Taxes in Alberta

When I first arrived in Alberta, and saw what office
jobs paid, I was a bit disappointed. They do pay less
than they do in Nova Scotia. However, when I got my first
paycheque, it was way higher than I thought and
wasn't sure why. I've heard the 'tax rate is lower
in Alberta' but until you see it on your cheque that
doesn't really mean much to you.

You see, I actually earn $10,000 less here in salary than
I did in Halifax. Yes, 10 thousand less. But, my paycheque
is only a couple dollars less.

Today, I took an intro to payroll course. I could not believe
the difference in the tax rates. Nova Scotia is actually
the WORST IN CANADA. The WORST. Check out
last year's chart below. For those who do not do
their own taxes or could care less about provincial
credits, basically the higher the number
the better.



As of July 1 2006,
Alberta's has actually rise to $14,999

They are also very diligent about paying
overtime here. EVEN if you are on salary.
Of course that is the law, but some places,
especially Eastern Canada, do not pay
overtime to salaried employees. They are
supposed to but do not. They do here.
But employers also expect a lot more out
of you. More bang for the buck. Nova Scotia
employers are much more relaxed. There
are no office potlucks here. And despite the
poor employment opportunities in Nova Scotia,
NS employers do seem to appreciate their staff
a bit more, which is odd considering the labour
shortage in Alberta. In NS they thank you with
words, here they thank you with money.

One thing I did find surprising was the
minimum wage. I expected it to be
somewhat higher here than what is
it. Keep in mind though, practically
no job here pays minimum wage. You
can work at Fast Food joint for $12 an hour
and get a scholarship and bonuses to boot.
But for interest sake I have included the
minimum wage chart below. Some have not
changed in quite a while as you can see.




Yes, it is definitely better to work here. But is
it better to live here? We are still debating.