Canada finances a greater % of its health care spending out-of-pocket than the US does

[polly7]

35. I'd rather pay my taxes for good health-care for the poorest of the poor as well as everyone else I

know. If the poor are healthy, there's a far greater chance those around them will be also. Our system allows those people to make the trips to see a doctor to remain healthy and treat illness and disease / injury early.

Just a note though on our taxes .... we also get back part of our travel, parking and hotel expenses for medical diagnostic and treatment if we have to go long distances for it, as well as:

The expenses covered for partial re-imbursement:

Payments to medical practitioners, dentists or nurses, or to public or licensed private hospitals in respect of medical or dental services;

Additional costs related to the purchase of non-gluten food products;

Expenses paid for training courses for a tax payer or a related person in respect of the care of a person with a mental or physical impairment, who lives with or is a dependant of the taxpayer;

Cost of purchased or leased products, equipment or devices that provide relief, assistance or treatment for any illness;

Cost of blood coagulation monitors for use by individuals who require anti-coagulation therapy, including pricking devices, lancets and test strips20;

Premiums paid to private health insurance plans;

Expenses incurred after 2013 for specially trained service animals that assist individuals with severe diabetes;

Remuneration for tutoring persons with learning disabilities, or other mental impairments, if the need for
such services is certified by a medical practitioner; and

Reasonable supplemental expenses for the construction or renovation of a residence to enable a person with a serious, prolonged handicap to have access to this residence, to move about therein and to carry out activities of daily living.

For 2014 and later years, the list of eligible medical expenses was expanded to include amounts paid for the design of an individualized therapy plan, where the cost of the therapy itself would be eligible for the credit and certain other conditions are met. In particular, the plan must be designed for an individual who qualifies for the disability tax credit

http://www.taxplanningguide.ca/tax-planning-guide/section-2-individuals/medical-expenses/


Think Canadians pay some of highest income taxes in the world? Think again

The OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, reports in its annual Taxing Wages report that Belgium workers had the highest tax burden -- the so-called "tax wedge" -- last year. Their rate stood at 55.8 per cent.

The tax wedge is the difference between what businesses pay to employ a worker, and the net take-home pay of the employee’s after income taxes, employee-plus-employer social security contributions, and minus benefits.

Germany came in second, with a tax burden at 49.3 per cent.

Canada, meanwhile, is ranked 26th among the 31 OECD nations, with a 31.1 per cent tax wedge. The U.S. ranked 25th, with a slightly higher tax wedge of 31.3 per cent.

Across all the OECD nations, the average tax burden on income was 35.9 per cent last year. That’s up from 35.7 per cent in 2012. The report found the tax wedge rose in 21 out of 34 countries, fell in 12, and remained unchanged in one.

In most countries, the increase in the tax wedge was almost entirely due to higher income taxes. But in Canada, higher employee and employer social security contributions (such as to CPP) accounted for virtually all of the increased tax wedge.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/think-canadians-pay-some-of-highest-income-taxes-in-the-world-think-again-1.1771575

https://slumbuddy.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/comparison-of-canadian-and-us-federal-tax-rates-for-2011/

Comparison of Canadian and US federal tax rates for 2011

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-x/2000002/5071-eng.pdf Taxes in Canada and the U.S.: