NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA

November 5, 2009

What Canadians pay in taxes


To the editor:

The other day I was talking with a person who lives In Ontario, Canada, about the health care reform package that President Obama and his comrades in the U.S. Congress are trying to get passed. This person in Canada was trying to tell me how inexpensive it is to live in Canada.

Just remember, Canada has less then 10 percent of the population than we do in the U.S.

I asked this person what his income tax was. He told me it was based on how much he earned. Plus up to a certain amount they're not taxed at all. His tax rate including the province portion was about 15 percent.

That sounds pretty high for a country that's population is 10 percent of ours. In the same province of Ontario I asked a waitress what their meal or sales tax rate was. She told me it was about 13 percent.

Again, the Canadian population is 10 percent of ours. How much higher do you think their taxes would be if their population was as high as ours?

Mike Tyson

Salisbury