Waterloo

[Jay12]

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Hey guys, this a question for current Waterloo students, graduates from there, optometrists working in Canada, or any individual that might be informative on the topic.....

I know that Waterloo has just upped their student intake to 90 students per year.......what kind of effect will this have in Canada (especially having read up some of the threads from our friends from the states, and the saturation situation that is occurring.....)

 

[qwopty99]

Tougher to make a decent salary in urban centers.

However, the cause of the oversaturation "problem" isn't restricted to Waterloo.

There are more Canadians studying optometry in the US than there are Canadians studying optometry in Canada (think about that for a moment). Many of these Canadians return to Canada to practice. Most of these folks who go down to the US come from urban centers, and return to work in urban centers. The urban centers are "oversaturated".

A new "full-time job" performing eye exams basically doesn't exist in urban centers, and hasn't for years. You need to be mobile and work at several places, patch-work style, to get "full time hours".

 

[stonegoat]

Forget about urban areas....practice in rural Canada...the demand far exceeds the supply.

I'm offering a guaranteed six-figure salary for anyone interested in joining my busy PP, but so far.......nada.

I hate hearing Canadian "urban" ODs whine about over-supply

 

[gochi]

Forget about urban areas....practice in rural Canada...the demand far exceeds the supply.

I'm offering a guaranteed six-figure salary for anyone interested in joining my busy PP, but so far.......nada.

I hate hearing Canadian "urban" ODs whine about over-supply

Isn't there a higher tax rate in Candada ? (besides Alberta ofcourse)

Alaska or New Orleans is the place to practice in the USA currently, but again are the tax rates low or high there relative ot other states and canadian provinces .

How can you have a stable practice if you are still attending opto school ?

 

[stonegoat]

I'm not a student...I graduated in 2003.

And no, I'm not in Nunavit, I'm located in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. Arguably one of the most beautiful regions on Earth. Google Nelson, BC and see for yourself.

As for taxes...if you gross $130K, you would expect to net abou $95K after tax. BC has a corporate tax rate of only 16%...better than Alberta. Plus, in BC a spouse can be a non-voting shareholder in an Optometric Corporation, and you can pay him/her $~35K/year out of your gross, and not pay a penny in tax, as long as the dividends the spouse collects are their only source of income. Ideal for a parent staying home with the kids.

 

[gochi]

I'm not a student...I graduated in 2003.

And no, I'm not in Nunavit, I'm located in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. Arguably one of the most beautiful regions on Earth. Google Nelson, BC and see for yourself.

As for taxes...if you gross $130K, you would expect to net abou $95K after tax. BC has a corporate tax rate of only 16%...better than Alberta. Plus, in BC a spouse can be a non-voting shareholder in an Optometric Corporation, and you can pay him/her $~35K/year out of your gross, and not pay a penny in tax, as long as the dividends the spouse collects are their only source of income. Ideal for a parent staying home with the kids.

Well you're status states "Attending" so I assumed you were a student.

What's the difference between "corporate tax" and just "tax" Dont most of the provinces in Canada have a tax rate of 14.5% ? I cant remember which, but either Alberta or Saskatchewan has a tax rate of 7.5% or <10%.

So if you're spouse can take home 35k out of you're total gross without any taxes and you gross 135k, does that mean you will still be taxed on the 100k gross ?

 

[jefguth]

Well you're status states "Attending" so I assumed you were a student.

What's the difference between "corporate tax" and just "tax" Dont most of the provinces in Canada have a tax rate of 14.5% ? I cant remember which, but either Alberta or Saskatchewan has a tax rate of 7.5% or <10%.

So if you're spouse can take home 35k out of you're total gross without any taxes and you gross 135k, does that mean you will still be taxed on the 100k gross ?

You really need to read a book or something on taxation.... I don't even know where to begin with this.

the deal with corporate tax Stonegoat descibed is that as an OD you can incorporate your practice. You can they pay yourself employment income or dividends from the corporate account. This really starts to make sense once your income is >100K. It allows you to split income with a spouse to decrease overall tax rate, retain excess income you don't really need to live on inside the coporation (and thereby defer alot of the taxes you would pay personally if you withdrew it to your personal accounts), and set up a personal pension plan (stash away more money for retirement without paying taxes than you could with RRSP's).

 

[gochi]

You really need to read a book or something on taxation.... I don't even know where to begin with this.

the deal with corporate tax Stonegoat descibed is that as an OD you can incorporate your practice. You can they pay yourself employment income or dividends from the corporate account. This really starts to make sense once your income is >100K. It allows you to split income with a spouse to decrease overall tax rate, retain excess income you don't really need to live on inside the coporation (and thereby defer alot of the taxes you would pay personally if you withdrew it to your personal accounts), and set up a personal pension plan (stash away more money for retirement without paying taxes than you could with RRSP's).

Yea- I should read a book on taxation.