Great article! Like the colour you give on the land holdings.
Was surprised with the acquisition of the reit as well. Not a bad price. Guess at current trading price there was no possibility to raise capital anyway at the reit level.
Thanks! Maybe MRD will no longer acquire commercial property outside of retail and services within its communities so the segment it will not need any significant capital. Or maybe MRD can find a private institutional capital partner for its stabilized commercial properties.
Great article! Thanks so much for taking the time to do the research and write this up. As a long time shareholder I read everything I can find about Melcor, but it's pretty under the radar!
What is the tax treatment for non Canadian investors? If I understood right, it is rather unfavorable for REITS and similar businesses where most of the money is generated from Canadian real estate. Do I understand it correctly and does that apply to Melcor as well?
I am not a lawyer or accountant. I can explain from my experience as a US citizen and US resident. If you are from a different country then my experience may not be relevant.
Taxable dividends from Canadian issuers (REITs and corporations) to foreign holders are subject to withholding tax at a 25% rate, but that's reduced to 15% for US citizens under the US-Canada Tax Treaty. If a US citizen receives the dividend in an ordinary taxable account then the amount withheld can be claimed as a Foreign Tax Credit by filing Form 1116 with your return.
My understanding is that dividends paid to non-taxable retirement accounts are exempt from withholding tax, reciprocal treatment under the treaty. However my experience with different brokers has varied. I have had no tax withheld at Interactive Brokers. When I held Canadian securities in an IRA account at Fidelity, I had tax withheld on some payments and not others - Fidelity explained that it was due to the nature of the income reported by the issuer. There were cases where I held the same REIT at IB and Fidelity and Fidelity withheld tax and IB did not. If tax is withheld from a dividend paid to an IRA then its not eligible for the credit and the money is lost. It's simplest to just hold these positions at IB.
When you hold a position in a Canadian issuer that is being acquired then it's important to read the proxy "Information for foreign holders". Sometimes a portion of the merger consideration may be considered a distribution subject to withholding tax and the balance would be proceeds from sale of the asset.
There is no Canadian tax on capital gains and losses realized by non-residents.
The US treats REIT units and REOC shares as capital assets subject to tax in the same way as US securities. Your broker will probably calculate the gains and losses for you.
I want to add that the management is really savvy. They were very focused in Alberta real estate, until 2009/2010 where they first got into US residential. And i don't think it is luck.
Great article! Like the colour you give on the land holdings.
Was surprised with the acquisition of the reit as well. Not a bad price. Guess at current trading price there was no possibility to raise capital anyway at the reit level.
Thanks! Maybe MRD will no longer acquire commercial property outside of retail and services within its communities so the segment it will not need any significant capital. Or maybe MRD can find a private institutional capital partner for its stabilized commercial properties.
Great article! Thanks so much for taking the time to do the research and write this up. As a long time shareholder I read everything I can find about Melcor, but it's pretty under the radar!
I can recall, da when one goes against interests of the minority shareholders (like in case of Melcor REIT), that often tends to repeat. ..
Good point, but we're not talking about Brookfield here ....
I saw in other cases also...
What is the tax treatment for non Canadian investors? If I understood right, it is rather unfavorable for REITS and similar businesses where most of the money is generated from Canadian real estate. Do I understand it correctly and does that apply to Melcor as well?
I am not a lawyer or accountant. I can explain from my experience as a US citizen and US resident. If you are from a different country then my experience may not be relevant.
Taxable dividends from Canadian issuers (REITs and corporations) to foreign holders are subject to withholding tax at a 25% rate, but that's reduced to 15% for US citizens under the US-Canada Tax Treaty. If a US citizen receives the dividend in an ordinary taxable account then the amount withheld can be claimed as a Foreign Tax Credit by filing Form 1116 with your return.
My understanding is that dividends paid to non-taxable retirement accounts are exempt from withholding tax, reciprocal treatment under the treaty. However my experience with different brokers has varied. I have had no tax withheld at Interactive Brokers. When I held Canadian securities in an IRA account at Fidelity, I had tax withheld on some payments and not others - Fidelity explained that it was due to the nature of the income reported by the issuer. There were cases where I held the same REIT at IB and Fidelity and Fidelity withheld tax and IB did not. If tax is withheld from a dividend paid to an IRA then its not eligible for the credit and the money is lost. It's simplest to just hold these positions at IB.
When you hold a position in a Canadian issuer that is being acquired then it's important to read the proxy "Information for foreign holders". Sometimes a portion of the merger consideration may be considered a distribution subject to withholding tax and the balance would be proceeds from sale of the asset.
A great answer, many thanks!
and what is the tax treatment of capital gains from REITS and other real estate companies, for non Canadian investors?
There is no Canadian tax on capital gains and losses realized by non-residents.
The US treats REIT units and REOC shares as capital assets subject to tax in the same way as US securities. Your broker will probably calculate the gains and losses for you.
Good article.
MRD.to was on my research list and this was exactly what I was looking for.
NIce writeup.
I want to add that the management is really savvy. They were very focused in Alberta real estate, until 2009/2010 where they first got into US residential. And i don't think it is luck.