Taxation in Kelarpian

Each country of Centralis has different laws of taxation and the governmental seizing of assets. While never a fun conversation to have, it must be discussed, as taxation is an important part of any country being able to sustain themselves. There are four main kinds of taxes: Coven Tax, Income Tax, Property Tax, and Damages Tax. These four main kind of taxes are what fund the public domains of each city and as a whole, country. In some cities where the tax income is lesser, subsidies are provided from the capital for their own survival. Now we will discuss the different types of taxes.

• Income Taxes: Income taxes are something that is seen as an honor in Kelarpese. Only the richest ten percent of the population have to pay income taxes. When you are identified as possibly one of the top ten percent, a member of The Coven of Commerce, is sent to asses the total value of your estate. Once the valuation is complete, if you are found to be within the top ten percent, another member of the coven will come and discuss your taxation with you. Your total yearly income will be calculated and you will be required to pay a percentage of that income back to the state within one month of filing. If the taxes are not paid, your property will be liquidated in your stead so that the taxes can be properly paid. The percentage that you are required to pay is dependent on that years income, the needs of the country, and charitable contributions are taken into account, although this cannot take down more than ten percent of the tax that you are calculated to owe. Paying income tax is a high honor, and one that can be bragged about to anyone, that you were high enough up in the money bracket to have to pay taxes, and it is your contributions that help keep the city running. Income Taxes are uses specifically for maintenance and upkeep to the city, and also for any public area that is run by the state. To allocate funds for a different use takes a majority vote of the Kelarpian Finance Committee which includes The Witch Queen, The Minister of Coin, and the head of the The Coven of Commerce. Disclaimer: Those who pay taxes have no say in how the country is run, and no one, not even royalty or coven leadership can get out of paying these taxes. Even fictitious entities such as corporations, or partnerships are in the running to pay income tax if they reach the mark.
• Coven Taxes: When covens were first created they did very good to bring business to local areas. However, as time went on, many of the covens grew to be self sufficient, while still causing certain amounts of damages to certain areas with many of there activities. On top of that, with the work that they did, and specialized in, was usually very profitable. This meant that covens were often some of the richest organizations in the world. However, since covens are not technically registered as fictitious entities, they are not subject to the rules of income tax. The The Witch Queen decided to nip this issue in the bud as it was, because she saw that in the future, people might try to take advantage of this system and create "covens" for things that weren't really covens. Thus, she created the Coven tax. If a coven has more than 20 members or an annual income over 10,000 gp per year, they are then subject to the coven tax. The coven tax, similarly to income tax, takes a percentage of the income and gives it back to the state for the specific intention of funding the military, and town guards in cities. A new coven is not subjected the the coven tax for the first two years that they are an official coven. Any smaller covens, or covens just over the limits, can write to the Kelarpian Finance Committee, to have their taxes repealed for the year, but an investigation may come if this is done too many years in a row.
• Property Taxes: Property taxes are one of the newer reforms in Costa. While the Kelarpian government does not like to get involved in the daily affairs of business, it does like to push people to do the right thing. The Kelarpian does not like it when people take advantage of others. Thus, Property Tax was created only a mere twenty years ago. When property is sold, it is required that a valuation be given on the property from the city surveyor's office before the sale is complete. When the property is sold, the new owner of the property must then show the final paperwork to the surveyor's office before the end of the following month that way the records can be placed in their name. If the profit of the sale (regardless of intention) exceeds the specific profit margin that is set as reasonable for the property, a percentage of the profits will be expected to be paid back in taxes to the local municipality. These taxes are used mainly in the funding of the other less prominent governmental offices such as the surveyor's office. Disclaimer: This tax only on real property such as land, real estate, and housing. These taxes are not applicable on simple sales.
• Damages Tax: Back years ago, there were many different adventuring groups. While they were all there to do good, often times they caused many damages, and did not stick around to pay for said damages. Because of this the Damages tax was implemented. Any adventuring group that is registered with the post office has their income magically tracked. The money that they earn, is all kept in records at the castle. Once a year, these earnings are figured and the damages against both public and private property is figured. The Coven of Commerce then figures up the exact amount of their income that they owe based on how much they made and how much damages they have caused. This has caused many careless adventuring groups to go broke as they cannot afford all the damages that they have caused. This has also helped to decrease the number of adventuring groups that there are out there. The Damages Tax fund is used to fund any departments or projects that the other three taxes are not specifically set up to fund such as any special one-time projects. Adventuring groups do not have to pay this tax within their first year of forming.

Notes about taxes in Kelarpian 

• Paying taxes in many instances is thought of as a great honor. As you are able to support the maintenance of the country.
• The Coven of Commerce is used as a calculator and collector of taxes so that they can be independent, and not have any kind of favorites.
• Not paying taxes will result in your assets being seized and sold by The Coven of Commerce Collections Division so that the taxes can be paid. If no assets are found, on the payee would not be able to survive if taxes were not paid, taxes will be reassessed to see if a mistake was made. If a mistake was made, the taxes and all issues against the payee will be dropped. If not, then the payee will be asked to do community service until the debt is paid. (This has never happened before, but there is a clause for it in the law).