Keeping Promises
Day 1,237, 14:06
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Published in Ireland 
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by
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by Bhane
edit: NEW LAWS HAVE PASSED
I want to thank all the congressmen who voted yes, to help the average eIreland citizen. I am doing an accounting article to track the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of this tax change. The article will be published in a few weeks, once I have the necessary data. Look for it on May 1st or 2nd. I humbly ask that all skeptics please give this tax break the benefit of a doubt until then.
After much discourse through messages and comments, I'm glad we have come to a good way to drop income taxes. If a TD has any doubts, please don't hesitate to message me before hastily casting a "no" vote.
Myth: This will de-fund the IA - Not true.
Myth: This will make it impossible to afford MPP's - Not true.
Myth: This will increase consumption - True
Links to the votes:
http://www.erepublik.com/en/Ireland/law/71750
http://www.erepublik.com/en/Ireland/law/71751
http://www.erepublik.com/en/Ireland/law/71753
http://www.erepublik.com/en/Ireland/law/71754
Special thanks to Anthony Colby for using his 2 allotted proposals for this initiative.
tl;dr bottom line synopsis
Feedback has refined the idea to 1% income tax, Food VAT 5% to match current weapon VAT.
Tax revenues are on the rise for all eRep countries, and the large majority of our tax revenue is from VAT, anyway. Let's make eIreland a friendlier place for Joe 2-click.
For the long form of "why?" please read the wall of text, and following comments.
Original Article:
I am writing a new article to keep two promises from my campaign blurb in the IUP candidates article...
"I would like to make Ireland more friendly to the average 2-click citizens out there. I would like to lower income taxes, to put more money in the hands of the eIrish citizenry.
I would like to create more transparency in the government, and I will start with myself. I will not propose any new law without posting the idea in my brand new newspaper. I will open the floor for discussion in the comment section. All citizens, from the 2-click laborer, to the CP, are welcome to participate in the discussion before I submit the proposal."
To keep the first promise, I wish to propose an income tax cut.
To keep the second promise, I am publishing this article for a public discourse to refine the idea before proposing it.
We learned about tax collection in a previous article of mine.
As it stands, taxes for the four main industries are:
Grain
Income Tax 10%
Import Tax 15%
VAT n/a
Iron
Income Tax 10%
Import Tax 15%
VAT n/a
Food
Income Tax 10%
Import Tax 99%
VAT 3%
Weapons
Income Tax 10%
Import Tax 99%
VAT 5%
Income Tax Proposal
I would like to reduce all income taxes to 1%. I want to put more money in the hands of the 2-click citizens. More money they can use to buy products and feed eIreland's economy. I see the valid counter-arguments to such a low income tax. Let's just assume a counteroffer of 5% is mentioned and we compromise at proposing a 3% income tax.
VAT Proposal
I would also like to make the VAT for food and weapon's equal. Either raise food 5%, or average them to 4% each, or lower weapons to 3%. We should also consider raising both VATs more.
Avoiding the Import Tax Issue
The Import tax is a bit of hotbed issue I do not wish to address that at this time. That is a fight for another day, and maybe for another congressman entirely.
Discussion
I understand there will be resistance to lowering income taxes. A lot of the active players are members of military communities that work for minimum wage and hand out supplies as compensation. A large income tax change in either direction will really not affect them at all. A minimum wage commune worker currently only pays 0.30 IEP in income tax. Removing income tax entirely, or even quadrupling the tax rate would not really change their status quo.
I ask the active players to please consider the 2-click citizen, whom I endeavor to represent. A brand new citizen with ZERO work experience can get a job for over a dozen IEP. They pay at least 4 times more income tax than a community minimum wage worker who is a Guru+ and has an experience level in the mid 20's. That's just brand new citizens... the average eIrish citizen can easily find a job well over 20 IEP per day. The income tax does have a tangible affect the average citizen, and I want to lighten their burden. I think we can make up some of the lost tax revenue in the increased consumption they will be able to afford.
If we can make eIreland a better place for the 2-click citizen, then we make eIreland a better place for EVERYONE.
Important note to all the average 2-click citizens out there:
I know it's hard to voice your opinion in a community that does not know you, yet. I know you may not want to comment, to avoid ridicule from strangers. I know many of you are just plain shy. I have been there, and I understand. I was hesitant to make much noise for over a year, before I got brave enough to become more vocal in eIrish affairs.
PLEASE mail me your comments if you do not want to publicly post them. I will gladly post your thoughts and add them to the discussion anonymously. It's okay if your thought is to call my idea stupid and moronic. I do not mind criticism, one iota. I will still gladly post your insults of my proposal with your anonymity intact.
Thank you for your time,
Bhane
P.S. Sorry for the tl;dr
I want to thank all the congressmen who voted yes, to help the average eIreland citizen. I am doing an accounting article to track the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of this tax change. The article will be published in a few weeks, once I have the necessary data. Look for it on May 1st or 2nd. I humbly ask that all skeptics please give this tax break the benefit of a doubt until then.
After much discourse through messages and comments, I'm glad we have come to a good way to drop income taxes. If a TD has any doubts, please don't hesitate to message me before hastily casting a "no" vote.
Myth: This will de-fund the IA - Not true.
Myth: This will make it impossible to afford MPP's - Not true.
Myth: This will increase consumption - True
Links to the votes:
http://www.erepublik.com/en/Ireland/law/71750
http://www.erepublik.com/en/Ireland/law/71751
http://www.erepublik.com/en/Ireland/law/71753
http://www.erepublik.com/en/Ireland/law/71754
Special thanks to Anthony Colby for using his 2 allotted proposals for this initiative.
tl;dr bottom line synopsis
Feedback has refined the idea to 1% income tax, Food VAT 5% to match current weapon VAT.
Tax revenues are on the rise for all eRep countries, and the large majority of our tax revenue is from VAT, anyway. Let's make eIreland a friendlier place for Joe 2-click.
For the long form of "why?" please read the wall of text, and following comments.
😮
Original Article:
I am writing a new article to keep two promises from my campaign blurb in the IUP candidates article...
"I would like to make Ireland more friendly to the average 2-click citizens out there. I would like to lower income taxes, to put more money in the hands of the eIrish citizenry.
I would like to create more transparency in the government, and I will start with myself. I will not propose any new law without posting the idea in my brand new newspaper. I will open the floor for discussion in the comment section. All citizens, from the 2-click laborer, to the CP, are welcome to participate in the discussion before I submit the proposal."
To keep the first promise, I wish to propose an income tax cut.
To keep the second promise, I am publishing this article for a public discourse to refine the idea before proposing it.
We learned about tax collection in a previous article of mine.
As it stands, taxes for the four main industries are:
Grain
Income Tax 10%
Import Tax 15%
VAT n/a
Iron
Income Tax 10%
Import Tax 15%
VAT n/a
Food
Income Tax 10%
Import Tax 99%
VAT 3%
Weapons
Income Tax 10%
Import Tax 99%
VAT 5%
Income Tax Proposal
I would like to reduce all income taxes to 1%. I want to put more money in the hands of the 2-click citizens. More money they can use to buy products and feed eIreland's economy. I see the valid counter-arguments to such a low income tax. Let's just assume a counteroffer of 5% is mentioned and we compromise at proposing a 3% income tax.
VAT Proposal
I would also like to make the VAT for food and weapon's equal. Either raise food 5%, or average them to 4% each, or lower weapons to 3%. We should also consider raising both VATs more.
Avoiding the Import Tax Issue
The Import tax is a bit of hotbed issue I do not wish to address that at this time. That is a fight for another day, and maybe for another congressman entirely.
😉
Discussion
I understand there will be resistance to lowering income taxes. A lot of the active players are members of military communities that work for minimum wage and hand out supplies as compensation. A large income tax change in either direction will really not affect them at all. A minimum wage commune worker currently only pays 0.30 IEP in income tax. Removing income tax entirely, or even quadrupling the tax rate would not really change their status quo.
I ask the active players to please consider the 2-click citizen, whom I endeavor to represent. A brand new citizen with ZERO work experience can get a job for over a dozen IEP. They pay at least 4 times more income tax than a community minimum wage worker who is a Guru+ and has an experience level in the mid 20's. That's just brand new citizens... the average eIrish citizen can easily find a job well over 20 IEP per day. The income tax does have a tangible affect the average citizen, and I want to lighten their burden. I think we can make up some of the lost tax revenue in the increased consumption they will be able to afford.
If we can make eIreland a better place for the 2-click citizen, then we make eIreland a better place for EVERYONE.
Important note to all the average 2-click citizens out there:
I know it's hard to voice your opinion in a community that does not know you, yet. I know you may not want to comment, to avoid ridicule from strangers. I know many of you are just plain shy. I have been there, and I understand. I was hesitant to make much noise for over a year, before I got brave enough to become more vocal in eIrish affairs.
PLEASE mail me your comments if you do not want to publicly post them. I will gladly post your thoughts and add them to the discussion anonymously. It's okay if your thought is to call my idea stupid and moronic. I do not mind criticism, one iota. I will still gladly post your insults of my proposal with your anonymity intact.
Thank you for your time,
Bhane
P.S. Sorry for the tl;dr
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Comments
I'll be voting yes.
Good proposal idea Bhane. And two clickers are a major part of our economy, (and a major factor in our politics), their interests are also important.
Not everyone who isnt involved in the military is a "two clicker". I will be voting no as our country needs more money to finance the IA who keep this country alive, also we need more MPP's so we can fight directly for EDEN. Two clickers rarely fight and only need cash to buy food. They can survive with our current tax rates in my opinion.
Also have you been talking to Gonzo?
Bhane, what effect do you expect these changes would have on the budget? What spending cuts do you propose?
I have not been talking to Gonzo.
I also know that 'Not everyone who isnt involved in the military is a "two clicker" '
I am not in the military, and I am no 2-clicker. I fight at their side as a self-supplied fighter whenever I can, but I am definitely not in the club. 2-clickers rarely fight because they cannot afford it. I think more money in their pockets allows them to increase consumption and encourage them to become more active.
The MPP costs were my biggest concern.
Since eRep has made it clear they will devalue currency as much as possible, it will become far easier to gain 10,k currency as time goes by. Lower rates will still easily achieve the same levels of tax collections.
Spending cuts? Well, the IA has not needed a supplemental donation for quite a while. They are standing strong on their own. So that is one cost that has been cut for us.
The only costs we really have to concern ourselves with for a budget is MPP costs. I addressed that in the previous comment. Whatever is left over, we can use to help out the money market (if that's even possible these days).
"2-clickers rarely fight because they cannot afford it."
Then join the IA?
I also think we can gain some revenue by lowering import taxes. The difficulty is lowering it just enough that a few people sell goods here at a high import tax. But, avoiding lowering import tax too much and having a glut of foreign goods deflating our prices.
That's a VERY difficult balance to find, so I'm hoping somebody else will take on that challenge. ; ]
Nobody will import to country with 40% or above income tax to be honest.
"Then join the IA?"
Many people do not like the communism style economy. Many people want to earn their own way, and fight their own way. Many players do not want to indenture themselves to an organization just to be allowed to participate in the game, I hope you can respect that. I certainly respect your right to disagree with my tax cut proposal. I am glad someone is taking the mantle to pose the counterpoints. People need to see both sides of an issue clearly to make the best decision for themselves.
Thank you kindly for being a voice on the other side of the debate, I appreciate it.
These citizens can fight once a week so? If they wish to be full time soldiers than join the IA, if they don't then let them be workers.
Something to consider for those that fear too much loss in tax revenue: Please submit the amount of VAT we could increase to allay your concerns.
The 2-clickers would still be paying tax with their increased consumption, but the rest of use would be helping more, as well. The tax burden would be shared amongst more people, and thus lightened.
If I may interject, if we have, say, 250 average eIrish citizens, each at 20 IEP income, That's 500 IEP in income tax, and lowering it to 1% would result in a loss of 450 IEP per day. I, like others, am not sure what the budget entails, or what the daily expenditures are. I would suggest a lighter decrease, such as 5%. If the eIreland economy can support that, then I would try 1%. VATs, as you suggested, might want to be both at 5% to help soften the blow.
Sorry if this was a bit long...
Marcus Suridius" Hahaha its only IEP we've tonnes of it, im going to MPP with every country and declare war on eRep"
If there is a surplus of IEP, then we can afford a tax reduction.
I strongly oppose any raise of VATs.
Why?
Please expand on that for the sake of this discourse.
That's the purpose of posting the article before proposing the law. So we can refine the idea.
Nobody will import to a country which has a poor gold/currency ratio as well as one with a high import tax.
True.
But I'm avoiding the import tax issue, if I can. I'm focusing on VAT and income taxes this time around.
EVERY nation's gold/currency ratio is horribad since the admins started creating all currencies and dumping it on the market. Every country's currency is being devalued.
Bhane: I surely will. I ask for your kind patience, I'm working on an article addressing the economic situation, hopefully that will save me a great deal of explanation needed to back my point about taxation too.
No rush, Stranger.
You can plainly see my goal is to plummet income taxes to help out Joe 2-click.
Right now, the "have nots" are paying too high a portion of our tax revenue. I am a"have" and I know I am not paying my fair share. I think that raising VAT's would fairly increase my tax burden, but I respect your disagreement.
If you can think of any tweak to the proposal that might achieve a major income tax drop, and actually be acceptable, I will appreciate your insight.
I'm not really into government's financial needs, but in general I support all forms of tax cuts. I think the best response to the current economic situation is cutting taxes and trying to increase rateable values instead.
I'm okay with that.
Lowering income taxes, and just leaving the VAT as is.
Withe the recent eRep devaluation program, the VAT revenue should is on the increase anyway. That alone probably more than makes up for income tax revenue, even if we did away with it entirely.
What about a very slight VAT increase to food to match the 5% level for weapons?
(Of course, the income tax still lowers to 1😵
Tax revenues are on the rise for all eRep countries, and the large majority of our tax revenue is from VAT, anyway. I think getting rid of income taxes entirely will not make a huge difference to our tax revenues.
I agree with the averaging of weapons and food taxes but as said before the raising of income tax will hurt out imports and surely a stronger economy will be achived by low income tax enticing cheaper buisiness
"Then join the IA?"
I agree, I mean would a 2 clicker really care about whether its communistic economy or capitalistic? They're 2 clickers n most just want 2 survive
I cared about the difference when I was a 2-clicker.
I did not want to be beholden to an organization, just to make my way in the game, and fight for my country.
when i was a 2 clicker all i cared about was to make a company i didn't care about the wars or wether i should buy weapons to fight in them
I agree with Bhane about helping the two clicker. Not everyone wants to join the IA. Some players may have philosophical or moral objections even while playing a game. Everyone plays the way they want and we should respect that. If we can help get more money into the hands of the 2 click set then good. It may just bring a few more of them into the game to a larger extent. I will wait to read what Stranger says in his article to make a decision.
Stranger has posted his article, and it's a fantastic read...
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-bomb1-1743605/1/20
"1% income tax for all,
Food VAT 5% to match current weapon VAT"
I have had mostly positive feedback in my mailbox, and this seems to be an acceptable compromise to most complaints.
Unfortunately, I can only propose the change for food/weapons, since congress is limited to 2 proposals per term. I am now seeking a kind-hearted congressman who is willing to spend their allotted proposals to lower grain/iron to 1% income tax as well.
If there is a large contingent of people who have major doubts, now is the time to speak up, please. You can comment or message me.
I don't have the numbers to make a well-established point in this, but in general I don't support a swift of emphasis from income taxes to VAT. Anyway, I don't expect that to do any serious harm, let's starve the beast, and start the spending cuts with IA.
At 1% income tax we could not afford to maintain the army. You'd also see drastic changes to the price of goods, wages and the flow of currency in our market.
Generally, it's a bad idea.
The IA has not needed a donation in quite a while, they are standing strong with less and less supplemental aid from the government.
VAT revenues are a larger portion of tax revenue than income taxes, so cutting income taxes to not affect much of the tax revenue.
Tax revenues in general are on the rise, especially since the currency devaluation from eRep started. We can easily afford an income tax cut.
Any other concerns, Dub?
"The IA has not needed a donation in quite a while, they are standing strong with less and less supplemental aid from the government."
This is a total lie since we can see requests for funding in the dail.
I have not seen a donation vote for IA funding in over a month.
The last donation vote for IEP was from Paschoall. I messaged him to ask if this was for IA funding. He said that it was NOT for the IA. It was merely to shelter some of the country's funds in the NIB.
I heard there is a new clamor to grab funds for a hasty reaction to the changing marketplace. Why don't we at least see the market situation AFTER the update, before jumping making drastic decisions.
Marcus, you are the one that said there was such a surplus, we could splurge on wasteful spending. We signed a MPP with Italy for the IEP equivalent of 50g at the time... or should we have saved that money for IA needs?