Originally Posted By: DB_Cooper
Canada problem #54...is the Canadian tax system. Here in the USA sales tax is paid at the retail level. As a product goes through the manufacturing and distribution channels there is no sales tax.
Canada has a GST/HST tax which taxes a product or service (yes services are taxed too) each time it is sold at the wholesale level. So at any time the product goes through the manufacturing and distribution channels it gets dinged a tax at each sale..depending on the it province can be as high as 10%. Even government agencies pay/withhold the tax on anything they buy.
The Canadian end consumer ends up paying the inflated costs due to the tax system.
Almost. The GST/HST is also refunded at every level until final retail. If I buy parts to fix my trucks I pay tax, but since they are used for business (where tax will be charged) I file a GST/HST refund every quarter and get back all the tax I paid out. It is a somewhat odd system but in the end, things are only taxed once, and that is at the final sale...unlike the old wholesale manufacturers tax we used to have where it was taxed at each step.
That said, even with state/local sales taxes running as high as 11% in some places in the US, it is still usually cheaper in the US of A!
Canada problem #54...is the Canadian tax system. Here in the USA sales tax is paid at the retail level. As a product goes through the manufacturing and distribution channels there is no sales tax.
Canada has a GST/HST tax which taxes a product or service (yes services are taxed too) each time it is sold at the wholesale level. So at any time the product goes through the manufacturing and distribution channels it gets dinged a tax at each sale..depending on the it province can be as high as 10%. Even government agencies pay/withhold the tax on anything they buy.
The Canadian end consumer ends up paying the inflated costs due to the tax system.
Almost. The GST/HST is also refunded at every level until final retail. If I buy parts to fix my trucks I pay tax, but since they are used for business (where tax will be charged) I file a GST/HST refund every quarter and get back all the tax I paid out. It is a somewhat odd system but in the end, things are only taxed once, and that is at the final sale...unlike the old wholesale manufacturers tax we used to have where it was taxed at each step.
That said, even with state/local sales taxes running as high as 11% in some places in the US, it is still usually cheaper in the US of A!
