Let's just ignore the fact that MS has a development centre in Vancouver, specifically because its easier to hire game developers here. Halo is being written here.
> British Columbia has one of the highest tax rate in Canada.
>You can't compete between Washington State, with no state income tax, and Vancouver, BC
How's your health care? How much does that cost your employer?
There are many great things about WA. I love it. However if the state is going to retroactively go after companies, BC starts to become very, very attractive. We are not that different, tax wise. We obviously need to stay competitive.
> Let's just ignore the fact that MS has a development centre in Vancouver
Wow, MS centre! It will save us all. And they don't have MS centers anywhere else, right? Vancouver here.
* All of Canada has as many my profile job openings as Seattle.
* Salaries are lower here than there.
* Taxes are higher here than there.
* Prices are higher here than there.
* Selection of everything is miserable here.
* It's impossible to have a career if you can't talk hockey for 2 hours. Nobody gives a f$%k about your abilities - you must be "one of us".
> How's your health care?
Pathetic, thank you. I just waited 4 months for an ultrasound. They said everything was OK - but why then would I have insisted on it in the first place?
> BC starts to become very, very attractive
Do you have a house for sale? Because it sure sounds like it. BC does not start to become very, very attractive to anyone ambitious and able - and these guys will go to US for the same reason that all ambitious and able Canadians move to US.
There are M.D. taxi drivers and Ph.D. WalMart cashiers here - because their names are Davinder and Reza rather than Sean and Tim.
No doubt, BC is a great place for natural resources barons, drug traffickers, porn and gambling shops, and bribe-happy Party officials from China. It's extremely neophobic, hypocritical and hostile to changes.
> How's your health care? How much does that cost your employer?
This point is significant in and of itself. It's no coincidence that health insurance is a central point in just about every major recent union dispute.
Health insurance is wildly expensive, and the cost to private corporations is not to be underestimated. Anyone who's ever had to provide health insurance to employees is acutely familiar with these costs.
My friend worked for EA Sports, so I trusted the information he provided, but I guess he was wrong. The marginal tax rates are 43% at 135k.
Yes, Vancouver has some tech companies, but I wouldn't call it anything like a tech hub like Ottawa or Toronto. Also, UBC and SFU do not have a strong tech program. I'm sure it's average compared to most cities, but you won't find the same amounts of tech people in Vancouver like you will in Seattle or Silicon Valley. In fact, I'd bet that most above average developers in Vancouver would move to a more tech-oriented city.
He also mentioned that the cost of housing in Vancouver is twice the amount of Seattle. Not sure how accurate that is either.
>Vancouver, BC has barely any tech industry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Vancouver
Let's just ignore the fact that MS has a development centre in Vancouver, specifically because its easier to hire game developers here. Halo is being written here.
> British Columbia has one of the highest tax rate in Canada.
You may want to tell that to BC: http://www.bcjobsplan.ca/?facts=b-c-lowest-personal-taxes
>One of my Canadian friends told me that the 50% marginal tax rate started around $65k, although I haven't double-checked this for accuracy.
Your friend is either an idiot, or hasn't lived here in a long, long time.
http://www.knv.com/cms-assets/documents/40364-256654.bcperso...
>You can't compete between Washington State, with no state income tax, and Vancouver, BC
How's your health care? How much does that cost your employer?
There are many great things about WA. I love it. However if the state is going to retroactively go after companies, BC starts to become very, very attractive. We are not that different, tax wise. We obviously need to stay competitive.