Interesting, that's a pretty low threshold for such a high rate.
Someone earning 60K USD in Canada (~75K CAD) would have a marginal income tax rate ranging from 27% to 38%, depending on their province. If they're a contractor, they'd have access to a bunch of deductions against their expenses. They could further use an RRSP to shelter their income, or at least defer taxes to future years with lower income, thus driving their average tax rate down.