What type of taxes do Americans pay? And what do Canadians pay?

Question

I'm just curious, because I was wondering how much Americans paid in taxes in comparison to Canadians. Canadians get free medical insurance for all of their citizens, while Americans do not. I was wondering if Canadians paid more- and if so, by how much?

Answer 1

Candians pay significantly more, and American healthcare is extremely expensive BECAUSE canada has free healthcare. When canada forces drug or euipment companies for instance to sell at prices below actual cost, they have to pass those prices on to American customers, and they have to sell below cost in some cases so that they will be allowed to sell other products at very slight profits still very far below the price charged in America.

Americans pay a graduated income tax to the fed govt, then each state has differnt rules. Some charge income tax, others simply property & sales tax.

Answer 2

I'm a Canadian and I can tell you that we pay skyhigh taxes. Before I go on, I don't like it when people accuse Canada of being the reason why American medical care is expensive. The reason American medical care is expensive is plain old greed. And if we're "forcing" companies to sell their medical equipment below cost then why do so many hospitals have a hard time affording this below cost equipment? It's because it's not sold below cost. Please check your facts before you start ranting about something that you know nothing about.

We have the Goods and Services Tax plus additional provincial taxes. The GST is 6% on a variety of goods and services. Meaning that we pay 6% on the cost of things like cars, real estate agent fees for selling homes, Tylenol, clothes, school books and a whole rift of other things. Too many to mention. Then the provincial tax is added. This can vary by province. But where I live the provincial tax is 8% so the total tax in Nova Scotia is 14%. And that's before we get into personal income tax, property taxes, etc. My aunt has a summer home in Florida and she thinks we should have the same tax system as down there. At the time she was down there, their tax was 4% on everything, including rents. We don't tax rents but the tax itself is higher (4% vs 14% total tax).

And not all our health care is free. Yes, if I have to go to the hospital my operation, etc., is paid for by tax dollars but there's quite a waiting time involved. Plus I've paid for it with my extra taxes. And we have more and more services that aren't covered anymore (without a reduction in taxes) so in some areas you can actually end up paying quite a bit for some services. And that's before you get into prescription drugs. We still have to pay for those. And things like diabetic supplies, orthotics, etc. aren't covered. Our system used to be really good and I didn't mind paying higher taxes for it. But it's been cut quite a bit without my taxes being reduced and that I do mind. If you're not going to give me the services my tax dollars are paying for then cut my taxes.

Answer 3

There is no such thing as FREE anything. You're paying for it somewhere.

And the Canadian healthcare system is sorely lacking in critical areas because once the free market aspects were removed, the incentive to supply quick and superior services was removed. I've read many stories about Canadians (who could afford it) coming to the U.S. for critical care.

I'm not bashing Canada by any means. I just believe that any time you let a government take control of something, it becomes wasteful, inefficent, and more expensive in the long run. Just compare America's public education system (government) versus private education (free enterprise). You'll see it's no contest. Our public education system is in massive failure.

Answer 4

IN America its very fair. We have what we call the Breathing Tax. This is how it works. You can breathe in all you want, and it is totally tax free. But they do tax the exhale. So if you don't want to pay taxes in America, all you have to do is hold your breath.

Answer 5

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