Paul Ryan Praises Canada's Tax Rate For Business

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan praised Canada's corporate tax rate during his debate with Joe Biden on Thursday night.

But it was his apparent reference to Canada being "overseas" that set off a firestorm on Twitter.

"And where I come from, overseas, which is Lake Superior, the Canadians, they dropped their tax rates to 15 percent," Ryan said. "The average tax rate on businesses in the industrialized world is 25 per cent, and the president wants the top effective tax rate on successful small businesses to go above 40 per cent."

While it seems Ryan is well-aware that Canada is not overseas, and may have even been referring to his own state of Wisconsin as being overseas, that didn't stop Twitter users in Canada and the U.S. from comparing the statement to Sarah Palin's infamous I can see Russia from my house moment.

This is far from the first time Ryan has praised Canada's 15 per cent federal corporate tax rate. He has repeatedly referenced the cut in rates made by the Conservative government in interviews, speeches and campaign literature.

However, as The Wall Street Journal points out, Canada's tax rate for business is actually much higher when you factor in provincial rates. Even so, the rate in Canada is still low by G7 standards.

Don't ask Ryan about Canada's health care system though, he's no fan of our wait times.

The Tories also regularly tout their corporate tax cuts, pointing to them as a key contributor to what the government claims is Canada's relatively strong economic performance compared to global counterparts.

And Canadians seem to agree that things are going well. A recent poll found Canadians are much more positive about the economy than Americans or Britons.

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: The Huffington Post Canada