[Lemmy]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Not true. Most Americans still get their private medical insurance via their employer or union as a non-taxed benefit. However, Obamacare will soon add a 40% tax on those people who pay the highest premiums because the f*cking Democrats think those people are getting 'premium' health care when in fact it is senior citizens who are paying those rates and the result will be forcing millions of seniors into Obamacare.

It is true. The statistics don't lie. Sorry, but the fact that you're against the health-care bill implies you don't understand it. But I'm not going to argue with you about American healthcare because I don't really care how you Yanks go about it. It does utterly amaze me how the right wing media in the USA is so well able to convince people that what's so obviously in their best interest ISN'T.

[BeaverFever]

Lemmy Lemmy:

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Not true. Most Americans still get their private medical insurance via their employer or union as a non-taxed benefit. However, Obamacare will soon add a 40% tax on those people who pay the highest premiums because the f*cking Democrats think those people are getting 'premium' health care when in fact it is senior citizens who are paying those rates and the result will be forcing millions of seniors into Obamacare.

It is true. The statistics don't lie. Sorry, but the fact that you're against the health-care bill implies you don't understand it. But I'm not going to argue with you about American healthcare because I don't really care how you Yanks go about it. It does utterly amaze me how the right wing media in the USA is so well able to convince people that what's so obviously in their best interest ISN'T.

Well said Lemmy! I'll add that the employer-paid portion of the premium may be a non-taxable benefit but that doesn't mean that private insurance doesn't eat up American's dispoable income:

1)The employee pays some portion of the premium themselves through payroll deductions
2)The employee pays the deductable/co-pay/co-insurance at the time health services are delivered
3)The employee pays the full price of any expenses not eligible under that particular benefit plan, or above the maximum amount.

Also Bart, you should know that just like your crazy birther theories, the Obamascare propaganda you get in your email is one again pure fabricaiton:

$1:

A widely circulated e-mail quotes a summary of the bill that became law, FactCheck.org reports: "[Section 9002] requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer-sponsored group health coverage."

That's accurate.

But the e-mail incorrectly assumes that the cost will be "added to your gross pay" and that "you will be taxed on the total."

"See what $15,000 or $20,000 additional gross does to your tax debt," the e-mail claims. "That's what you'll pay next year. For many, it also puts you into a new higher bracket so it's even worse. This is how the government is going to buy insurance for 15 percent that don't have insurance and it's only part of the tax increases."

The actual health care law says nothing of the sort. The value of your employer-paid insurance is not taxed now, nor will it be when the provision of the new health care law goes into effect.



Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-06-20/story/health-care-benefits-not-taxable-are-reportable#ixzz1Jw3W2Z5r

[BeaverFever]

-1 for calling you a birther? Really Bart?

[BartSimpson]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

-1 for calling you a birther? Really Bart?

Really.

I am not a birther. I have said that I wondered what was on Obama's bc that was worth hiding, but that I also had little doubt that he was born in Hawaii.

Denouncing someone as a 'birther' has been synonymous with calling someone a racist and that tweaks me just a bit.

[BeaverFever]

Buddy, you created a whole thread just about how Michelle Obama's address to some Kenyan ppl somehow suggested he was born there. I'm not sure its a coincedence that your -1 came along AFTER Obama released his long-form birth certificate.

[cougar]

I did not see any mention of the Canadian HST tax in that article.
Do Americans pay HST?

[Caelon]

cougar cougar:

I did not see any mention of the Canadian HST tax in that article.
Do Americans pay HST?

There is no Canadian HST tax. There are provincial sales taxes and the federal GST. Only some Canadians pay HST (eg Ontario), which is a different tax grab. We all pay GST either as part of the HST (if you live in an HST province) or as a stand alone tax. Americans pay sales taxes as regulated by the constituency the store is located. Each state is different just like each province in Canada is different.

[scarecrowe]

It's not so much the taxes as the cost of goods overall - it's really expensive to live in Canada.
Why do I pay $22 for a Toyota part that is $11 in the US, both identical parts coming to North America from Japan through the same port of Los Angeles before then being shipped throughout North America? Why is it a Firestone tire is $320 in Ontario and is $175 in Michigan when the tire sold in both places is manufactured in Ontario?
There is whole wack of HIDDEN tax a Canadian pays for goods.

[herbie]

Americans pay 24c a gallon federal fuel taxes and whine like cats left out in the rain.
The carbon tax on gasoline in BC alonejust jumped to 22c per gallon (<rant>per US gallon, there ARE NO MORE GALLONS here </rant>) and the Province newspaper wrote an editorial.
Wow. We get moderately annoyed, and our country isn't going broke.

[cougar]

scarecrowe scarecrowe:

It's not so much the taxes as the cost of goods overall - it's really expensive to live in Canada.
Why do I pay $22 for a Toyota part that is $11 in the US, both identical parts coming to North America from Japan .....There is whole wack of HIDDEN tax a Canadian pays goods.

Scarecrowe, you hit the nail on the head. We pay a lot more in taxes and inflated prices. Just like you, I was shopping for car parts from US. But they had a special price for Canada. It looks like when an item made in Canada goes to US it is cheaper there. When an item from US is sold it Canada, we pay often over 100% more than what they pay.

[Caelon]

scarecrowe scarecrowe:

It's not so much the taxes as the cost of goods overall - it's really expensive to live in Canada.
Why do I pay $22 for a Toyota part that is $11 in the US, both identical parts coming to North America from Japan through the same port of Los Angeles before then being shipped throughout North America? Why is it a Firestone tire is $320 in Ontario and is $175 in Michigan when the tire sold in both places is manufactured in Ontario?
There is whole wack of HIDDEN tax a Canadian pays for goods.

While there are extra taxes and costs in Canada a large part of the price diffence on goods like automobiles and parts is from the supplier. When we had a 62 cent dollar you expected to pay more. Now we have a higher dollar and the price is still the same, because as consumers we expect to pay that much and the supplier is happy to oblige. Car manufacturers like Honda and Toyota try to prevent the cross border shopping through practices like no warranty. On the other hand their vehicles are reliable and some people are willing to risk no warranty for a net savings of $5000 or more depending on the model. Not enough people are willing to go through the hassle of importing a vehicle or its parts so we encourage the manufacturer/supplier to hold the prices higher.

[saturn_656]

The most honest answer you'll get out of any company on why the exact same products are so much more expensive here vs. the US, is that they are charging what the market will bear.

Which in plain English, means they overcharge us because they think we will pay anyway.

[Psudo]

Canadian Tax Revenue By Year in CAD (total revenue / population = revenue per capita):
2009: $233.1 billion / 33.740 million = $6,900
2008: $242.4 billion / 33.311 million = $7,300
2007: $236.0 billion / 32.976 million = $7,200
2006: $222.2 billion / 32.649 million = $6,800
2005: $211.9 billion / 32.312 million = $6,600

US Tax Revenue in USD (except the last column):
2009: $2,105 billion / 307.0 million = $6,900 :: CA$6,600
2008: $2,524 billion / 304.4 million = $8,300 :: CA$7,100
2007: $2,568 billion / 301.6 million = $8,500 :: CA$8,400
2006: $2,407 billion / 298.6 million = $8,000 :: CA$7,100
2005: $2,154 billion / 293.0 million = $7,350 :: CA$6,358

It looks like the average Canadian was less taxed until the fiscal crisis, and more taxed since. The difference isn't remarkable, though. "Tied" is probably the best answer.

[Canadian_Mind]

Except for 2007. And are your calculations based on current exchange rates, or the average yearly rates?

[Psudo]

You mean tied except for 2007? Yeah, I can see that. I think that's related to currency exchange rates. The conversion was very close to parity that year alone.

Average yearly. The "last column" link is my specific source.