Sorry - I didn't take your advice and went ahead and read the whole email
anyway!
But I hear you .... every government in the world has its unique nuances. The
US government has one such stupidity going on - that is, to tax its citizens
for income earned outside of the US.
For example, if I decide to work in India, not only would I be paying Indian
taxes - I'd still have to file US returns too! I think this is crazy, which is
forcing Americans to give up their citizenship. At the moment, this number is
running into some 1000+ citizens per year but I think it will begin to grow
significantly as the US begins to tighten their tax laws.
As a side note, the percentage of taxes people pay to their respective
jurisdictions is relative. I saw that you mentioned that Canadians per a higher
tax rate than the Americans. That may be true, but I think the Americans are
paying far more in real taxes than the Canadians. To give an example, I pay
close to $17,000 a year (pre-tax) for medical insurance to cover my family and
myself. I'd be more than surprised to learn if an average Joe, pays half as
much in Canada for their coverage. I am more inclined to think its almost free
up there! I treat medical insurance as a form of additional tax on its
citizens. The same goes with college tuition. People here go almost crazy when
they see how much money is sucked up in American colleges. In most developed
countries, college expenses are nowhere near American fees.
When Obama's new medical coverage law kicks in shortly, my hope is that I'd
able to cut the shafting we get here in the US. Only time will tell.
Jim F
New York.
