H J Angus wrote:

I will be spending a few days in Canada and the USA.
Need some general info on the taxes payable in the 2 countries.

Specific areas of travel are Ontario, Nova Scotia, Pennsylvania, New
York City, Virginia, Washington.

Taxes related to hotels, food and transport cannot be avoided.
If you are going to spend money on clothing,gifts and entertainment,
where would you get the best value for money in terms of overall price
to be paid?

Taxes vary from state to state, province to province. Here in Ontario
there is a 7% GST (federal goods and service) tax and 8% provincial sales
tax. Clothing, shoes and many other goods usually are the same price here
as they are in the US, so when you factor in exchange rates they are much
cheaper here.