Likewise, Canada is not 33% - that's the Federal tax rate for over $221k of income but there is also a provincial component to get the total tax rate which varies by province.  The most expensive province would be Nova Scotia and the total tax rate would be 54% on income if you make over $221k however, the capital gains inclusion rate is 1/2 so only half of your gain is taxed as income which means the highest possible marginal rate on capital gains in Canada would be 27%... which still sucks ass. 

 Now if you had no other income and made a capital gain of $23,000 in Nova Scotia, you would pay only $2 tax since you're barely over the basic personal exemption for the year - that's pretty much tax-free