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Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan
A number of people have asked about taxation in the U.S.--so I'll address that, having paid tax in both countries on roughly the same amount of income.
There is no question that under 50,000 dollars, taxpayers in the U.S. pay way more tax than Canadians. Don't underestimate the value of that first 8929. In the U.S. there's a standard deduction, but it just doesn't add up to the same tax benefit--I don't know why, I only know that the bottom line is I pay more tax in the U.S. than I ever did at home.
In Canada, we basically pay provincial and federal tax. Taxation varies in the U.S. but generally there's federal and state tax, and in some cities (Philadelphia is one) there's also a city tax, which is approximately the same as your state tax, or around 12% of your income. And you can't file a city tax return, so you don't get any of that back. Then there's Social Security and Medicare taxes, which are both substantial. Basically, the tax burden here is unconscionably high, especially given the very limited services provided by government.
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Very interesting. We are always fed the line in Canada that we are way over taxed, and that average Joe American pays half the tax that his buddy in Canada would. Personally, I always accepted a higher tax rate in exchange for universal health care.
So, this begs the question...where is all of that money in the U.S. going? The military?