4.14.2006

haditha

When I was still living in (and blogging from) the US, a frequent comment I heard from flame-throwing wingnuts was "Canada? Enjoy being taxed to death!" or similar sentiments.

Allan and I never understood it. We always wondered, where do these Americans live, who don't pay taxes? We paid federal income tax, New York State tax, New York City tax, in addition to sales tax on almost every purchase. Many US states don't have sales tax, and a few states don't have income tax, but the picture of the US as some sort of tax haven is awfully strange. Unless, of course, you're a major corporation.

So far, our taxes here in Ontario are lower than what we paid, all taxes combined, living in New York State. I repeat: lower.

For me, the question has always been, What do I get for my money? Universal health insurance seems like an excellent - and a stunningly obvious - use for taxes. Indeed, it's exactly what the purpose of taxes should be.

On the other hand, what do you get for your tax dollars in the US? The Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel gives us one view.
As the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday, this much is known to be true: On November 19, after a roadside bomb killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 15 Iraqi civilians – including seven women and three children – were allegedly shot and killed by a unit of US Marines operating in Haditha, Iraq. Then, this past Friday, a battalion commander and two company commanders from the same unit were relieved of their duties.

We also know that the Marine Corps initially claimed that the 15 Iraqi civilians were killed by a roadside bomb. But in January, after Time magazine presented the military with Iraqi accounts and video proof of the attack's aftermath, officials acknowledged that the civilians were killed by Marines but blamed insurgents nonetheless who had "placed noncombatants in the line of fire."

However, video evidence shows that women and children were shot in their homes while still wearing nightclothes. And while there are no bullet holes outside the houses to support the military's assertion of a firefight with insurgents, "inside the houses…the walls and ceilings are pockmarked with shrapnel and bullet holes as well as the telltale spray of blood."
Her blog entry here.

8 comments:

James Redekop said...

So far, our taxes here in Ontario are lower than what we paid, all taxes combined, living in New York State. I repeat: lower.

This is actually well-established. A study a few years ago shows that the average Canadian paid less in tax than the average US citizen. However, rich Canadians pay more than rich Americans, and that is the stat usually cited by people who want to claim that Canadians are overtaxed.

Personally, I'm not that choked up by the idea that Conrad Black might be paying more tax on his ill-gotten gains than Rupert Murdoch is on his.

laura k said...

A study a few years ago shows that the average Canadian paid less in tax than the average US citizen.

Oh yes, now that you mention it, I remember you've said this before. So it's an established fact - but (no surprise) that has little effect on US stereotypes of Canadian society.

I'm not that choked up by the idea that Conrad Black might be paying more tax on his ill-gotten gains than Rupert Murdoch is on his.

Right. If Donald Trump finds the taxes too high in Canada, he's welcome to stay put in New York.

orc said...

I think I worked out a while back that if I managed to GTFOOD to Canada, I'd pay about CA$5000 more in taxes that I currently pay in the United States.

Of course I wouldn't have to pay the CA$2500 I've paid this last school year for public school tuition, and I'd also not be paying the approximately CA$3500 I've paid in the last year for deductables for medical expenses (CA$4500 if you include the raft of copays for clinic visits; small children are expensive here in the land of dysfunctional health insurance.)

But, O, the agony, I'd be paying money to the Evil Government!

But, on the other hand, hiring an investigator to recreate a paper trail for where I've lived and worked since I turned 18 will probably make up for several years of any tax savings I might get from moving to Canada.

laura k said...

But, on the other hand, hiring an investigator to recreate a paper trail for where I've lived and worked since I turned 18 will probably make up for several years of any tax savings I might get from moving to Canada.

But presumably that would only have to be done once.

And who can put a price on mental health?

orc said...

Well, sure, it would only have to be done once (and it might not have to be done at all; my family has suggested that I merely go out and get a copy of my full credit report. If the credit reporting agencies don't sunset the records after 7 or 10 years, that will solve all of my "where was I living?" problems in one fell swoop.)

But, really, mental health is overrated. Where would I be if I got a real nights sleep, wasn't panic binging, or didn't have approximately 10,000 canker sores from stress? (answer: Not in the thrice-damned United States. But I digress.)

laura k said...

(and it might not have to be done at all; my family has suggested that I merely go out and get a copy of my full credit report. If the credit reporting agencies don't sunset the records after 7 or 10 years, that will solve all of my "where was I living?" problems in one fell swoop.)

Nope. If you do decide to emigrate, one thing you can be sure of is that the CIC won't make any exceptions on any of its forms. You won't be able to submit anything in place of anything else. (Well, to be completely accurate, you can submit it, but it won't be accepted.)

orc said...

I believe that full credit reports mention where you were living, no? Once I've figured out where I was living (and when), it becomes easier to fill in the exact work details, so iff the credit report goes back to my college days, ta-dah, it's all done. (at least imm0008 schedule 1 doesn't seem to require any evidence other than my signature attesting to the accuracy of the application.) And if not, I need to revert back to the more expensive plan A.

I trust the evil credit worthiness companies more than I trust my memory, anyways. One of the "advantages" of being a trainspotter and a computer programmer is that all of the space in my head that would otherwise be used to remember where I lived have been filled in with random bits of information about coding and trains.

laura k said...

I believe that full credit reports mention where you were living, no?

Oh, I see what you mean. Mine didn't. It just listed credit card companies, loans, etc - no addresses. :/

One of the "advantages" of being a trainspotter and a computer programmer is that all of the space in my head that would otherwise be used to remember where I lived have been filled in with random bits of information about coding and trains.

I think my partner has the same syndrome, only substitute baseball facts and statistics.

So what's my excuse? :)

I didn't remember half the addresses. But I'm very organized, and found all the addresses in various archival shoeboxes. I understand this is not a strength of yours.