Giving Taxes the Boot: 1%, 5%, or "Other"
•
by Wilfie
Howdy ladies and gents and gerbils:
The gloomy days of fall are around the corner and the hustle-bustle of September is already on the way. You all probably had better things to do on the weekend than take surveys or get wrapped in political intrigue during the run-up to the next election (okay, only one of those statements is true).
…gathering public opinion…well that didn’t work out right…
I had hoped to release results of my last survey on a Flat 5% tax rate but didn’t really get enough responses to warrant its publication. Plus, I lacked good reasons to suggest such a change, except that I did not find paying taxes all that appealing. Nevertheless, I am sure that these taxes are good to put use doing different things, and I’ve started to figure out what these are:
-Paying for Mutual Protection Pacts at 10,000 CAD a pop, and with 11 right now that’s 110k to keep them going.
-Repaying our debts. (possibly already done, will look into it)
-Paying for Mercenaries, food programs, funding charity stuff (still not sure what is actively being funded, but it seems more at the whim of current leaders than something set in stone).
-Funding our Military Units: I need to check how much we are currently giving out and if this amount needs to increase or is slated for a cut. I do know that MUs have had almost no funding for a long time because Congress could not donate anything out. Maybe these payments have resumed.
With these costs in mind, and a current balance of 148,000 CAD in the treasury, it does seem we can sustain some tax cuts. How much…I don’t really know, sorry, but please offer some ideas about it in the comments below. As I get some answers, I will fill in the blanks below:
--MPP costs/month:______________________
--MU Funding/month:______________________
--Mercenaries and Other/month:______________________
--Future Debt Payments/month:______________________
--Current Tax Revenue/avg. per day or month:______________________
I need to do some digging into this but I hope that putting this out here will help gather these details. Or maybe I should just send a message to the right person. You can tell me who.
Piss In(my)Boots...was that why my survey was all wet?
My current survey asks 4 questions:
1. Would you support Congress reducing Food VAT to 5%? (currently at 25😵
-Yes
-No
-Other (please specify or add further suggestions on Food VAT)
2. Would you support Congress reducing Food Import Tax to 5%? (currently 10😵
-Yes
-No
-Other (please specify or add suggestions on Food Import Tax)
3. Would you support Congress reducing Weapon VAT to 5%? (currently 15😵
-Yes
-No
-Other (please specify or add further suggestions on Weapon VAT)
4. Would you support Congress reducing Weapon Import Tax to 5%? (currently 10😵
-Yes
-No
-Other (please specify or add further suggestions on Weapon Import Tax)
Based on the responses I get in the article and from the survey, the next step is to proceed with a proposal through Congress. I've been told by party members that it has to be done in the forum first and will comply with that process once I've got stuff sorted out.
In recent and related developments, yesterday DMV3 released an announcement about what he plans to do with taxes and funding in his article “Our Future Together”:
"The Economy, Taxes, & Budget:
My goal in this area is to make Canada as appealing to business owners and international commune holders as possible. My goal is to set our tax rates to 1% across the board to attract more products to our market, and more businesses and workers to our nation.
My plan for the budget is simple, a portion of the budget will go to fund Canadian MUs based on the number of weekly fighters each unit has. The remainder will go towards supporting our MPPs and building a surplus fund to be dispensed in times of national emergency. All other government programs that may require funding will be funded by charitable donation."
I’m no mathemagician, but I can tell you that Flat 1% is 500% more extreme than Flat 5%...and even more serious when you consider that our taxes right now range from 10-20% on most items. If the goal is to attract more players to eCanada, then I agree that Flat 1% is the way to go. If we want to sustain our MPPS and have enough in reserve to give some basic support to Military Units, then 5% would be a safer venture. I don’t know what the military units need but all I can see now is that we need a minimum of 110k CAD per month for MPPS and we have enough in reserve right now to cover that with no problem.
Without considering what Military Units need, or what we might throw out on Mercenaries or Other Expenses, it is quite likely that we could do Flat 1% for a month, or even two. I’m not partial to Flat 5% just because it was sorta my idea (I think WayneKerr suggested it first, actually). What I am partial to is not kneecapping our Military Units just as we get back the ability to donate to them. eCanada to Military Unit Commanders: “Yay, we liberated the country. Thanks for your help! That MU Funding Act? Think nothing of it..”
It may be possible that they don’t need funding and it may be likely that attracting new members to their units through immigration is what will benefit them. However, if we do start bringing in more people….won’t that mean we will have more people to fund in the Military Units? Will a Flat 1% or 5% cover these rising costs? Probably…I mean, they had zero money for months and somehow did not fold, so why not keep going and go big. It works in Vegas, baby.
That’s the end of this misguided attempt to reform eCanada’s tax system. Please help fill in the blanks with your thoughtful replies in the comment box below. As well, please take a moment to fill out the simple survey if you have not had the chance to do so.
Chew on your slippers, shit in your boot, and then push some random buttons…because I am in Congress and looking for attention and a few answers before eCanada’s finances gets the boot.
I asked politely before and gave you a long weekend to get it done but only handful of you got around to playing with the survey. Now we could be electing a President in a few days with an even stronger tax reform policy. So…get in on the discussion before it’s over and do the dogdanged survey. Otherwise, I will track you down and sneak into your house and shit in your boot without the slightest hesitation if my survey continues to feel neglected and builds up more restless energy after having been mostly left alone the whole long weekend while you all went out and had your fun.
So for one last time I am begging you…
…and take that survey, too:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PGRJRHD
Thank you for your time, play safe, and have a fair election.
Facebook
Twitter
Discord
Comments
Voted and taking the survey now 😃
woo hoo!
I even provide complimentary kitty upon deposit of completed survey.
*kitty litter, I meant
(giving away cats would be asking for trouble)
ha ha 😛 Well I could use the litter 😃 Willow is a poop machine
o7 dog
MU funding...yeah
This has been like an abyssal black hole since the occupation, anyone that goes near the subject gets sucked in and destroyed.
😠
It's ok though because I'm going to see what I can do
Hurray, at least three Praetors thank you.
Done! o7
Took the survey
Surveyed. It is hard to pick a perfect tax rate. I have been around forever and I have yet to figure out a perfect rate. There is a certain appeal to a flat rate. It's easy, one hopes that it is fair, but without any concrete data and with a borked economy, that is not under the whims of chance, or even good governance, but folly and profit taking by Admin... taxes are bollocks. Guess away.
In other words, we don't know what the numbers will do.
Solution: Base decisions on what we expect people to do. We can't figure out what taxes will do to prices and tax revenue, but I bet people will be attracted here by lower taxes.
eCanada lost people and needs more.
Drop taxes, cut our tax losses, and gamble on it paying dividends later with increased immigration.
Taxes are for weenies...cut all the taxes and force self sufficiency...who needs MPP's anyway 😛
The short answer to that question would be: non-occupied countries
Except for what get tossed my way here and there, I've been trying to just keep going off my wages. Using almost no weapons each day and making some of my own food still leaves me coming up a bit short. Haven't bought any supply packs or gold yet. I am not seeing how it is possible to get ahead by surviving off of one's own means.
5% seems fair for importing it would still deter people and keep money in canada, 1% is to low it would mean lower cost of products especially since prices are high sometimes which would help new players
In other words, lower taxes will help retain new players who usually quit the game and possibly draw more people to eCanada.
draw more people into our markets lol doubt the country
yeah, I stopped buying food during my first week of playing once I saw how much I could save elsewhere.
Woof ! o7
eRep taxes boils down to reconciling two things:
What programs does the government want to run? and What revenue stream does the government have to work with?
Defence, specifically MPPs, is a key government program. Any tax regime should address the cost to provide a national defence of MPPs. All other programs (MU Funding, new player programs, loans, bonds, etc) are completely dependent upon a functional treasury where congress can pass motions to donate funds to recipients. If the functionality of your congress is at risk, then curtailing taxes should be considered, otherwise you are just stockpiling CAD in a treasury that you can't spend.
I would not return to eCanada for a lower tax rate, the bigger problem is the weaker production bonuses. If eCan had stronger production bonuses, it would be a more attractive destination and taxes would be a factor.
As an owner of many companies, I enjoy it when all of the taxes are low. Low VAT makes it desireable for purchasers to shop there but if the supply is low, you don't stay there. Low import tax increases the opportunity for people to sell in that market so people are more inclined to move there to shop every day. Brazil, Turkey and Russia are great countries for this.
If you are in eCan congress and you are undecided, lean toward lowering taxes. The top performing economies in eRep have low taxes across the board.
I use the term "economy" loosely, it is more of a CC sink than anything else.
Those are some good questions, a bit similar to the gaps I left above that I am trying to fill in.
1) What programs does the government want to run?
-I have no idea. I have heard about Military Unit funding but there appears to be no current budget and nothing recorded about what has been paid or will be paid, or what is currently owed. Possibly it is out there and needs to be dug up.
2) What revenue stream does the government have to work with?
No idea. I have started tracking the tax gathered each day. Seems odd that in a game with so many types of taxes and different trade licenses that there is no way to look up what revenue stream each tax rate collects. Maybe there is a tax/budget geek doing this somewhere. Another thing to dig up.
All in all, there is not much info to base a proposal on thus far. All I know concretely is that people won't come back to eCanada because of lower taxes, but they may be more inclined to shop here or do business.
After MPPs are covered, eCanada should only collect a small % extra to gather as a contingency reserve. A lot more data needs to be gathered to show what tax rate will cover those costs. Doesn't seem do-able at this point.
After MPPs are covered, eCanada should only collect a small % extra to gather as a contingency reserve
Amen.