Last modified 01/25/2024

The Obligations of the Immigrant in Canada. Income tax, employment insurance and pensions :

The financing of social programs and activities the Canadian federal government and provincial governments come from certain discounts on monthly or annual income of all residents, citizens and residents across the whole Canadian territory.
It is the duty of all persons located inside the Canadian territory to declare their financial situation. For it is entitled to claim refunds of credit.

However, the main contributions of immigrants are for the tax collection agency (Canada Revenue Agency) and labor affairs agency, the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). There are several types of payroll deductions, depending on the type of employment contract you have. As follows, you will find which are the key findings that apply for a permanent employment contract:

Income Tax, created since the beginning of the Canadian tax system. The most common taxes in this category are the federal income tax (for domestic funds) and provincial income tax (distributed in the provinces to finance their activities independently.) The collection of these taxes is between the responsibilities of the Canada Revenue Agency. If you wish to have information about tax rates, you can check their official website.

Employment insurance can assist people who lose their jobs for unforeseen or unexpected reasons. For example, those who are fired from their jobs because of downsizing and closure or bankruptcy of the company, among other common reasons. This insurance functions as a temporary financial aid, and only for those workers who meet specific eligibility criteria. Now, in order to be able to qualify for employment insurance, you must meet the following criteria: Have made contributions to employment insurance fund (through the respective discount in salary), have worked and contributed to the fund for a minimum period of 6 to 12 months.

You should know that not all cause for termination guarantees you’ll receive this insurance policy. Receive benefits only if the reason for termination of employment is one of the following: summary dismissal without having committed serious professional misconduct, birth or adoption of a child, caring for a newborn baby, disability resulting from illness, care for or support a family member seriously ill and at risk of dying within a period of 26 weeks, and enrollment in any academic program.

The unemployment insurance funds are collected by fees paid by employees (through salary deductions or discounts), and companies that hire them. The Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) is the government agency responsible for allocating temporary assistance payments.

The amount of money received covers only a percentage of salary paid. The period of coverage can be an extension of up to 45 weeks, but depends on the rate of unemployment in the province in which the worker resides. It should be noted that this amount is only an aid for the duration of your unemployment period. That is, the person should be seeking a new job in the shortest time possible.

On the other hand, the Canada Pension Plan (Canada Pension Plan CPP) is a Canadian government program that pays retirement benefits, disability, survivors, deaths and dependent children, both to taxpayers and their families. This pension is a monthly benefit for people who have contributed to the CPP and represents a percentage of the income of the person.

Any worker, who contributes to the CPP in their careers, qualifies for access to a retirement pension. However, in order to be taxpayer, the person must have come of age and have a salary greater than $ 3,500 annually. All contributions to the CPP will be deducted from the salary.

Now, the pension amounts depend on a series of different factors such as years of contributions and the accumulated amount, as well as the age at which it begins to collect the pension. The retirement pension is only available to the employee contributing to the CPP, which has 65 years of age. However, in some cases, under certain specific requirements may receive a pension from age 60.

Tax obligations and labor of immigrants are part of its commitment to Canadian society. These obligations provide the services available to anyone living in Canada, and protect the future interests of all workers in this country, whatever their immigration status might be.

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