[PLUG] Re: Jobs to Canada

[Paul Johnson]

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On Fri, Aug 29, 2003 at 10:38:42AM -0700, Russ Johnson wrote:
> They have deductions, but none of that is refundable. Unlike the US,
> if you end up below zero (i.e., your credits exceed what you owe)
> you can only get back what you actually overpaid. (Reference:
> http://www.taxtips.ca/tax_rates.htm)

In another words, they don't let you cheat at the last minute.  Paying
taxes is part of living in a civilized society.  Big deal.

> Then, on top of that, each dollar is only worth 72 cents US.

This is changing as the Canadian dollar remains stable and the US
dollar declines, however (last time I was in Canada it was 48 cents).

> Now, explain to me why, if cost of living in the US is higher, why
> so many Canadians are coming to the US to do much of their major
> shopping? This was the practice 20 years ago, and seems to still be
> the practice today.

Sales tax is cheaper stateside, but it only really pays off on
duty-free items.  7% GST (general sales tax) nationwide, plus PST
(provincial sales tax) in most provinces averaging another 7%.

> Gasoline in Victoria was averaging 89.8 cent Canadian per *LITER*. ~3.8 
> liters per gallon. 89.8 X 3.8 = $3.412 per gallon, Canadian, or $2.46 
> gallon, US. Looks a little worse. In Vancouver, BC, it's 91.9 cents per 
> liter.

Gas is expensive everywhere in North America right now.  Normally it's
about 35 to 40 cents a litre on Vancouver Island, and 28 to 33 cents a
litre on the BC mainland near towns.  Somewhere between the two in the
BC interior.

Not that it matters, people really should be using modes of
transportation better suited for cities when they're commuting.  Cars
are great for multiple people, large items or long distance, not one
person who can't be bothered to dial 503-CAR-POOL to team up, save
space on the roads and split the costs of commuting.  Fringe benefit
is it makes gas a negligable weekend-warrior commodity anyway.

- -- 
 .''`.     Paul Johnson <baloo at ursine.ca>
: :'  :    
`. `'`     proud Debian admin and user
  `-  Debian - when you have better things to do than fix a system
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