Taxes and Fees on the Blessed Isle

Land Rents

The Empress owns all land on the Blessed Isle, leased to farmers, factories, and Dynasts. All Her tenants pay a 'land tax' for use of Her lands. This works out to relatively little per field, but is much more for a manse or a single room in the Imperial Palace. This tax is paid into the Imperial Treasury.

Business Taxes

The Empress also owns all businesses on the Isle. These pay 'taxes' for the right to run businesses on her behalf.

Taxes consist of two parts: the first tax is on funds taken out of the business (profit), assessed at one shekel per bar. This tax is paid into the Imperial Treasury. The second is on funds remaining in the business (capital), assessed at one shekel per talent. This tax is paid into the Empress' Own Purse.

In R766, the Deliberative passed the Founder's Right of Ownership bill, sponsored by Houses Cathak and Nellens. This decreed that all businesses founded after the dissapearance of the Empress in R763 belonged to their founders, not the Empress. As a consequence, those businesses are exempt from the capital portion of tax, paying only taxes on profits.

This tax has seen its collection corrupted by House interests to an extreme degree... House enterprises, especially House Ragara (with numerous members in the tax collection bureaus), now tend to simply be skipped over by passing assessors, and pay no taxes at all.

Customs Duties

It is illegal to export sorcerous artifacts or weapons from the Blessed Isle: violators are heavily fined and the items confiscated, both fines and taken items sent into the Empress' Own Purse.

Raw materials are not taxed when entering the Realm, but individual prefectures apply heavy tariffs to exports of raw goods when manufacturing facilities exist in-prefecture already (ex: oil-herbs from Ventus prefecture, precious stones from Juche prefecture). Such tariffs are collected by individual prefectural or dominion divisions of the Thousand Scales.

Manufactured goods are not taxed within the Blessed Isle, but are taxed upon export. Low quality goods are taxed at one obol per bar of value, High at one obol per mina. Imported goods are taxed at 1 obol per mina low-quality and 1 obol per shekel high-quality. This tax is paid into the Imperial Treasury.

Staple foodstuffs such as rice or beans are taxed when imported into the Blessed Isle, at a shifting rate that keeps them exactly 10% more expensive than domestic equivalents. This tax is paid into the coffers of the merchant marine. Since Her dissapearance, enforcement of this tariff has been slipping, and food import prices are now driven far more directly by market forces.

Imported luxuries (silk, porcelain, jade, and several rare foods, drinks, and specialty products) are taxed at extremely high rates, as much as 100% assessed value. This tax is paid into the coffers of the merchant marine, though the rates are set by the Deliberative.

Individual ports and harbours impose shipping fees, paid into their own coffers, which vary widely in amount. Eagle's Launch charges a shipping fee of one obol per bar assessed cargo value to all non-Sesus ships entering harbour there, while all import taxes in Arjuf are halved if the importer agrees to sell their cargo at Arjuf's own markets.

Salt Taxes

When salt is collected, a sacrifice is made to the local salt gods. This is officially pegged at 4%, but in the absence of the Empress some salt-gathering areas face increasing demands from thje salt gods, as much as 16% in certain cases.