Hi everyone. I'm just curious what everyone pays in sales tax around the country. I'm in southern California, and my location has a sales tax rate of 7.75% - - however, Arnold and his crew (our legislators) are probably going to up it one percent throughout the state, so we'll be paying 8.75% on all purchases. Aaack! That's not going to make me want to spend!

My sister in law lives in Oregon and pays NO sales tax on anything. Chatty, you have sales tax, but no state income tax, right?

8.1% here - that's a combination of state, county, and city.

Provincial sales tax varies..in British Columbia it is 7%. 10% on liquor. On top of this, is federal sales tax at 5%. It used to be 7%. On goods and services. Not on whole, unprocessed food.

However in Alberta, there is no provincial sales tax. But you are still subject to federal sales tax.

There is no federal sales tax if you buy a new home anywhere in Canada. But you do have to apply for the rebate afterwards.

We are vacationing in Portland, Oregon around Easter...so I intend to take advantage of buying some American stuff, instead of buying in Seattle.

Welcome to my world: we pay 8.75 percent sales tax on everything: food, medicine, you name it. (Oklahoma) Legislators know it's terribly regressive but there's no chance it can be lowered. The other tax rates are quite low and, like most states, we have a budget shortfall. Taxes won't be raised but services will be cut.

I believe our tax is 8.1. Manufactured foods are taxed, the other is not. Clothing is taxed to DEATH!
Tucson, Arizona


Dancer

7.375%...but different part of the state are all different. I have a LOVELY time (NOT!) at quarterly CRS time. We sell all over the state and I have to use gobs of codes. NOT FUN!

Value Added Tax (VAT) in the UK is 17.5% (temporarily cut to 15% between December 2008 and December 2009) on supplies of goods and services.

Certain goods and services are exempt from VAT like food and clothing (which is really poppycock because of indirect taxation). Supposedly, the exemptions are intended to relieve the tax burden on "essentials". Sanitary towels were charged VAT until a few years ago because those were considered luxury rather than essential. LOL!!! Only a man would have drawn up taxation on that item.

Sales tax in Germany is 19%.
Food is 7%. Except "prepared food (cooked)" which you can buy in restaurants or take aways. This is also 19%.
This is valid throughout the country. It's included in the final price; so no bad surprises when you get your bill.

I remember VAT from when we went to Ireland last summer. But we were lucky, we got reimbursed so long as we saved our receipts and turned in the paperwork.

Wow, 17-19%! I guess I shouldn't complain! What other taxes do you have in your countries?

In the U.S., we have taxes on purchases (sales tax), our homes (property tax), our cars (registration tax), income tax (federal and state on all money earned), etc. What else, guys? I'm sure there must be more! Ah, the death tax! Yes, you can even be taxed on certain inheritance values. They get you every time!

Of course we have property tax levied from the municipality. Income tax (federal and provincial).

yes, there is probate tax ..or death tax. Probate is a term from English common law. Some of it can be avoided if one engages in careful estate planning.

This is why I have not much sympathy for big corporations who whine away about paying corporate tax. There are all kinds of loopholes for them when their firm hires an astute tax lawyer. And I say this with strong criticism, after having worked for an international accounting and tax firm for a few years where my job was solely on international tax law research.

We're taxed for every time we breathe here. LOL!!!

Income tax is PAYE - paye as you earn

Council tax - local taxation collected by local authorities. It is a tax on domestic property. Some property can be exempt from council tax. Some people do not have to pay council tax and some people get a discount.

Car tax

Capital gains tax

Property tax - stamp duty and income from rental properties and tax on THAT property as well.

Inheritance tax

Offshore income and on properties abroad. The IRS has a long arm. I pay both UK and US taxes.

TV Licence. Yep. You have to pay to watch TV here.

And a few more stealth taxes...LOL!!!

How many of you pay more tax in the inner city and less in burbs? We can pay up to 12% on eating out in Minneapolis, more if you are downtown and supporting one or more of the athletes playing fields. Add in a drink, and you could pay up to 20%!

I don't haver a problem paying taxes if the money is spent wisely. But I must admit I get pretty tired of supporting sports teams that seldom win, and contribute very little to our state or city.

More in the inner city here than in the suburbs, yes. They pay about .5 or more less in the suburbs outside the city.

Dancer

•German tax rates for an individual are 15% - 45%. The higher the income, the higher the tax
•Singles pay on income above EUR 250,000 (couples, on income above EUR 500,000) income tax of 45% before solidarity tax.
•Inheritance taxes range between 7% and 50%. Depends on how much you inherit. That’s why many parents give their children their homes with a “warm” hand.
•When buying real-estate, 3,5% taxes are due.
•Annual property tax is minimum. We pay only $140.-- /yr.; compared to my brother, with the same size property; who pays $ 6000,-- a yr. in Massachusetts.

We pay 8.50%. Rumor has it that it may go up to 8.75% this year. Our property tax goes up between 50 to 100 dollars every year also. It's ridiculous! I don't think that "so called" tax break that Obama is giving us is going to help. I think we figured we would get about 10-13 bucks extra in our paycheck.

EW, how interesting to compare UK and Germany's taxation. Is EUR250,000 the basic personal tax allowance (income before tax)? Basic tax allowance here is £6475 then it's 20% to 40% tax. The UK used to have a married couples personal tax allowance as well, similar to Germany's but, government has done away with it. Now, it is only for those couples born on or before 1931.

A 40% inheritance tax applies only on the excess of £312,000.00 which is the threshold for 2008-09 tax year. Does Germany's 7% to 50% inheritance tax apply after a nil band rate?

In the US the highest tax rate is paid by the middle and upper middle class. I pay the highest federal rate possible. The richer pay a lower rate.

I just saw a article about this in the paper today. I don't know your tax rate, Cookie, but my reduction would be about 5%, based on the projections. That's a lot for me.

Lola, you asked me" Does Germany's 7% to 50% inheritance tax apply after a nil band rate?"

What is a nil band rate?

Hummm, that is interesting Anno. On World news last night, Dianne Sawyer said that everyone would see about $13.00 extra in their paychecks around the month of June. She also went onto say that most people would look at 13 dollars as not enough to save, so they would spend it....stimulating the economy. 5% sounds better to me!

Here's a site that offers information about taxes in all US states.

http://www.retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html

Very helpful site, Dotsie, thanks!

EW, it is the amount which is not subject to IHT. In the UK, £1 to £312,000 is nil band rate which means no inheritance tax is levied. Any excess past £312,000 would be subject to IHT of 40%. So, if the estate is worth £320,000 only £8,000 would be taxable.

Thanks Lola. I think 307,000.-- Euro inheritance is tax free for spouses. For children it's 205,000.-- Euro. If I understand the law correctly, the tax rate is set according to what tax bracket the beneficiary is in. For example, if you earn less than 256,000,- /yr., you would have to pay 7% inheritance taxes.
Considering the fact that you are a lawyer, you might be interested in more detail: German inheritance taxes

Thanks. I've only had two Probate matters at Nachlassgericht which were straightforward. It was very protracted though because we had to translate Deutsche documents to English und mein Deutsche ist nicht gut.

Lola, how are law firms holding in the UK? I'm curious b/c some local law firms are laying off employees, including attorneys.

The unthinkable has happened here as well, Mustang. The "Magic Circle" i.e. elite law firms in terms of size, diverse practice and international partnerships, have made redundant many partners, fee earners and staff. Fixed-salaried fee earners in some firms have taken cut-backs in take-home pay to avoid redundancies. Medium-sized and old firms are much better off except where commercial practices are concerned because those areas are slow at the moment but, there is enough work to go around and their legal fees and admin costs are lower. Everyone's forced to be frugal. I am with a firm that was established in the 1800's so, like many old firms, it pretty much knows how to ride the waves without making people redundant. It has been through a few, needless to say.

Apparently among the big (national) Canadian law firms, the areas of law that are quite strong right now is: bankrupcty/insolvency law. Canadian companies need legal advice to find ways to avoid bankruptcy because it hurts their business/public reputation later on ,when the economy recovers. Also how a company can change its business model/restructure legally without putting themselves in financial disaster.