Taxation

Taxes are the money your character pays every week (every Wednesday) out of their Bank balance. The amount you pay depends on a number of variables and is handled automatically. We can divide taxes based on who is imposing them IC:

1. Church Taxes

2. Crown Taxes

3. City Taxes

All the taxes are summed up and applied at once. However, if you have less than 100 buckles in your Bank balance, you will not pay any taxes that Tax day.

Church Taxes

Church taxes are universal and paid by everyone in a Catholic country. They are imposed by the Pope in Rome and handled by his Bishops and their Priests. Churches hoard this wealth and siphon it back to the Papacy in Rome. The Pope is the only Catholic that pays no taxes.

In Rosewood, two types of taxes are collected by the Catholic Church:

• Decimas (also known as the Tithe) - 2% of every Catholic character's Bank balance

  • This includes Pagans and Atheists, as their religions are illegal. Therefore they pretend to be Catholic or face death.

• Advenicius - 1% of every Non-Catholic Abrahamic Character's Bank balance

Crown Taxes

Crown taxes are paid by most freemen and freewomen living in the Kingdom of France. They are imposed by the Royal Sirius Crown and regulated by the French Parliament. The coin ends up directly in the Royal Treasury and is stored there until the King or Parliament decides to undertake some project or works that require coin.

In Rosewood, three types of taxes are collected by the Crown:

• Trackgeld - 2% of every Merchant's Bank balance (The Marchant's tax, taxes on the goods they transport)

• Wardgeld: (The Ward tax, the feudal tax paid by everyone, specifically to feudal lords. It is the sum paid for the protection a liege offers their vassals and subjects.)

  • Non-Majesty: 1% of their Bank balance

  • Knights: 3% of their Bank balance

  • Baron: 5% of their Bank balance

  • Mayor: 7% of their Bank balance

• Werregeld - 2% of everyone's Bank balance (The War tax, paid by every realm subject, to fund the Crown's treasury in case of a war.)

City Taxes

City taxes are taxes that are specific to Rosewood and paid by everyone who lives there. They are imposed by the Mayor of Rosewood and handled by his Reeves and taxmen. The taxes end up in the City's reserves and are used to keep the Capital running. All Rosewood needs to exist is handled by these taxes, with some help from the Crown when necessary.

In Rosewood, the four largest taxes are the:

• Tutelar Tax (The Protection tax, the money paid to the Bank of Rosewood for keeping your money safe and accounted for.)

• Roof Tax (The Home tax, the money paid to the City for living in a home on the territory of Rosewood.)

• Wall Tax (The Wall tax, the money paid to the City for the maintenance of the City Walls.)

• Water Tax (The River tax, the money paid to the City for the upkeep of the Seyne river.)

Combined, City Taxes amount to 3%.

Tax Exemptions

The following are the Tax Exceptions, as in the conditions under which certain characters will be freed of their obligation to pay specific taxes:

• Servants are exempt from the Crown's and City's Taxes.

• The Clergy are exempt from the Crown's and City's Taxes, except the Wardgeld.

• Characters who are Excommunicated are exempt from Church Taxes.

• Those who are Arrested, and those who are Outlawed pay no taxes.

• Married women are exempt from all Crown taxes.

• Members of the Watch are exempt from all City Taxes.

Avoiding Taxes

There are two main ways of avoiding taxes:

• You may simply store your money somewhere else until Taxday passes. This can be done by taking your money out of the bank and holding onto it, by converting it to material goods and storing those in your personal storage, or by spending your bank balance.

Minmaxing your taxes may become unprofitable for you eventually. Withdrawals will usually carry a monetary cost with them as well.

• If you are on good terms with someone from one of the major gangs in Rosewood, you can ask them to sell you a Tax Exemption Slip which they can get from their Gang-specific NPC. A "Tess" (as it's colloquially known) is a piece of paper issued by the Mayor of Rosewood that has the power to exempt a person from paying taxes. These papers can be forged, and they often are, and then sold to certain members of Rosewoodian society. Being tax-exempt is not illegal as long as you can prove that it came from the Mayor. Those who become exempt through the gangs will most likely be unable to provide evidence to back up this connection.

Even if you avoid taxes and manage to avoid doing so overtly, you will eventually accumulate enough wealth to be investigated by the Watch or the Mayor. When that happens, you will have to provide proof that you have been paying your taxes regularly. This is something the Reeve of your district will have — extensive paperwork detailing the taxes paid by the citizens of Rosewood. These records can always be forged, misplaced, or destroyed, and the people handling them can always be bribed.