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[hector13]

Arthur shakes his head as he rises.

“No sales tax. Senator Zhuo suggests people won’t notice the cost of goods going up by almost one-third in the days following us passing the budget. I think rather more highly of our constituents, and I don’t think this Senate would long survive such foolishness. To be fair, a lot of what he said seems to be designed to end this body before we can even begin!

He suggests that in order to make life better on Concordia, we should tax Concordians into oblivion: Real estate taxes to encourage good Concordians to leave; electricity and fuel taxes so good Concordians can’t afford to power their homes and vehicles; sales taxes so the price of everything increases far in excess of what even the hardest working Concordians can afford.

He doesn’t even stop there! Oh no, the common Concordian won’t even be able to find solace at the bottom of a bottle after they’ve lost everything at the hands of Zhuo’s tax schemes!

No, in order to achieve what he thinks we need, people to go out and explore among the stars, find new homes for our ever-growing population, we appeal to the frontier spirit that brought our ancestors here,”

Arthur brings the palm of his real hand down to slap the dais in front of him.

“Right here, all those years ago. Landing Spot. They faced great trials and tribulations, both lesser and greater than the ones we face today. They overcame failed harvests, great natural disasters, even, yes, losing communications with our ancestral home like we have today. And they triumphed! Everything we hold dear today we can thank our lucky stars that our forebears where hardy enough, clever enough, sheer-bloody-minded enough to blaze the trail. And for what? To see the first inklings of a planetary government squeeze the life out of the common man at the behest of that,”

He points at Zhuo with his prosthetic.

“Corporate beast who - credit where it’s due, at least he’s honest about it - wants us to crush the competition so he doesn’t have to dip into his own pockets to do it himself? And we all just nod along and “yes sir, excellent point, sir” our way into it?

We’re better than that. The Concordian people deserve better than that. We are here to represent and support the great people that make us who we are, not tell them what to do and not complain about it. We’re definitely not here to imply they’re too stupid to notice their paycheck only buys them 2/3 of their usual shopping every week.

We allow the people choice in what they need. We tax them 20% to give them a safe society to live and work in, and they decide what to spend the rest on. Actually force people like Zhuo to entice people to spend their money on what they sell, instead of forcing them by increasing the price of everything so rapidly it makes their head spin. We’d lose our best and brightest in the immediate aftermath, those quick enough, rich enough, or just plain lucky enough to get out before the floor falls out from under them.

No, if Zhuo’s product is good enough, and sold at a fair price, he has nothing to worry about. People will buy it. We could even offer a subsidy or a grant to a bold new generation of Concordians, ready to seek out their own Landing Spot somewhere in the vastness of the universe.

Perhaps he has deep enough pockets to offer such grants to those that wish to find their fortune among the stars, so we don’t have to? He doesn’t seem to think they’re clever enough, though. He said explorers won’t have to pay fuel taxes out there in the endless space between planets. I wonder how they’ll get off Concordia without paying those fuel taxes? Perhaps one of them will get out and push?”

[Jerick]

Hendrick stood, his old legs stiff and sore. "A 30% tax rate on corporations is absurd. Many good senators have regaled us of their parade of horribles should we not form a decentralised government. They talked about how there would be riots and rejection. Now it is my turn to talk about disasters brought forth by the decisions made here. With communications to earth cut and a new global government forming there is a lot that is happening that has no precedent. That total lack of precedent means uncertainty. Economists and investors do not know what effects this will have on our economy. In economic terms uncertainty is almost always bad. Investors don't invest as much. Suppliers don't order as much. But if you were to drop a 30% corporate tax on top of that a lot of that uncertainty goes away in the worst way possible. In order to avoid losing money investors will start pulling their money from companies to avoid the taxes. This is an inevitability of such taxes. But the more investors that withdraw the more companies start to look like they will fail. Which in turn causes more investors to pull out in order to protect their money from companies collapsing. Given the loss of Earth this whole thing could very well cascade into a full blown market crash. At the very least it will cripple investing in every sector of business. Our economy should be handled with care and trepidation.

I am no more fond of Zhuo's however. In principle it is far superior to the good senator Adjran's but the high sales tax and taxes on fuel and electricity are not things I can support. Electricity is a fundamental resource for our modern lives. It can be generated by renewable sources but doing so is most efficiency when done on a large scale. These taxes encourage people to live like the Amish. Not buying goods, using horses and old pre-electric methods of living are the best ways around those taxes. That's not the way I want to force people to live. I'd be fine with a sales tax but 30% is not affordable for most people. If any senator thinks such an increase is reasonable they should try living within the means of an average Concordian for once. If it was reduced so it was around 5% or lower I might be able to get behind it as people might be able to afford such an increase. And essentials like electricity should not be taxed at all. As for fuel we could do with using less fuel and in general fuel is less efficient than electric alternatives.

Since I am unable to support either proposed tax systems so far I feel obligated to propose my own.

• citizens are taxed depending on wealth with higher earners receiving higher taxes. It starts at 5% income tax for the lowest earners and reaches 60% for people making more than a million a year
• Fuel is taxed at 5%
• Moderate taxes on alcohol, gambling, smoking and recreational drugs
• 2.5% sales tax
• Very high inheritance tax for vales of assets above a certain level
• 10% Corporate tax with higher taxes for polluting industries

To explain my thoughts here; firstly there has been much talk about taking the strain of supporting our new government off of the poor. This is something I agree with but many here seem to believe that that means heavy taxes on corporations. Instead I propose we tax the rich citizens heavier than the poor, and for those wondering yes I am included in the tax bracket I am proposing we heavily tax. This services two purposes one is to provide funds for this government the other is to encourage investing. Those with money will not part with it willingly so instead of submitting to the high taxes they will put their money into the lower taxed corporations. Rather than be dragons sitting on hordes of gold they will be investing it anywhere that makes sense, generating jobs and economic activity in the process. It is a win win for us. I have included fuel, sales and taxes on addictive luxuries but all at a lower level than Zhuo's proposal. And I am most assuredly not proposing we tax electricity. I have also suggested we have a high inheritance tax for large inheritances this helps our coffers but it also helps prevent wealthy dynasties from forming.

[Ghazkull]

Tax Proposal Independent Zhang Zhuo

10% Income Tax for Citizens
30% Sales Tax
100% Fuel Tax on Private Shipping
12% Beer Tax
15% Sparkling Wine Tax
60% Hard Alcohol Tax
22% Tobacco Tax
20% Recreational Drug Tax
20% Gambling Tax
20% Coffee Tax
5% Electricity Tax
20% Insurance Tax
0,5% Private Transit Tax
10% Real Estate Tax
60% Earth Luxury Tax



((note that a 100% fuel tax might sound extreme but is common in countries like norway and germany...its really not that much in the wallet but makes an enormous difference in the treasury. On the liter thats around 0,75€ in case you wonder how much money that would be
12% beer tax: 5 Cents on half a liter
Generally all taxes are taken from countries like norway and germany and are mostly relatively reasonable. It might look ridiculous ont he paper but has a suprisingly low effect on the wallet
The Recreational Drug Tax is assuming things like Cannabis...i simply assumed it would be legalized in the far future. The tax there is similiar to the one existing in Canada.
5 % Electricity tax amount to 2Cts on the kilowatt hour.
0,5% Private Transit Tax for space transport is nicked from the german plane transit tax and is roughly at the same amount. amusingly that tax  despite its seemingly low rate is making absurd amounts of money...at least in germany, how that translates into game mechanics is a different question
The 60% earth luxury tax is simply a number i grabbed out of the air, but it assumes that earth luxuries will rise conisderably in price and are only available to the richest of people. and having your scotch available at 30.000 or at 50.000 doesnt really matter if you are a billionaire...

Also Ardas if this is getting too complicated i will simplify it ^^
))

[TankKit]

((...I feel like we're looking way too deep into a tax system that really doesn't have that much depth.))

[Taricus]

((Man, why do you think I didn't go past income tax and corporate tax in basic terms ))

[TankKit]

((Eh, it's pretty OOC for Alexander to not want a good explanation for something. Besides, he already dislikes Adjran.))

[Ardas]

((You guys want me to hate your guts with these tax proposals . I will average out those tax rates and apply them as flat tax on citizens and flat tax on businesses - you can keep these specifics for fluff, but let's not get too complicated. BTW, if someone wants to make a discord for this, go ahead, I don't want OOC to take up too much of the thread. Alternatively, there will be an OOC thread if people prefer that.))

[Naturegirl1999]

(Are you still accepting? If not, tell me and I will delete the sheet)
Name: Rachel Conner
Physical description: A pale skinned girl with bright green eyes and blue hair.
Bio:She spent spent 16 years of her life in her Concordian home which was also her laboratory. When she was 23 she heard about the Rationalists party and joined it hoping to increase science funding and education. Some of the research she’s done involved how different materials affect color. One of her experiments involved learning how different plants reacted to some blue sap she found. Unknown to her, the sap made her sleepy. She was watching one of the plants when she fell asleep and woke up on one of the leaves the sap was on. Luckily all it did was change her hair color and not something worse. One night later, she looked out a window and noticed that in her reflection, her eyes turned from brown to a bright green. This happened at around 17. She joined the Rationalists party then, because if more money is allocated to science, she can learn what this sap is, what all it did, how it did what it did, and possibly how to reverse it.
Assets: $10 million
Political party/business description:
 -Increased scientific spending.
 -Better education for the poor.
 -Increased social spending.
 -Further space exploration and resource exploitation.
 -Harsher treatment of corruption.
 -Increased police power.
 -A more thorough and rational law.

Allegiance: Rationalist
Skills: +1 scientific prowess

[Ardas]

((Naturegirl1999 - develop your bio a bit, put in whatever you want about Rachel's life in there but most likely she would have been born on Concordia by now. Also, Polaris party is out, as the player left. For anything else, head to the new OOc thread.))
((sprinkled chariot - I see your character is a mercenary type, I am not sure you will find much to do in the game at this stage. I am happy to let players in but I would encourage you to change the character a bit before approving you. For comments and reply to this, head to the new OOC thread.))

[hector13]

Arthur sighs and scribbles quickly on a sheet of paper:

Peace and Prosperity Party Tax Proposals

20% income tax
20% corporation tax

[Ardas]

The speaker rises to the podium once more.

"As the discussion has moved to taxation, we are currently considering 2 proposals: Peace and Prosperity Party and Senator Zhuo's. ( Zhuo's Tax will be an averaged out 27% rate with no business tax)

Submit your votes now. Any discussion about budget proposals should be considered alongside taxation, otherwise budget decisions will be passed along to the appropriate Office."

[Ardas]

"The votes have been counted, and the tax proposal of Peace and Prosperity Party has been approved."

The speaker remained at the podium, pausing briefly.

"As the constitutional and tax affairs have been settled, the remaining items of order are: budget, Offices, and electoral selection as well as term of sitting for the Senate - may I remind everyone that while the constitution gives us the freedom to vote, the number of senators and the voting procedure have not been resolved. Current Seante will remain in session until new election is called, so I urge this chamber to think clearly on these remaining issues, before next sessions."

[Rahx]

((Does this mean other corporate actions can be processed now?))

[Ardas]

((Yes, if you could write out specific orders you want to carry out in bold so I can roll for them. Also, you are nominally still in the Senate, if you feel like submitting any proposals or bills that would grant you concessions or exclusive rights, you can do so.))

[Naturegirl1999]

“I have a proposal for Senator voting”
I think there should be a vote every 2 years. Each senator has a limit of 4 terms(8 years)