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That particular simpletax calculator is weirdly broken -- it seems to ignore payroll taxes. (I say weirdly, because simpletax usually doesn't bungle things lik

That particular simpletax calculator is weirdly broken -- it seems to ignore payroll taxes. (I say weirdly, because simpletax usually doesn't bungle things like that.) Once you include CPP (Canada's version of Social Security) and Employment Insurance (benefits for unemployed people, but not remotely resembling insurance despite the name), someone earning $50k in BC pays just over $10k... plus another $900/month (more if you're not single) of mandatory tax-but-not-called-a-tax government medical premiums. So for your hypothetical $50k/year worker, the tax burdens are pretty similar; BC+Canada sales taxes come to 12% which I believe is a bit higher than California's sales taxes, but of course the BC resident has government medical coverage. Two important caveats however: 1. Depending on your income, BC is the lowest-tax or very close to the lowest-tax jurisdiction in Canada. Someone earning $50k in Quebec would pay around $13k of income taxes instead of $10k. 2. Salaries in Canada are vastly lower than San Francisco / Silicon Valley salaries.

csdreamer7 10y ago
> That particular simpletax calculator is weirdly broken -- it seems to ignore payroll taxes. ... Once you include CPP (Canada's version of Social Security) and Employment Insurance That is disappointing. I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶m̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶m̶e̶n̶t̶.̶ (Can't amend, the above post is too old.) > someone earning $50k in BC pays just over $10k... plus another $900/month (more if you're not single) of mandatory tax-but-not-called-a-tax government medical premiums. $900 a month? Are you certain of that? That seems very high, unless it is paid by the employer. Is that a fixed amount or is it dependent on income? > 1. Depending on your income, BC is the lowest-tax or very close to the lowest-tax jurisdiction in Canada. Someone earning $50k in Quebec would pay around $13k of income taxes instead of $10k. I chose BC because it seemed to be having it's own tech boom in Vancouver and has very mild weather in that area. I felt that would be relevant to alot of people here.
- cperciva 10y ago
  $900 a month? Are you certain of that? As cbowal noted, the $900 is per year, not per month. I'd fix it above, but apparently my comment is also too old to be corrected now... I chose BC because it seemed to be having it's own tech boom in Vancouver and has very mild weather in that area. I felt that would be relevant to alot of people here. Oh, I entirely agree -- the Vancouver area is the only part of Canada I would want to live in. (Well, maybe Victoria, but that has the same weather and tax rates.) My point was simply that Canada's reputation for being a high-tax jurisdiction isn't entirely undeserved when you consider that most of Canada has significantly higher taxes than BC.
pmalynin 10y ago
>>2. Salaries in Canada are vastly lower than San Francisco / Silicon Valley salaries. This, so much this. As a Canadian (living in Edmonton, AB moving to CA in a few days) the difference in pay is simply staggering. Since a lot of our prices are CAD/USD exchange adjusted (essentially buying, for example, a GTX 1080 is the same in USD, but costs "300" dollars more in here) the difference is compounded even further. Its not unheard of making 2-3x in the Valley compared to what you make up North. So then the tax situation becomes moot, because we're talking about the amount of cash that you take home which after all the taxes, and even the living expenses, is still significantly higher.
cbowal 10y ago
Correction: British Columbia's MSP Premiums for a single adult are $75/month or ($900/YEAR).
- cperciva 10y ago
  Whoops! I started to write $75/month and then thought "no, an annual number is more useful", but clearly forgot to change the units... thanks for catching this!

csdreamer7 10y ago

> That particular simpletax calculator is weirdly broken -- it seems to ignore payroll taxes. ... Once you include CPP (Canada's version of Social Security) and Employment Insurance That is disappointing. I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶m̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶m̶e̶n̶t̶.̶ (Can't amend, the above post is too old.) > someone earning $50k in BC pays just over $10k... plus another $900/month (more if you're not single) of mandatory tax-but-not-called-a-tax government medical premiums. $900 a month? Are you certain of that? That seems very high, unless it is paid by the employer. Is that a fixed amount or is it dependent on income? > 1. Depending on your income, BC is the lowest-tax or very close to the lowest-tax jurisdiction in Canada. Someone earning $50k in Quebec would pay around $13k of income taxes instead of $10k. I chose BC because it seemed to be having it's own tech boom in Vancouver and has very mild weather in that area. I felt that would be relevant to alot of people here.

cperciva 10y ago
$900 a month? Are you certain of that? As cbowal noted, the $900 is per year, not per month. I'd fix it above, but apparently my comment is also too old to be corrected now... I chose BC because it seemed to be having it's own tech boom in Vancouver and has very mild weather in that area. I felt that would be relevant to alot of people here. Oh, I entirely agree -- the Vancouver area is the only part of Canada I would want to live in. (Well, maybe Victoria, but that has the same weather and tax rates.) My point was simply that Canada's reputation for being a high-tax jurisdiction isn't entirely undeserved when you consider that most of Canada has significantly higher taxes than BC.

pmalynin 10y ago

>>2. Salaries in Canada are vastly lower than San Francisco / Silicon Valley salaries. This, so much this. As a Canadian (living in Edmonton, AB moving to CA in a few days) the difference in pay is simply staggering. Since a lot of our prices are CAD/USD exchange adjusted (essentially buying, for example, a GTX 1080 is the same in USD, but costs "300" dollars more in here) the difference is compounded even further. Its not unheard of making 2-3x in the Valley compared to what you make up North. So then the tax situation becomes moot, because we're talking about the amount of cash that you take home which after all the taxes, and even the living expenses, is still significantly higher.

cbowal 10y ago

Correction: British Columbia's MSP Premiums for a single adult are $75/month or ($900/YEAR).

cperciva 10y ago
Whoops! I started to write $75/month and then thought "no, an annual number is more useful", but clearly forgot to change the units... thanks for catching this!