According to the Heritage Foundation’s 2009 Index of Economic Freedom, Canada is only 0.2 points less economically “free” than the United States. Canada has more business freedom, trade freedom, fiscal freedom, and freedom from corruption than the USA.
Isn’t that amazing? Canada is progressive enough to have a low 19.5% corporate tax rate while the USA is still in the 1950s with its 35% rate…
lol shows there knowledge =]
Canada is a craphole for small business. I don’t know the US system, but do you have to match social security taxes for your employees? What about employment insurance premiums? Do you have as many public (paid) holidays as us?
Don’t forget that we’re punished in the global marketplace (particularly online vendors) with a 5% federal sales tax, and then up to 8 or 9% in provincial taxes (depending upon your jurisdiction).
Then of course, we have our mail monopoly, where Canada Post is the only service that truly ships nationwide (every pocket of the country) and their rates are easily double that of the USPS, making Canadians again, remarkably uncompetitive.
Also, that 19.5% tax is graduated. We probably have you guys beat on corruption. That seems to be an American institution these days.
I was very pleased by this new edition of the Index. Fancy design and all.
What was stunning to me were the rankings of Denmark and the Netherlands. These places seemed pretty egalitarian to me when I researched their political and economic composition, but apparently, they still manage to beat some of the corporatist “global player” states of Western Europe.
And it’s nice to see the top student never become tired to improve. Thumbs up for Hong Kong!
Oh, and are they really unable to include Somalia in their list due to a lack of government statistics? That’d be a shame.
Yes, yes, and I don’t know. In that order.
they think a central bank is economic freedom
On the last one, we don’t have any required paid holidays, that’s entirely up to the employer.
I really want to see Andorra, St. Kitts and Nevis, and a few other small tax havens included.