereira is a passionate philanthropist who believes that with rapid entrepreneurial growth comes a responsibility to community giving at both the local and global levels.  He is also passionate about working with optimistic, driven, and inspired individuals and organizations that are similarly passionate about making a difference in the world.

“We were honored with a number of technology awards over the years but most proud of the ones that recognized us for Community service,” he recalls.  “Our team embraced being a champion in the global community building schools in Kenya, India, Mexico and the Dominican Republic; sponsoring children through World Vision, donating blood (and eating lots of cookies ) at Canadian Blood Services; serving up breakfast at Our Place; honoring my grandparents by supporting the Eddie & Maggie Pires Center in North Goa to rehabilitate, empower and protect young girls from sexual exploitation; bringing joy to young children through CFAX Santa’s Anonymous; [and] shaved our heads for Cops for Cancer.” 

In 2014, ParetoLogic became an investor in Change Heroes, an organization that provides a platform as well as tools for individuals and charitable organizations to effectively raise funds. These funds support the building of new schools serving hundreds of thousands of children in developing countries.

Pereira became passionate about participating in the Change Heroes platform after watching a Ted Talk by Change Heroes founder Taylor Conroy.

“I wanted to be part of something new, exciting and impactful,” he remembers. “He allowed me to be his first guinea pig and fortunately I was successful in utilizing social media and personalized videos to recruit 100 of my closest friends and family to donate $3.33 per day for three months for a total of $30,000. This built three beautiful schools in Rajasthan, India.”

He then led ParetoLogic into a partnership with Change Heroes, raising $20,000 to build two additional schools in Kenya and Haiti through the organization’s partnership with Free the Children.  

ParetoLogic also supported other organizations with contributions of cash, time, energy and passion, including Pied executives for Power To Be, as well as BC Children’s Hospital. 

The accolades that ParetoLogic earned for its community giving include the Community Engagement Award presented to the company at the BCTIA Technology Impact Awards Ceremony in 2012, and the World Vision Recognition for Humanitarian Efforts award in both 2015 and 2016. The company was also honored to receive the 2017 VIATEC Community Involvement Award, recognizing ParetoLogic’s contributions to a total of 11 charitable initiatives in the year leading up to the awards ceremony. 

2020 Retirement of ParetoLogic

The retirement of ParetoLogic was announced in March 2020, as Pereira made the following statement:

“It’s been a wild ride and I could not have asked for anything more. Our lease on the space we have been in for 16 years is up and retiring the business allows our team to move on to new and exciting careers, and allows the founders to pursue new passion projects including more time with our family. New beginnings just felt right heading into 2020.

“ParetoLogic’s 17-year run has allowed my brothers and I to support and grow half a dozen other tech/sports media/eCommerce/venture/online businesses currently employing hundreds of people globally. Although Pareto’s officially winding up, its presence lives on. I love my brother’s strong passions and desires to continue to make a mark in this world while understanding the importance of family, friends and community. If it wasn’t for this inner fire and the unwavering love and support we receive from our parents, partners, kids, friends and the community, none of this would have been possible.” 

Moving on from ParetoLogic allowed Pereira to devote more time to his family, as well as to set his sights on an assortment of new business ventures. Some of his new businesses include SureSwift Capital, a diversified SAAS portfolio company that buys out talented founders in order to take businesses to the next level of growth; SendtoNews, a cloud-based digital sports syndicator that has become the fastest growing technology company in its field; The Very Good Butchers, a rapidly growing company that provides plant-based alternatives to meat; Social Nature, a social marketing company that delivers natural products to customers’ doorsteps; Version One Ventures, a venture fund that supports mission-driven founders launching promising startups; Gravity Group, a global investment and advisory enterprise that focuses on businesses with game-changing technologies that support environmental, social and governmental initiatives; and Constant Content, an online talent marketplace that links expert content producers to companies seeking top quality SEO content. 

Elton Pereira’s passion for community giving has also endured beyond ParetoLogic, and in this past year, he supported Startup Skool, a social project that brings an entrepreneurial mindset to youth, through Glenlyon Norfolk School in Victoria, BC. 

The medical facility, physicians, and patients often opt for nurse practitioners to handle specific medical care tasks. But the main challenge that always comes up is that where to find trustworthy and highly-trained nurse practitioners that serve the job effectively. This is where TridentCare comes into action. TridentCare is a leading provider of mobile diagnostic services across the United States, but it also provides highly-trained and experienced in-house nurse practitioner services.

TridentCare Nurse Practitioner Services

TridentCare nurse practitioners are fully licensed and provide regular care visits or intermittent visits, as per the demand.TridentCare NP services serve a diverse range of institutions, such as skilled nursing facilities (SNF), nursing homes, assisted living homes, rehabilitation centers, and many more across the United States. Nurse practitioners are well-trained to ensure that they deliver top-quality care and have high expertise in utilizing the latest technology and clinical protocols. They keep the company goal in mind, i.e., to avoid the patient re-admission to the hospital, reduce unnecessary travel to offsite physicians, and keep the health care under a cost-effective figure. The schedules of patient health care are set up based on the physician’s instructions and diagnostic tests. The patient’s health is always kept as a priority and schedules are well-planned to ensure that the patient receives proper and timely medical care.

Common TridentCare Nurse Practitioner Activities

Following are some of the common activities in which a nurse practitioner may be involved when assigned a job:

• Examine and treat patients, along with coordinate with other team members.
• Directly respond to medical issues when performing duty in a facility.
• Act as a primary person for medical management in the facility of every patient, except for the ones where the physicians refuse to participate.
• Carry out medically essential regular or episodic management visits.
• Start medical workups and triage medical issues.
• May serve as the main contact point for nursing staff who are coached to go to the concerned practitioner when any issue related to the patient arises.

Benefits of TridentCare Nurse Practitioner Services

TridentCare nurse practitioner services cover all the aspects of practitioners needs and provide tremendous benefits to patients, physicians, facility, as follow:

• Patients: Providing high-quality services and comfort to the patients is the primary aim of TridentCare, and the nurse practitioners are well-trained to serve the aim effectively. The nurse practitioners provide physician instructed care, continuous availability for necessary visits, continuous patient medical care, and extra emphasis on the management of medication.
• Physicians: TridentCare nurse practitioners provide customized, high-quality clinical support to the physicians based on their specialties. The highly trained nurse practitioners provide the medical care completely following the physician’s instructions, thereby reducing the number of calls/faxes from each facility.
• Facility: TridentCare nurse practitioners are ideal practitioners that any facility might desire. They provide several benefits, such as higher patient satisfaction, trained-expertise to handle higher acuity patients, decreased chances of re-hospitalizations, enhanced documentation, on-call support, and many more. They increase the facility’s reputation and act as a vital staff resource. The TridentCare NP services also facilitate facility in regulatory support.

As Washington Football Team owner Daniel Snyder focuses on moving the iconic franchise in a new direction, he is actively engaged in rebranding the team with a new name and identity. It’s also clear that Dan Snyder is committed to improving the team’s playing field performance. Toward that end, Snyder hired new head coach Ron Rivera in January 2020.

Jason Wright Takes the Washington Football Team’s Helm

Dan Snyder also recognized that the business side of the franchise needed some serious restructuring. On August 17, 2020, Snyder named Jason Wright as the team’s new president. Wright, who has been a Washington-area resident since 2013, will bring a notable perspective to his new position.

Historically speaking, Jason Wright is the first black man to be named a National Football League team president. Although that fact will likely get the most attention, Wright also possesses a wealth of qualifications, on and off the playing field. Former colleagues and coaches have lauded Wright’s sincerity, focus, and determination in his previous endeavors.

On the football side, Wright played in the National Football League for seven years. He contributed his talents to four franchises, the last of which was the Arizona Cardinals. Following the 2010 season, Wright retired from professional football to pursue his Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Chicago.

After earning this notable degree, Jason Wright spent seven years as a partner in the McKinsey & Company consulting firm. He specialized in helping to rebuild companies that faced serious challenges. During his consulting firm tenure, Wright also co-authored several reports on economic exclusion and racial inequity as they impacted black Americans.

Daniel Snyder Welcomes Jason Wright’s Singular Perspective

Hiring Jason Wright as the Washington Football Team’s president was certainly not a spur-of-the-moment decision. In fact, Dan Snyder and his wife Tanya spent a total of 36 hours with Wright, moving far beyond pleasantries and delving deeply into all aspects of the job.

During those far-ranging conversations, both men openly discussed the highs (and lows) of their careers. According to Jason Wright, they both asked provocative questions, and an abiding thread of transparency ran through their exchanges. After their discussions, Wright was convinced that Dan Snyder was committed to making the changes required to turn the franchise around.

Ultimately, Wright accepted the challenge of reshaping the Washington Football Team’s identity and moving the franchise toward a promising future. Despite the team’s current issues, he regarded the job offer as an unparalleled opportunity, and gladly embraced it.

Following Jason Wright’s decision, Dan Snyder issued a hiring statement that expressed full confidence in Wright’s leadership abilities. Snyder stressed that the new president’s playing field experience, combined with his educational background and business transformation record, gave him an enviable skillset that would provide notable advantages to the franchise.

Dan Snyder also expressed optimism that Jason Wright’s leadership would be a catalyst that helped to turn the team’s performance around. Snyder was confident that the Washington Football Team would once again become a championship-level team.

The Washington Football Team Embraces New Leadership

While Jason Wright assumes command of the Washington Football Team’s business operations, he emphasizes the importance of working relationships built on trust. He also recognizes the value of transparency in showing not only the organization’s strengths but also the areas of needed improvement. When those issues are brought forward, Wright stresses that constructive resolution should always be the objective.

As Jason Wright looks to reshape the Washington Football Team’s culture, he seeks to gain input from stakeholders throughout the organization. During his first 100 days, he also wants to engage with players, fans, and the team’s sponsors. While welcoming suggestions on the team’s new name, Wright also wants honest opinions on the franchise’s challenges and suggestions for resolving the issues.

As Wright formulates his plan, and begins to develop his objectives, he emphasizes the importance of finding the right partners to help him achieve his challenging goal. Not surprisingly, he draws upon a football analogy, stressing that putting the right people on the field is key to executing the best plays for each scenario.

Looking ahead, Jason Wright emphasizes that the Washington Football Team’s new name and identity will help the franchise to relate to the public in a constructive new way. In turn, Wright expects that relationship to generate additional value for the franchise, currently valued at $3.4 billion by Forbes.

Wright knows that an improved balance sheet will likely please Dan Snyder and the Washington Football Team’s investors. At the same time, he’s keenly aware that the franchise’s long-term survival depends on a significant cultural shift.

Even with the challenges ahead, Jason Wright is confident about the outcome of his and others’ coordinated efforts. He eagerly embraces the opportunity to drive this longtime sports franchise toward a healthy, more profitable future.