Death and Taxes

[Duke]

I haven't found anything in CT canon about taxes, other than they exist. (Sorry folks, I don't have any other editions and don't have the $$$ to try and catch up.)
So anyway... How do you handle taxes IYTU? Income, trade tariffs, ammunition (per round fired)?
I know that this is a nuts and bolts question and most campaigns ignore it, but I was thinking of an adventure twist where just as the group shows up at the patron's office for payment, he's being led out by the IRS (Imperial Revenue Service) under arrest for tax evasion, this way the bold band of adventurers will have to "rescue" him and somehow get his assets "unfrozen" in order to collect payment.
This led me to the question of just what types of taxes there would be, and how they were collected, especially among a transient group like space-farers. I realize that the large bulk of Imperial population is rather sedantary, but I can't see the Imperium letting all those free traders off the hook.
Any ideas?

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Hooooo, boy! You done opened a can of worms.... I seem to recall a whole thread on that some time in the past. Have you searched CotI?

IIRC, most assumed most taxes were local, with a push of monies from the system to the Imperium (that part's based on canon). Then the prices you pay for things in a starport (which is 3I territory) have the tax included (like Europe does it in their stores) already. Nobles also returned a certain portion of profit from their holdings to the Emperor every year. Most folks agreed ther was no way to work an income tax in 3I.

I think that was most of it, though you really ought to find the thread.

 

[BlackBat242]

Like a combination of the IRS, Amway, and a mob shakedown operation? :rofl:

The locals shake down the travellers for everything they can get (ignorance of the law means they can't prove the tax collectors' rates are wrong), the system takes its cut from the locals, the subsector/sector takes its loot next, and finally the Imperium gets a "share" from each subsector/sector.

Multi-level extortion disguised as taxation. Don Corleone would be proud. :smirk:

 

[Captain Midnight]

Mostly, they're automatically collected.

So anyway... How do you handle taxes IYTU? Income, trade tariffs, ammunition (per round fired)?
I know that this is a nuts and bolts question and most campaigns ignore it, but I was thinking of an adventure twist where just as the group shows up at the patron's office for payment, he's being led out by the IRS (Imperial Revenue Service) under arrest for tax evasion, this way the bold band of adventurers will have to "rescue" him and somehow get his assets "unfrozen" in order to collect payment.
This led me to the question of just what types of taxes there would be, and how they were collected, especially among a transient group like space-farers. I realize that the large bulk of Imperial population is rather sedantary, but I can't see the Imperium letting all those free traders off the hook.

Searching on "taxes" gives 212 hits, some of which look very interesting, but I'm goofing off on a lunch break, so I don't have time to really go back and read a lot of the past stuff.

IMTU, Imperial citizens are expected to have some sort of ID, and to be "in the system" somehow. There are regular updates among various databases to account for changes in an individual's records, and while they may not travel at fleet-courier speed to every conceivable point, they'll propagate eventually. You don't get access to the banking system unless you can provide acceptable ID, and you don't get access to Starport Authority facilities (except for things like shopping concourses and rapid-mass-transit stations) without ID and banking access. (If you're on the manifest and cannot show Imperial ID to the nice Imperial Customs inspector, you get to go wait in line at the "Immigration" office.)

Most taxes are levied in the form of VAT, assorted fees, or property taxes; income taxes are not done on an Imperial level, though individual member worlds can do as they see fit. If the person is an obvious transient (ship crew, for example), then tax payments will either be levied at the time they are incurred ("The autodoc lists for 5000 Cr, of which taxes are 500 Cr"), or they'll be done via withholding, and if your ultimate liability is less than the amount withheld, you can file for a refund. Naturally, if you're not planning on coming back, it might be hard for you to get that refund, which in the eyes of the government is a feature, not a bug. They'll be happy to give you a receipt for the amounts withheld so you can file your tax return at your convenience. They know that people on a ship will be moving around, and unless you've got a known schedule, they'll expect that you'll be hard to track down if they ever need to get money from you, so they'll collect it while they've got their hands on you. They will make some money on the "float", and they're perfectly fine with that.

If you want to ignore this as additional complexity, that's probably best for all concerned. However, it's a handy way to provide your PCs a little extra cash if they're in a bind ("Hey, I just got an email from the bank -- a tax refund from that trip to Vland showed up in our account! Wasn't that eight years ago, though...?").

 

[sergeantq]

Man, you gotta love governments.

 

[rehafer]

What governments do

Most governments prefer to put the most onerous taxes on non-citizens; especially governments with poor citizens. Therefore, you would expect planetary governments to tax wealthy off-worlders, travellers and corps. Most of these taxes would be called fees or fines, but any money paid by a citizen to a government is a tax. Locals may get discounts that bring prices down to the real base price and the difference is a tax. Docking fees, trading licenses, cargo inspection surcharges, credit transfer fines, and operation fees would all be part of the tax structure.

 

[aramis]

There is a subtle difference between fees and taxes in many governments, rehafer: fees often go to fund the agency receiving them, whilst taxes go (usually) to the general fund of the government.

Further, a lot of times, fees are paid to a contractor who provides the service, rather than to a government agent.

RW example: The US Forest Service has contracted out the camping location management for several alaskan parks to private companies. They are restricted to a maximum charge rate (and few drop below except for 501c3 Non-profit groups renting space).

Further, Starports in many people's take on the OTU are extrality zones; areas NOT under local control (including laws and taxes).