Income and Social Class, including tax brackets
Income in Daly is often linked quite closely to perceived social class, which is further reinforced by which tax bracket you are considered to belong to.
Taxes in Daly are set at 10% (payable by all citizens over the age of 16 regardless of race) and based on which tax bracket you fall into for the total amount you pay. Tax brackets are calculated each year based on average monthly income/earnings made in the previous year, with the calculation point usually falling around Spring Equinox for most regions, although some recalculate at Midwinter.
Taxes are payable in coin or equivalent value goods at all levels, and are used to pay for the military, navy and watch, roads and public facilities, basic temple upkeep, schools and public events and festivals, among other things.
It should be possible for Electrums to save between 4 to 64GP a month- possibly more, if they're willing to be creative in their lifestyle choices.
The Coppers
Commonly considered to have a 'poor' lifestyle, those in the Copper bracket tend to be unskilled folk such as day labourers, street weepers, costermongers and peddlers. They are usually paid the equivalent to the minimum possible wage of 6GP a month (~2SP a day), although often living and upkeep costs come to around 5GP a month. Everyone in this bracket pays 6SP a month in taxes regardless of final income, which means those at the lowest end of the bracket will walk away with about 4SP a month for saving or splurging. Of course, at this level it is rare for coinage to actually change hands. Most have an arrangement where 'wages' are discounted off provided accommodation or food costs, or services are paid for in goods rather than coin. This is the hardest bracket to earn above the minimum wage in, although some more successful peddlers (and those with excellent future prospects) do manage to get anywhere up to about 20GP a month (although their upkeep costs are often correspondingly higher too).The Silvers
Often described as having a 'modest' lifestyle, Silver bracket citizens enter this bracket at a monthly wage of 30GP, although most tend to fall around the 40-50GP range. At this range, lifestyle and upkeep costs tend to be around 25GP a month, with taxes set at 3GP a month. Folks in the Silver bracket include low-to-mid level soldiers, sailors and watchmen, semi-skilled labourers, students, priests, hedge wizards and the like, and they are usually able to put away between 2 to 32GP a month depending on wage and thriftiness.The Electrums
Sometimes mocked as being halfway to Gold, Electrum bracket citizens nevertheless enjoy a 'comfortable' lifestyle. Typically those who have done well at their chosen career, they often include trading merchants or shopkeepers, skilled tradespeople, military or naval officers and teachers and tutors. The minimum earnings to classify you as an Electrum bracket is 60GP a month, and Electrum tends to be the bracket with the widest range of earners- from the minimum of 60 right up to 119GP a month represented almost equally. Lifestyle and upkeep costs tend to be correspondingly higher though, with good personal presentation generally a must and a certain level of social engagement the standard, so on average Electrums spend around 50GP on living costs and and another 6GP in taxes.It should be possible for Electrums to save between 4 to 64GP a month- possibly more, if they're willing to be creative in their lifestyle choices.
The Golds
The Golds tend to be the highest earners in most towns and even some cities. Typically consisting of highly skilled craftsmen, favoured or expert servants of nobility, famous entertainers or sages, the highest ranks of the army, navy or watch or the owner of a few businesses or a prosperous mercentile company, the Gold bracket enjoy a 'Wealthy' lifestyle. The bracket starts with earnings of 120GP per month, although in order to maintain the social and business upkeep costs of this bracket they are often spending upwards of 100GP per month, along with 12GP per month in taxes. Although this is by far the most flexible bracket, with income stretching from 120 to 299GP, in reality most individuals in this bracket sit between 200 and 250GP a month, as they are better able to diversify their income and are less subject to the vagaries of the market. This means although those at the lower end can save around 8GP a month for the future, it is more normal that they have roughly 100GP spare at the end of each month, unless their living costs are unduly extravagant. If they are at the top end of the bracket and live moderately frugally with no additional spending other than basic upkeep, they could be saving (or more likely investing) up to 180GP a month. However, in reality most folk in this bracket are regularly socialising with aristocrats and other wealthy folk, and end up spending heavily to keep up appearances, so it is rare that anyone approaches those levels of hoarding.The Platinums
This is the highest bracket. Once you're earning over 300GP a month, you are in the Platinum bracket, and pay 30GP in taxes a month. Those in this bracket tend to be aristocrats, members of parliament, guild leaders, high priests and shipping or mercantile magnates. Living costs tend to also be correspondingly higher, with many of this bracket having large mansions or estates to pay for, as well as large staffs of servants, and a certain social code to adhere to in entertaining and dress. Platinums tends to pay on average around 150GP in lifestyle costs, and a further 100GP in upkeep costs. However, even someone at the bottom of the Platinum bracket living at the average cost should have a comfortable buffer of around 20GP a month left over, and as most Platinums have income far exceeding 300GP per month there is often plenty of spare cash lying around- although as for the Coppers, wealth at this level is rarely represented in coin, and more likely to be bound up in land, assets or goods of equal value.Lifestyle and upkeep costs
In each of the brackets, there are average lifestyle and upkeep costs. Lifestyle costs include items like food, clothing, repairs, home maintenence (or rent) and any social activity. Upkeep costs typically represent the monies paid out to maintain the tools you need to earn your wages- whether this is your hammer and chisel or your line of nine bespoke buildings each housing a dozen trained courtesans. Lifestyle and upkeep costs are not considered when calculating tax brackets, which is owed by each individual based on earnings or repeated income. This often means that a couple could end up with more free money than in the average examplars, as (for example) if there are 2 Silvers living in a small cottage, they will earn around 80GP a month combined, pay 6GP a month combined, but typically manage to keep lifestyle costs constrained slightly by sharing items and costs. This means combined monthly lifestlye costs are likely to be closer to 20GP than 30GP, and upkeep of 20GP a month combined. This leaves a moderately generous 34GP a month extra for a couple sharing lifestyle costs.Controlled income and taxes
The only type of earnings or income completely untaxed is controlled income. Anyone receiving monies as part of a stipend (for example, an unemployed spouse, an out-of-work guildmember, a cleric, a member of the army or navy, someone recovering from illness or an unemployed heir) does not need to declare that income (it being declared as part of the upkeep costs of the issuing individual or organisation) and pay no taxes on it. Similarly, pensions do not need to be declared as earnings (again, already having been accounted for as upkeep costs through the organisation), and are not taxed.
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