It's sad enough the Americans posting here regard this article in ignorance , you should know better. CPP deductions are also a tax deduction , stop at a gross income of 46K and if your average tax rate is 35% then you live in Quebec and make at least $120,000 a year. The tax on that amount in Ontario is 30.6% , on $60,000 , 21%. Including both Fed and Prov. taxes.
The truth is taxes in both countries are very close.
I sincerely doubt I’ll EVER see one red cent of my CPP contributions, and I know I’ll never get a cheque from the EI program, so that makes them both what: mandatory non-taxes?
So what if my CPP/EI contribution(s) lower my “taxable” income. All that means is that I don’t pay income tax on the money used to pay a tax. Big whoop!
The way I interpret my deductions is very simple, not nuanced and sophisticated like you do. My simple method is:
If the government takes the money, it’s a tax.
As for your claim that taxation levels are close, why is it that after a 90 minute ferry ride South of my current location, the stuff in my wallet goes further, even after taking the exchange rate into account? Or do subjective arguments and observations not count?
How about fuel taxes, liquor taxes, etc?
I can buy a case (24) of Canadian beer for ~$18 in Washington. The very same beer, from the same brewery costs $21 here for a 12 pack.
Then there’s the price of gasoline. On Saturday, the best price available on the lower mainland was $1.049/litre. In Sumas WA, it was $0.749/litre.
But the taxation levels are very similar. Yeah. On your planet perhaps.