I spent the morning trying to answer a simple but important question:
If I moved to Texas or Spain — or just stayed in Calgary — what would the tax implications actually be?
So I built a basic model. I wanted to see what happens if I build a business that generates $500,000 in net taxable incomeand then take $200,000 personally as personal taxable income. I kept it clean — I calculated everything in the local currency: USD for Texas, CAD for Canada, and EUR for Spain.
What I found surprised me.
The Math Breakdown
Corporate Taxes on $500,000 Net Income:
- Texas: ~21.75% → $108,000
- Canada (Alberta): ~23% → $115,000
- Spain: ~25% → $125,000
Personal Taxes on $200,000 Income:
- Texas: ~11.3%
- Canada: ~11.4%
- Spain: ~17%
All things considered? The tax differences aren’t deal-breakers. They’re close enough that I realized something: This isn’t a tax decision.
What Really Matters
If the math is more or less the same, then why even think about moving?
Because it’s not about tax anymore — it’s about life. It’s about ambition. It’s about what kind of environment I want to work in, what kind of culture I want to be surrounded by, and where I believe the upside actually feels worth chasing.
Here’s what I’ve realized:
- In Texas, I get the sense that business is encouraged. The culture is fast-moving. It’s growth-oriented. People believe in big ideas. That’s appealing.
- In Canada, I feel like we’ve slipped into a kind of complacency. Ambition feels muted. Risk-taking is tolerated but not celebrated. Watching this place go from bold to bureaucratic has been hard.
- In Spain, the quality of life is beautiful — but you can feel the resignation. Most people do just enough to get by. There's little incentive to stretch or build. I’ve felt that first-hand over months spent there with my family.
So what began as a math exercise turned into a mindset shift.
Why Bother?
That’s the question I’ve been circling. And it’s the hardest one to answer.
Why pour energy into building something where the reward structure no longer feels aligned with the effort? Why build in a place where government debt is climbing, productivity is dropping, and public-sector employment is crowding out private enterprise?
And more importantly: why stay in a place where hope feels like it’s leaking out of the system?
I look at the next generation — my five kids, soon to be adults with families of their own — and I wonder where they’llflourish. So far, none of them want to work in public service. They want to build. Create. Contribute. So where’s the best place to do that?
I don’t know exactly — but I’m starting to believe it’s not here.
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t just about building a business. It’s about building a life that matters.
- In Spain, we’ve been supporting a church-led Montessori initiative. It’s meaningful, purposeful work.
- In Texas, I imagine launching a company in a place where big ideas are still taken seriously.
- In Canada, I still have responsibilities — a business, a team — but I feel the need to work toward something that feels alive again.
Maybe it’s just personal preference. Maybe the grass isn't greener, just a different shade. But I’m okay with that. I think I’m ready for a different shade of green.
The Road Ahead
So where do I go from here?
I’ll likely pursue an E-2 visa in the U.S. over the next year, which will require investing at least $100,000 into a U.S. business. I’ll keep refining that plan — whether that means moving my startup south or building something new entirely. I’ll continue contributing to the work in Spain. And I’ll keep strengthening my team here in Calgary so the business can thrive without me.
But at the end of the day, if you asked me to choose — stay or go? — today is a go day.
Not because of tax rates.
Not because of politics.
But because I want to be where the ambition lives.
And maybe, if you're reading this and asking yourself the same hard questions, that’s the real starting point — not spreadsheets, but gut checks.
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