Canadian Online Poker Tax Thread

[4thstreetpete]

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Good thread. I am several of my friends are in this very precarious position - being pro players (i.e. having no other source of income) in Canada.

I have a couple questions:

1 - Since I have been making withdrawals from neteller straight into my Canadian Bank account I am leaving a paper trail of income. Does this mean I should declare this?

2 - I have made a couple withdrawals by using the Neteller Debit card - is this trackable by Revenue Canada?

3 - How would I convince Revenue Canada that poker winnings are a "windfall" and do not suggest a "reasonable expectation of profit"?

4 - Do I need to go to a tax attorney?

5 - Davidross, can you comment on this subject?

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I'm pretty sure Revenue Canada can access your neteller transaction history if they wanted to. Whether they do that or not is up in the air. If they do question you, you will have to explain it. On your bank statements it does link back to neteller and besides Neteller is a publically traded company located in Canada.

If you're pulling in say $500 a week on a consistent basis, I think you're going to have a pretty hard time convincing Rev Canada that it is a 'windfall'.

Which leaves me wondering. Would it be better to say cash out a huge amount say $50,000 every 6 months and try to claim that as a windfall? or you're better off cashing out a few hundred every week? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]