Canadian here :). By that list, our per-capita healthcare costs are about half of what our neighbours to the south pay. I don't have it handy, but I've worked out the currency conversions and things before with various tax estimators, and in my province (Saskatchewan), we pay approximately the same overall income tax (Provincial + Federal) as someone making an equivalent salary in California (State + Federal). But included in that is all of our health care and some pharmaceutical coverage.
My own person experience was that taxes were much lower in the US than Canada.
I also didn't include the monthly health insurance premiums, nor did I include the mandatory 3-week vacation pay, nor the 35-week maternity/paternity leave, etc etc. Nor tuition costs. I'd really love to see the numbers all across the board as a general "cost of living comparison" for sure.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141010125950-31061941-what-... We do have a 401k-like system that has some neat perks:
- your contribution limit carries over, so if you have a tight year, you can contribute a bunch over the following couple of years
- you can temporarily withdraw from it tax-free to buy a house (it has to be replaced within 10 years or you'll owe income tax on it)