Many Americans may have the idea that Canada, with its socialized health care system, is a high-tax country, but when it comes to corporate taxes, our northern neighbors can boast the second-lowest rates in the G-7. That has Burger King looking at crossing the border: The iconic American fast-food brand is in talks to buy coffee-and-donuts chain Tim Hortons and move its headquarters to Canada.

In a statement late Sunday night that confirmed an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal that a deal was in the works, the companies said the combination would create the third-largest quick service restaurant company in the world, with approximately $22 billion in sales and over 18,000 restaurants in 100 countries worldwide.

Most so-called tax inversion deals to this point have involved U.S. health care companies buying smaller foreign concerns; this deal would be notable given that the companies involved are roughly the same size (Miami-based Burger King has a market capitalization of $9.6 billion; Ontario-based Tim Hortons, $8.4 billion), and it would suggest that the appetite for this type of tax-focused transaction may extend to other sectors.

The U.S. has a top marginal corporate tax rate of 35%, the highest in the industrialized world; in Canada, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the federal corporate tax rate has been slashed to 15%. The tax regime isn’t greener on the northern side of the border for individuals, however: The average Canadian pays 42% of their income in taxes, according to the Fraser Institute....