RE: Overview of the living cost in Nigeria as it relates to other countries
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If you ever decide to relocate to Canada (or USA) I am certain you would do well as long as you are smart with your wages.
My son wants to be a Doctor and depending on his which branch he chooses to go to he would make up to ONE BILLION Naira annually (Opthalmologist) or even 300 Million annually for a family doctor. People see that number and think how far it could go in their country. My guess is for a Billion Naira you might even go back to clinical medicine :)
Then my son asks if he can buy a house as a doctor in Canada and my response is "only if he is smart". His pay may be 300,000 Canadian but he will pay tax of roughly half on everything over $100,000 (and about 27% on the first 100,000). So, 300,000 before taxes is roughly $170,000 after taxes. That's still a lot of money!
But a Doctor is a professional and many want to "look the part" of successful. You need a nice house and a nice car to do that. The banks will certainly loan a doctor money as they know how much you make :)
A nice house in a nice neighborhood? $5,000/month (or more) so $60,000/year.
A nice Mercedes to drive around in? $90,000 to buy but you'll be offered easy monthly payments at 10% interest. Another $9,000 in interest along PLUS $4000 in insurance not including repairs, maintenance and fuel.
Now your $170,000 is down to $96,000. Of course as a busy doctor you'll be working long hours and an irregular schedule. Who has time to cook with the demands on a doctors time! There are very good restaurants here. Well run, clean and safe. Of course a single entree will run $15 and add a nice drink and appetizer for $25/meal. Breakfast is cheaper of course but still likely $15/meal. As for lunch? Good luck finding time for that as a doctor. So you deserve a nice breakfast and dinner at least, right? $50/day is 1500/month or another $18,000 yearly ... assuming you don't go to Tim Hortons or Starbucks for coffee too often.
$78,000 left after a years work.
But you have a girlfriend you want to impress. You have fuel and other expenses for you car. You deserve to go for nice evenings out to the movie, play, sports, or other entertainment. Of course you need a good cellphone to keep in touch with work and patients.
At the end of the month it is quite possible you will be wondering if there is anything left. Well, maybe not when you are single, but add in a wife and children...yeah, the money isn't as much as you think.
But there are two things I'd like to add....
...If you are smart and humble you can live on way WAY less and keep a huge pile of cash in your bank account every month.
...Even if you are frivilous with your money you are still living a very nice lifestyle.
From all I've heard from you life in Nigeria means having to be frugal with funds and still accept limitations on what you can and cannot have.
I won't say that life is BAD for those who come to Canada. In fact it can be a great decision if they come in informed AND understand everything is more expensive here. If you ask me the best notion is go abroad to make AND KEEP money then return home to live a quiet life and spend it.
Just my take but thanks for sharing. Appreciated the read
I quite agree with you especially as regards the last statement. Hopefully I will look towards that soon enough
If you ever move to Canada make sure you let me know ... I'd love to meet you ... and help you get acquainted with the fine art of legally avoiding taxes and keeping the money in your wallet :)
Is there such a thing as legally avoiding taxes? I'm curious.
Absolutely! Tax avoidance is using legitimate means to pay less tax. Tax evasion is lying to the government to avoid paying taxes. One way is perfectly legal and the other will end you up in jail.
Here is an example of tax avoidance from "King of Floors" a local flooring business. This is their main webpage:
Well, at least its part of the page.
Now you will notice the dog in the image. That's Sir Scruffy. Sir Scruffy is part of their marketing and also a pet of the owner. Now when you have a business in Canada any money spent to make money is a tax deduction. If Sir Scruffy is just sitting at home the owner has to pay food, vet bills, grooming and all that stuff with no tax deduction. I mean why should your pet be a tax deduction?
However, if Sir Scruffy is part of your marketing campaign then he becomes an advertising expense. All his food, vet bills, grooming and other expenses are a tax deduction. In a high earning business those tax deductions can mean paying up to 50% less taxes
So, if Sir Scruffy has $5000 in expenses yearly...
.... If he is your mascot you'll get a $2500 tax refund
.... If he is your pet you get nothing.
Which way saves you more money?
Tax avoidance isn't about lying. It is not about not paying your fair share. It is all about keeping the best possible records, knowing every deduction the government legally allows AND using those legal deductions to pay as little as is possible.
Hope that makes things a little more clear :)
So long it's for productive ventures. Makes sense.
Absolutely. The expense has to be beneficial to the business and the business has to have the potential to make money.
So my laptop to write on HIVE (and my cellphone) are both tax deductions because HIVE has the potential to make me money :)
I'll definitely do that