Canadians pay less tax per person than Americans

[KurtNYC]

We really have the worst combination. For all the talk about how liberal programs cost too much and how high taxes must be in Canada in order to pay for their universal health care and other benefits, somehow Canadians pay LESS than Americans to their respective federal governments! Nearly $1200 less.

So we pay more taxes and get less from our government! Oh, and Canada has run a surplus for the last 7 years by either (depends on your viewpoint) collecting too much tax to pay for what they provide OR not spending enough on their programs.

Excerpted from a listing which is from highest taxes to lowest:

27. United States $6702.42 per person
38. Canada $5545.35 per person

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/eco_bud_rev_cap

J'adore Canada.

[RBHam]

1. A freeper's head just exploded...

I swear I heard a pop...

[AllegroRondo]

2. 40. France $4752.36 per person

they pay nearly $2,000 less per person per year than we do, and get great health coverage for it.

[Ruby Romaine]

3. does that include GST & PST, Harmonized tax etc vs. state sales tax

or just income tax?
I'd be happy to pay high tax if I got something in return like education, health care etc.
All we get is perpetual war & the BFEE.

[KurtNYC]

4. I believe that is Total Revenue collected

divided by the population. So even things that aren't specifically called "tax" are included, eg. license fees, fines, etc.

Plus we our federal budget is running a huge deficit so we should be collecting (and will eventually have to collect) even more.

[Ruby Romaine]

10. thanks!

we live 45 min from Canada & go for dinner, events etc.
here's a nice website w/info
http://www.canadianalternative.com/

[AllegroRondo]

5. But we're #2 in child poverty!

right behind mexico!

[Bozita]

6. and some of those taxes go to the CBC, the brightest beacon ...

... of journalistic light in this hemisphere.

Don't miss the Fifth Estate tonight.

[Ruby Romaine]

11. at 9:00 pm- they cover the Al Franken /Bill O'Felafel

story!

[Cleita]

7. Canada reinvests it's tax money in its citizens and their

collective needs rather than piss it down a pork barrel of corporate welfare, which benefits nobody but the corporate fat cats.

[DrGonzoLives]

8. We have this 90000000000000000000000000 lb. gorilla

called the United States Defense Department.

[shawcomm]

13. Yep.

But isn't it nice to know that we rank at the top in spending to kill.

:puke:

If you buy something, you're going to use it. We need to scale back our defense spending. Canada has and by not being warmongers, they haven't been attacked.

[lupita]

9. well, they are not wasting their money in wars. n/t

[magnolia]

12. I love Canada...

...but I'm not so sure that they are so much better off.

They pay 15% sales tax, their wages are generally lower, prices are higher and they have way more regulations and fees. They also have a lot of regulation, like cable TV, internet and things like that, with few choices so you can't price shop. A gallon of milk in NS costs about $5.00 and wages for many trying to support a family are between $6.00 and $8.00 per hour. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[RBHam]

14. Oh NO!!! Not REGULATIONS!!!

Horruh! Horruh!

[iverglas]

16. okay

"Correct me if I'm wrong."

Happy to.

wages for many trying to support a family are between $6.00 and $8.00 per hour.

You'll be referring to minimum wages. And they are better in the US ... how? And the percentage of the workforce working for around the minimum wage is lower in the US than in Canada, is it?

Then there are unions (the things that get workers better wages and benefits):

http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040831/d040831b.htm

The rate of unionization in the public sector remained stable at just over 70% during the last three decades, but the rate for the private sector fell from 26% to 18%. The stability in the public sector prevented the overall rate of unionization from falling below 30%.

In the US, the rate of unionization fell from 38% in 1977 to 18% in 1997:
http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/352/1iie3411.pdf

They also have a lot of regulation, like cable TV, internet and things like that, with few choices so you can't price shop

This is reading like the redneck guide to the great white north. Yep, we buy all our underwear and internet services at the gummint store.

Regulation, like internet? I'm not getting it. I didn't notice much lack of choice when I selected my provider -- high speed, something Canada embraced, and the Cdn govt fostered, very early on. What choice don't I have for cable TV? Yup, there's a single cable provider for each market, but there are also satellite providers. In a small market (our population is 1/9 the population of the US), competition sometimes doesn't just reduce prices, it reduces choice. And I've got Fox News on free digital preview this month; what more could I want? And have you ever actually found out anything about what I get to see on that govt TV network of mine?

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/
http://www.cbc.ca/passionateeyesunday/index.html
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/specials.html
http://www.cbc.ca/correspondent/

See much of that stuff anywhere on US TV? Damn that "regulation" stuff, eh?

As for the price of milk ... I don't pay much attention, I have to admit, but $5/gallon (or the equivalent for 4 litres, close to 10% more than 4 US gallons <oops> quarts) doesn't seem far off. I have no idea how much milk should cost, I guess. Our prices do relate to the need to maintain a healthy dairy industry. Again, rock-bottom prices don't necessarily benefit consumers in the long run.

They pay 15% sales tax

Yup, and that's regressive (hits the poor harder than the rich), and opposed by all Canadian progressives. We still pay less for more, overall, when it comes to what we get for our loonie.

their wages are generally lower

And there's all sorts of interesting things to be said about that.

For one thing, the total income in the country is spread much more evenly among the population (although less so than in most European countries) -- and far less income is concentrated in the hands of the top 5 or 10% of the population the way it is (and increasingly is) in the US. Canada has neither the same poverty nor the same wealth as is seen in the US population. And we're really doing just fine.



(conversion error fixed!)

[yellowcanine]

15. Can't be true. They are a WELFARE state and have national health care.

The U.S. is the best country in the world so STOP SAYING THAT!

[OneTwentyoNine]

17. Figures,they don't start useless Wars and spend $300 BILLION....

In todays $$$ we spent about $$630 Billion on that piece of crap called Vietnam.

[iverglas]

18. good articles for comparative tax/spending info

(All from June 2001)

http://www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&do=Article&call=223&pA=BB736455
News Release: "New CCPA study finds BC has the advantage over Washington State"

http://www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&do=Article&call=222&pA=BB736455
Study: "In Search of the Good Life - 'Competitiveness' and Well-Being in British Columbia and Washinton State"
pdf file:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/BC_Office_Pubs/wa_bc.pdf

http://www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&call=706&pa=BB736455&do=Article
Editorial: "British Columbia and Washington State - How do we compare?"

An average BC family pays $1,663 more a year in provincial taxes than a WA family pays in state taxes. But WA spends more than a $1,118 less per person on public programs. The effects of "smaller government" are evident in higher private spending by WA families for important goods and services. For example, university students in WA pay $1,650 a year more in tuition than students in BC. Families in WA pay an average of $540 more per year for the water, electricity, and fuel they use in their homes. At $768 a year, the difference in private spending on health care wipes out much of WA's tax "advantage." Families in WA also spend an average of $2,300 more per year on life insurance, public and workplace pensions (excluding RRSPs), and unemployment insurance than families in BC.

Higher private spending makes WA a far more polarized society than BC. WA offers far less protection to people who are unable to earn a living in the job market. Only adults caring for a dependent child are eligible for public assistance--for a maximum of five years over the course of their lifetime. More than 900,000 adults and children in WA--almost 16% of the population--have no health insurance. Income inequality is far greater in WA than in BC and, while the gap between rich and poor has been growing in both places, it has widened more rapidly in WA than in BC.

Many of the employment standards British Columbians take for granted are virtually non-existent in WA. In BC, workers are entitled to 9 statutory paid holidays a year and at least two weeks annual vacation. In WA, there are no laws providing for either paid holidays or annual vacations. In BC, women are entitled to 52 weeks of unpaid maternity leave and, if eligible, can collect employment insurance while they are off work. In WA, only women working in the public sector or for private companies with more than 50 employees (just 55% of the workforce) are entitled to a mere 12 weeks of unpaid leave following the birth of a child, and no comparable system of unemployment benefits for maternity leave exists.

Social and economic conditions in WA have worsened over the past decade, the longest period of economic growth in US history. Moreover, seven years of tax cuts have forced WA into a major fiscal crisis. If "competitiveness" means higher out-of-pocket costs for essential services, more inequality and lower employment standards, it is time to ask "what are we competing for?" Rather than competing in a race to the bottom, British Columbians would be better served by a realistic assessment of our advantages and public policies designed to improve on what we have.