I got different anwsers about this before. Canadian taxes are higher then the us, but do they have benefits?

Question

For people who actually know and/or have lived in canada.

Answer 1

Canadian taxes vary province to province and yes they are higher than some other countries, but Canada also has a more evenly distributed minimum wage than the US has making our wages higher overall . Although our medical is not entirely free ( some provinces pay) we do have basically free medical, in that no one regardless of ability to pay is turned away. The social services in Canada are well structured and we therefore have less street people etc. and most who do live on the streets are there by choice. If a family is faced with a death in the family and the family cannot afford the expense of a funeral the government will pay for it. All one has to do is apply through their local social service department. ( welfare) The same applies to those with high medical costs or special needs such as medical aids or special dietary needs. These services are available to those below a certain income bracket. ( the maximum income bracket to qualify is actually quite high) There are also daycare subsidies and every family regardless of income recieves $100 a month per child under the age of five to help with these costs.(This has just started this year. ) There are also several grants, bursaries and low cost loans ( some forgivable) available to attend post secondary school or to start up your business. There are also a lot of benefits for low income families for getting their children involved in sports, activities or camps that benefit their health and social skills. Free computers, special softwear, and other aides neccessary for the handicapped to be able to attend and successfully complete studies at college or university are available through A Canada Study Grant with the only qualification being that you qualify for an amount above $1 from student loans. There are also several free resources available to special needs children. Subsidies are also available to home owners for enviromentally friendly upgrades to their homes as well as first time home buyer grants. These are just of few of the free or low cost services we enjoy in this country but it should give you a better perspective of where our tax dollars go. We pay more taxes but we also have the benefit of a huge array of free or very low cost services. Everyone under an income of approximently $50,000 also recieves a tax rebate quarterly for GST taxes so we do get some of it back. We also claim these taxes on our income tax returns at the end of the year as well. So in summary we do pay higher taxes but we also enjoy a huge array of free or very low cost benefits in return.
I hope this answers some of your questions.
Please excuse spelling errors...spell check not working.

Answer 2

Yes, here in Canada we have free healthcare but the level of care isn't the greatest. Well actually it really sucks for the most part. There are also private clinics popping up for those with the money to afford better service.
There are waiting lists in Canada to get a family doctor. There are free clinics for those without.
Free healthcare does NOT include the dentist, eye doctor, etc..

Answer 3

Its hard to know what you mean by benefits, but i am going to say yes, and focus on health care:

Basic health care such as going to a doctor, hospital for a checkup or emergency is still free in some provinces I think, but in Alberta a year of such services costs an individual about $500
per year.

Most people have additional health care coverage for perscription drugs and dental visits, and protection against prolonged illness through a private insurance company, such as Blue Cross
or through work. Once again, even if you were buying coverage on your own, which would cover you for 80% of the cost of prescription drugs and dental visits would only cost the averge person about $500 per year.

So for $1000 per person per year, we get excellent health care coverage


A person making $35000 per year salary would pay about $7000 in income taxes

A person making 100,000 would pay about 32000 in income taxes

Anyone over APPROXIMATELY100,000 would pay the 32000 as a starting point, and for every dollar more would pay 39% which is the top tax bracket.

Answer 4

Our healthcare system is nationalized, but coverage does change from province to province, and in mine - it's really good. Taxes are higher, but everyone does benefit from them, with things like national daycare subsidies, pensions and social programs that help those who need it.

I've lived in both - and believe our quality of life is higher "up here".

Answer 5

The benefit is you get to live in Canada.

Answer 6

I think if you look up any number of "quality of life" indexes (the UN, The Economist Magazine) you wil see Canada and Canadian cities consistantly rank in the the top percentile - wheras the US does not.

I think that's your anwer right there.

Answer 7

yes canadas taxes are much higher than the American taxes.....but with those higher taxes the recieve "free" health care. its not free at all......but if you want to be treated by sub par doctors than canada is your place to go....also the wait is horrendus....you must wait 5-8 hours before you see the doctor...when you finally get to meet with him it will last only about 0.5 minutes as he must make way for the next patient.....canadas health care system is horrendus in quality and also service

Answer 8

I would say the biggest advantage is having provincially paid health care. It's not the best in the world but, having also lived in the US, IT'S A WHOLE LOT BETTER!

Answer 9

I am pleased to live in Canada.
Taxes are among the highest in the world but I get health coverage, infrastructure and support from the government if I get really sick or lose my job.
I also get to live in this amazing nation.

Answer 10

They have Nationalized health care. Which is a blessing or pain in the hinder depending what's wrong with you.