Question - Sales Tax?

[Banner Laverick]

I was just talking to someone on AIM about GST (since I got my cheque today, WHOO!), and just was wondering how much sales tax people pay?

In Ontario, we pay GST (5%) and PST (8%), but we get some of our GST back four times a year. Usually when I'm broke and need the money ^_^;

So, how much sales tax do you pay?

(yes, I realise this is a weird thing to ask but I am curious! :cat)

[Jaime Tomahawk]

10% GST. Works pretty well and doesnt raise prices all that much

[Karl Valten]

5.5% sales tax in Wisconsin

[Kaid Jisari]

Just about 7% here in New Mexico. Unless you're talking tax at a hotel which is about 13% or so.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

We don't have sales tax in Oregon.

[Ryan Pode]

In Virginia it's 4.5% to the dollar. However in many cities there are additional taxes, like in Newport News (where I live) there is an extra 6% making it 11% to the dollar. In Alexandria (near D.C.), it is an extra 3% making it 7% to the dollar.

[Rutabaga]

It varies from county to county in California, but here in Santa Barbara County it's 7.75%.

[Miranda Tarkin]

Cook County is like 10.25% <_<

[Yeart Quenn]

19% in Germany.

[Jedi Master Carr]

7% here in SC.

[Pierce Tondry]

In Virginia it's 4.5% to the dollar. However in many cities there are additional taxes, like in Newport News (where I live) there is an extra 6% making it 11% to the dollar. In Alexandria (near D.C.), it is an extra 3% making it 7% to the dollar.

Not quite right, good sir. Retail sales and use tax has two components: state and local. The current Virginia state rate is 4% (up from 3.5% in 2004) and the local rate is fixed at 1%. Any other charges imposed by a locality are not sales and use tax.

Also, hi everyone. :)

[Yog]

25% VAT in Norway.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Is sales tax like VAT?

[Banner Laverick]

According to Wikipedia, VAT = GST?

Another question - what is minimum wage where you live? Here it started (when I started working, anyway) at $7.15/hour, and now is $8.75/hour. Next year it goes up to $9.50, then $10 by 2010.

[Dasquian Belargic]

VAT here is 15% I think.

Minimum wage is apparently: £5.52 per hour (aged 22 and older), £4.60 per hour (aged 18-21) or £3.40 per hour (under 18 and finished compulsory education); from October 2008, these rates will rise to £5.73, £4.77 and £3.53 respectively.

I can't believe anyone would get paid £3.40 an hour. It seems absolutely ludicrous, and hardly even worth working for!

[Banner Laverick]

That's for people under 18 though - I know here, employers are somewhat restricted in what hours/jobs younger kids can work.

Semi-on-topic, I had a mother ask if we were hiring, and if we hire under the age of 18 (since we sell cigarettes). I told her flat out that anyone under the age of 18 should NOT be working in a convenience store. People are always asking if I'm fine working alone at night, or say that we should have more than one person working. :rolleyes If some cracked out weirdo wants to rob me, it wouldn't matter how many people were working. I've heard stories about people getting tied up in backrooms and being held up at gun point, when there were more than one clerk on.

[Alpha]

Minimum wage is...I think it's up to 6.50 in Albuquerque which is NOT enough to live off of. It goes up this month, but not sure by how much.

[Miranda Tarkin]

$7.75 per hour here ... I think. they raised it again :lol Just like sales tax :shakefist

[Nya Halcyon]

We don't have a statutory minimum wage in Germany. Except for a few types of industry (mainly construction, painters, roofers, etc). It's also different between East and West Germany.

I can also state that in Ireland, when I started working there in 1997, minimum wage was 2.25 Irish pounds (which is roughly the same as 2.25€) and now it's 8.65€, but in some industry sectors (mainly IT, which makes up a huge part of the industry overall) it's up to something crazy like 15 €.

[Kelly Perris]

In BC, PST is 7%. GST as of January 1st this year is 5%.

General minimum wage in BC is 8/hr. First Job/Entry level minimum wage is 6/hr, which only applies to employees with no paid work experience prior to November 1st, 2001 - but they are entitled to the general minimum wage after 500 hours worked with one or more employers.

Honestly, I've never heard of anyone being paid this "first job" wage. Heck, I didn't have my first job until 2002, and I never got hit with that. Come to think of it.... It's been a while since I earned anything less than $11.50/hr.

On the other hand, living in Victoria isn't cheap. :\