Massachusets now charges court fees even when you win your traffic ticket appeal

http://reason.com/news/show/134602.html

Wow, thats just completely messed up.

They have a 5.3 per cent income tax rate!!!!

crazy high eh?

heheh

here is a great website for state taxes
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/swzl_statetaxrate_MA.html

How Massachusetts State income tax rates are structured

The tax table below will show in detail the Massachusetts state income tax rates by income tax bracket(s). There are 1 income tax brackets for Massachusetts.

If your income range is $0 and over, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 5.3%.

Someone post the Manitoba income tax rate just for fun... Please.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/finance/ptaxes.html

2008		2009
Taxable Income	Tax Rate	Taxable Income	Tax Rate
$0 to $30,544	10.9%	$0 to $31,000	10.8%
$30,545 to $66,000	12.75%	$31,000 to $67,000	12.75%
over $66,000	17.4%	over $67,000	17.4%

but I think its also important to show the Tax credits in both cases as well.

here are manitobas.. I will see if I can find Mass's.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/finance/pcredits.html#nrtc

I think to get a true measure of the differences one would need to take a couple of different situations and run them through the grinder
basic medical expense would need to be included, but not so much as a hospital stay as that is not a likely scenario. two visits to the doctor including various tests would be "normal" I would think for a family of 4.

Anyway you cut it Manitoba's rates are exorbitant. Add in the federal transfers and one wonders how this province can be managed if either number is substantially reduced.

Begin that discussion...

Oh sure, make a comparison like that to a US state, but we have "free" healthcare, and cheap auto insurance and remember all of us own cottages to go to every weekend.

"Anyway you cut it Manitoba's rates are exorbitant. "

compared to what?

the USA the federal and states go into crazy crazy crazy debt and this money is transfered all over the place for various things as well.

a true analysis of the difference is needed. I dont think anyone has done a true and complete analysis.

Compared to all but one Canadian province.

Please don't forget our Health Care is paid through our Federal taxes and administered by the province.

Manitoba and Canada are also in crazy crazy crazy debt. The difference is the US increases their taxes a paltry 1% and BAM debt is gone. Exaggerated for effect...

how debt rate federally and provincially combined is close to half the average americans debt rate. (when you combine all government debt divide it evenly amongst all it citizens)

we were close for a long time, but this last 5 years has been crazy in the USA at a federal level.. you dont even want to start talking at some state levels.

Minnesota for instance the interest portion alone on the current state road repair debt is 1 Billion dollars and in order to fix all the roads they need to go into enough debt to spend another 14 billion in interest alone over the next 4 decades.

The good thing about the USA is the debt is alot more compartmentalized so at least you can tell with enough research what debt is caused by what and such.

But eventually someone is going to start calling in all this debt and it wont be a 1% income tax rate increase it will be more like a 4 or 5 % increase.

But again all that means nothing since we really need to have a good comparison of a few different types of familes and see where it all falls.

Ahhh, see what the Americans do to drive on such nice freeways. Too bad we don't do that eh?

HAH! I shudder to think of how far into debt we would have to go to get our many many many miles of road for such a dispursed population base we have up to the level that the Americans have.

Eee Gads... if Winnipeg is 7.whatever billion behind, all of the rest of manitoba would surely be at least that again.. if not another two times.

My point precisely above... Imagine if we lost some federal transfers and reduced provincial taxes.

This will get overturned...pretty quickly I'd imagine.

New Jersey tried this about 20 years ago...and it got thrown out...because it's exacting a fine for someone who has been found innocent...thus still making them guilty.

I realize the guize of "courts cost money whether you are guilty or not"...but it will be determined to be a "fine" in the end...and dismissed.