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A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover

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Speed53066 said:
you might still want to tax them, so they can feel they are citizens instead of a burden.
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They're still part of the economy, earning a wage, paying expenses, buying food, etc.

At their income level, taking even a tiny percentage might be the difference between them going to bed hungry or with a full belly.
 
Speed53066 said:
you might still want to tax them, so they can feel they are citizens instead of a burden.
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I don't think that token taxes should be levied against the people for which each coin is worth the most. Even if the actual cash value of that 1% goes down the significance of it to the people we're taking from goes up.

If we want them to feel like they're participating , we should frame their "duty" to be using the resources available to build themselves up enough that they can give back. It's an order people will want to follow anyway, and it'll give us the chance to start embedding justifications for our system into the public consciousness through an additional vector.
 
Need some more votes, ya'll.
Adhoc vote count started by Goldfish on Dec 23, 2019 at 10:19 PM, finished with 67 posts and 10 votes.
  • [X] Inheritance & Taxes
    -[X] Inheritance :
    --[X] PREAMBLE : In the public preamble of our law, we explicitly explain the long-term economic and social issues linked to Reincarnation, immortality and wealth concentration we're seeking to avoid, and we proclaim the following long-term objectives :
    ---[X] Long-term objective : Avoid monopolies and overly large private private businesses or trusts.
    ---[X] Long-term objective : Taxation is to be progressive, to an eventual soft-cap disincenvitizing hoarding.
    ---[X] Long-term objective : Limit appointments to high-level posts in the administration to try to stop a single group from having too much influence in one area if possible. Efficiency remains paramount, of course.
    ---[X] Long-term objective : Encourage the development of new colonies, avoiding the family domination of some Shaitan colonies.
    ---[X] Long-term objective : Guarantee a basic standard of living for all to limit unrest. This is to be done through sound economic policies as well as a government safety net for tasks that cannot be met by the market and that currently rely solely on rather disorganized charity.
    ---[X] Hidden long-term objective : Not indicated in writing anywhere, but shared with Companions. We hope to create an artificial Heaven and/or to fix the old one.
    -[X] All existing taxes are to be reassessed and revised to remove impediments to trade, innovation, setting up new businesses, travel, and taxes that are regressive. Some taxes on specific goods or practices can be maintained as incentives towards certain behaviors, or to fund the costs such activities entail for local authorities. However these taxes are to be as universal as possible : we seek to minimise variations in tax laws between parts of our Empire as much as possible. This goal is publicly announced, and local Lords who must raise additional taxes are advised to follow it as much as possible.
    -[X] Tax collection : Local Lords remain in charge of collecting taxes, and their own tax obligations to the Crown ("the Crown's share") are unchanged, although they may have to pay personal taxes depending on their own wealth and holdings. However, in case of repeated problems or if the Lord desires, the Crown can provide tax collectors at cost. It is strongly suggested that tax farmers be paid a regular wage and not allowed to take as much as they desire. Should the Crown's share be waived or reduced in a specific area in times of crisis, it is not to be collected.
    -[X] Raising local taxes : Local Lords can still raise extra taxes. However, they are not to tax goods listed by the Crown as fundamentally essential (bread, water, etc - first list to be listed soon). Should the list change in the future, all new changes must be announced a year before they come into effect. However, the Crown may rule such extra taxes unlawful, and new taxes may be appealed by anyone who pays them.
    -[X] Paying taxes : Taxes may be paid in kind, or in service for those who cannot pay in kind. Tax collectors can offer to collect taxes in service at their discretion, but refusing and paying in kind or coin remains an option. However, Lords must pay the Crown's share in coin. Transporting the Crown's share can be done by the Lord, or the Lord may ask the Crown to collect it in times or war or crisis in which its safety would not be guaranteed on the roads.
    -[X] Income Tax:
    --[X] An Income Tax will be applied to all legal entities (private citizens, guilds, merchant consortiums, companies, etc) operating within the Imperium which are not wholly owned and operated by the state, with annual rates determined by the income generated by each entity. Income-based tax brackets and the rates associated with them are subject to periodic adjustment in response to various economic factors, though such adjustments must be announced at least one year in advance of implementation.
    ---[X] Income Brackets & Annual Tax Rates
    ----[X] Income below Imperial Median = 0%
    ----[X] Imperial Median to + 50% Median = 10%
    ----[X] +51% to +100% Median = 20%
    ----[X] +101% Median to +200% Median = 25%
    ----[X] +201% Median to +1,000% Median = 30%
    ----[X] +1,001% Median to +10,000% Median = 35%
    ----[X] +10,001% Median to +100,000% Median = 40%
    ----[X] +100,001% Median to +1,000,000% Median = 45%
    ----[X] In excess of +1,000,000% = 50%
    -[X] Property Tax:
    --[X] A 1% Property Tax will be levied against the holdings of all legal entities (private citizens, guilds, merchant consortiums, companies, etc) operating within the Imperium which are not wholly owned and operated by the state if the total assessed value of their properties exceeds 1,000 IM.
    --[X] This tax information is publicly available. All cadastral maps and land value estimates are to be shared with the Crown and must be publicly available to citizens.
    -[X] Inheritance and Reincarnation Taxes:
    --[X] Upon Reincarnation not sanctioned by the Imperium*, 80% of the value of one's estate is to be distributed to one's heirs after any outstanding debts have been settled.
    ---[X] In instances where the Reincarnated subject and his or her heirs are unable to agree upon the division of non-monetary assets, an impartial mediator will by appointed by the Imperium to oversee arbitration between the involved parties. Mediators will have binding authority to divide non-monetary assets should arbitration fail.
    ---[X] The assets a Reincarnated subject retains or accumulates after Reincarnation are not subject to further division among previous heirs, though any heirs produced following the latest Reincarnation do so benefit.
    --[X] Upon Reincarnation not sanctioned by the Imperium*, 20% of the value of one's estate is to be paid as a tax to the Imperium should the Reincarnated subject have no living heirs.
    ---[X] Upon subsequent instances of Reincarnation without an heir, the rate of taxation will increase in 20% increments, to a maximum tax rate per Reincarnation of 80% of total assets.
    --[X] *State-sanctioned Reincarnation includes any instance of an individual being Reincarnated after falling in service to the Imperium as part of their assigned duties.
    -[X] Clarification of Inheritance:
    --[X] An individual's children, both those legitimately born within the bounds of a marriage contract and those illegitimately born outside of such a contract, but who were later officially recognized, are considered their legal heirs. This ruling extends to any children one may have legally adopted into their family, but who do not share significant ties of blood relation.
    ---[X] Additionally, an individual has full control over the disbursement of their worldly assets to legal heirs, including the designation of a primary heir to receive inheritable titles of nobility.
    [X] The new Inevitables
    -[X] Inheritance :
    --[X] PREAMBLE : In the public preamble of our law, we explicitly explain the long-term economic and social issues linked to Reincarnation, immortality and wealth concentration we're seeking to avoid, and we proclaim the following long-term objectives :
    ---[X] Long-term objective : Avoid monopolies and overly large private private businesses or trusts.
    ---[X] Long-term objective : Taxation is to be progressive, to an eventual soft-cap disincenvitizing hoarding.
    ---[X] Long-term objective : Limit appointments to high-level posts in the administration to try to stop a single group from having too much influence in one area if possible. Efficiency remains paramount, of course.
    ---[X] Long-term objective : Encourage the development of new colonies, avoiding the family domination of some Shaitan colonies.
    ---[X] Long-term objective : Guarantee a basic standard of living for all to limit unrest. This is to be done through sound economic policies as well as a government safety net for tasks that cannot be met by the market and that currently rely solely on rather disorganized charity.
    ---[X] Hidden long-term objective : Not indicated in writing anywhere, but shared with Companions. We hope to create an artificial Heaven and/or to fix the old one.
    -[X] All exiting taxes are to be reassessed and revised to remove impediments to trade, innovation, setting up new businesses, travel, and taxes that are regressive. Some taxes on specific goods or practices can be maintained as incentives towards certain behaviors, or to fund the costs such activities entail for local authorities. However these taxes are to be as universal as possible : we seek to minimise variations in tax laws between parts of our Empire as much as possible. This goal is publicly announced, and local Lords who must raise additional taxes are advised to follow it as much as possible.
    -[X] Tax collection : Local Lords remain in charge of collecting taxes, and their own tax obligations to the Crown ("the Crown's share") are unchanged, although they may have to pay personal taxes depending on their own wealth and holdings. However, in case of repeated problems or if the Lord desires, the Crown can provide tax collectors at cost. It is strongly suggested that tax farmers be paid a regular wage and not allowed to take as much as they desire. Should the Crown's share be waived or reduced in a specific area in times of crisis, it is not to be collected.
    -[X] Raising local taxes : Local Lords can still raise extra taxes. However, they are not to tax goods listed by the Crown as fundamentally essential (bread, water, etc - first list to be listed soon). Should the list change in the future, all new changes must be announced a year before they come into effect. However, the Crown may rule such extra taxes unlawful, and new taxes may be appealed by anyone who pays them.
    -[X] Paying taxes : Taxes may be paid in kind, or in service for those who cannot pay in kind. Tax collectors can offer to collect taxes in service at their discretion, but refusing and paying in kind or coin remains an option. However, Lords must pay the Crown's share in coin. Transporting the Crown's share can be done by the Lord, or the Lord may ask the Crown to collect it in times or war or crisis in which its safety would not be guaranteed on the roads.
    -[X] Income Tax:
    --[X] An Income Tax will be applied to all legal entities (private citizens, guilds, merchant consortiums, companies, etc) operating within the Imperium which are not wholly owned and operated by the state, with annual rates determined by the income generated by each entity. Income-based tax brackets and the rates associated with them are subject to periodic adjustment in response to various economic factors, though such adjustments must be announced at least one year in advance of implementation.
    ---[X] Income Brackets & Annual Tax Rates
    ----[X] Income below Imperial Median = 0%
    ----[X] Imperial Median to +70% Median = 20%
    ----[X] +71% Median to +80% Median = 30%
    ----[X] +81% Median to +100% Median = 40%
    ----[X] +101% Median to +200% Median = 45%
    ----[X] +201% Median to +500% Median = 50%
    ----[X] +501% Median to +2,000% Median = 60%
    ----[X] +2,001% Median to +10,000% Median = 70%
    ----[X] +10,001% Median to +100,000% Median = 80%
    ----[X] +100,001% Median to +1,000,000% Median = 90%
    ----[X] In excess of +1,000,000% = 95%
    -[X] Property Tax:
    --[X] A 1% Property Tax will be levied against the holdings of all legal entities (private citizens, guilds, merchant consortiums, companies, etc) operating within the Imperium which are not wholly owned and operated by the state if the total assessed value of their properties exceeds 1,000 IM.
    --[X] This tax information is publicly available. All cadastral maps and land value estimates are to be shared with the Crown and must be publicly available to citizens.
    -[X] Inheritance and Reincarnation Taxes:
    --[X] Upon Reincarnation not sanctioned by the Imperium*, 80% of the value of one's estate is to be distributed to one's heirs after any outstanding debts have been settled.
    ---[X] In instances where the Reincarnated subject and his or her heirs are unable to agree upon the division of non-monetary assets, an impartial mediator will by appointed by the Imperium to oversee arbitration between the involved parties. Mediators will have binding authority to divide non-monetary assets should arbitration fail.
    ---[X] The assets a Reincarnated subject retains or accumulates after Reincarnation are not subject to further division among previous heirs, though any heirs produced following the latest Reincarnation do so benefit.
    --[X] Upon Reincarnation not sanctioned by the Imperium*, 20% of the value of one's estate is to be paid as a tax to the Imperium should the Reincarnated subject have no living heirs.
    ---[X] Upon subsequent instances of Reincarnation without an heir, the rate of taxation will increase in 20% increments, to a maximum tax rate per Reincarnation of 80% of total assets.
    --[X] *State-sanctioned Reincarnation includes any instance of an individual being Reincarnated after falling in service to the Imperium as part of their assigned duties.
    -[X] Clarification of Inheritance:
    --[X] An individual's children, both those legitimately born within the bounds of a marriage contract and those illegitimately born outside of such a contract, but who were later officially recognized, are considered their legal heirs. This ruling extends to any children one may have legally adopted into their family, but who do not share significant ties of blood relation.
    ---[X] Additionally, an individual has full control over the disbursement of their worldly assets to legal heirs, including the designation of a primary heir to receive inheritable titles of nobility.
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...all these colors and numbers. What do they mean?!!!

[X] Gather all books on law and taxation and Miracle them into an Inevitable.
-[X] Send it as an envoy to The Lady of Pain in Sigil and ask for her hand in marriage.
 
TalonofAnathrax said:
Have a vote on how to stop rampant magitech from crashing huge swathes of our economy
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And how exactly would it do that, again?

Is it about the "all the magical stuff we have is going to break the regular economy because of how long the goods last thanks to hardening and such", or what?

I am genuinely confused here.
Still added to MAs, but confused.
 
[X] Abstain

I'm sleepy and doubt I'll actually be able to vote in good conscience by the time people are done discussing this, so I just won't vote. Unless DP decides to start the morning with an interlude I guess, in which case I might get to.
 
Tomcost said:
I'm taking it from the optic of the guy who doesn't take risks and just wants to enjoy their wealth. But I guess that if you are rich you gotta take some risks.
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Regarding the "savings account" : literally no rich person keeps their money in a savings account. Not only are there caps on how much money you can put on a normal savings account, but financially it just doesn't make sense at all. There are endless investments with low returns (1-3%) and literally zero risk if you can pay up a few hundred thousand USD to get in. That's how the housing market works for investors in cities like Paris. And I say zero risk because the individual investor isn't the one who takes the risk anymore in this kind of low-return, high-security housing investment. The exception here is if there's a major financial crisis and shit really really hits the fan, but in these circumstances savings accounts go down too, so...
And it's in this kind of investment that rich people keep their money. Sure returns are low, but it's very secure and returns remain higher than in savings account.

The reason you hear about Swiss banks full of money is that it's either someone's profits being stored temporarily, someone's available income they want to be able to spend faster than selling investments, or (often stolen or dirty) money you want to be able to move around easily and discreetly.

And please note the income tax taxes income, not savings in general... That would probably fall under properties (which is only at 1%).
Honestly this bolded part is the main reason I am thinking of making the property tax progressive too! Just with much, much higher brackets than the income tax of course, and lower percentages.

Tomcost said:
Anyway, you have to make it explicit that this wealth tax is deductible from the income tax. It distorts the math if you don't.
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You mean the property tax and income tax?
I don't quite see why?

Abhishek M said:
That 95% Income Tax is excessive. There is a reason the highest income tax rate in the world still isnt too much over 50%. After a certain point it just stifles product more than it helps boost revenue.

I'd say a ceiling of 50-55% is the most and after that just keep it that way. Especially since you will not be leaving dividends and interest untaxed. Not to mention anyone making that kind of money is pretty much a party member or a dragon and will get exemptions anyway.
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Current IRL income tax are historically low.
There is historical precedent for them being very high. I would suggest either reading Piketty (Yrjö-Jahnsson prize, wrote interesting stuff about past anti-inequality taxation) or simply Googling past income tax levels. Say, during the 60s and 70s in the USA?

Abhishek M said:
You try and charge Amrelath a 95% tax and there will be a dead dragon.
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Dragon hoards are property, not income, so he should be fine.
And income large enough to hit the higher tax brackets is outright crazy.

Goldfish said:
While I wouldn't mind capping it at 50% or 60%, from what I assumed the Income Tax would only apply to the proceeds of money earned via work, returns on investments, etc.

Stuff he earns adventuring would be property and subject to the 1% property tax.

@TalonofAnathrax?
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Correct.
Abhishek M said:
And you think Amrelath isnt gonna invest after we drilled that into his head? Besides the 50% isnt just for him. After a certain point it really does just incentivize letting your capital stay idle instead of letting it flow.

Afterall what's the incentive for an Archmage to spend a couple more weeks on another comission if he will only get to keep 5% of that money? People being incentivized to work is pretty important in a setting where the greatest money earner is magic.
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This is a valid point (I didn't acknowledge it in your earlier quote, but it is good).
Now there are a number of reasons why you would continue working and investing at that point (including "to pay off your enormous property tax from your insane archmage-level amount of magic items") but if everyone seems to agree, we could lower the income tax and raise the property tax for the truly richest people. Would achieve the same result, but be disincentivizing hoarding and not investing.
I hadn't done it previously because it would hit PCs, but I guess that PCs do have an insane income anyway...
Thoughts everyone?

Abhishek M said:
Drop the Imperial Median tax rate to 10-15% 20 is a bit much for barely middle class that would be the bare median. You run into the problem of losing a fifth of your income for earning a silver more and problems like that. And maybe a ceremonial 1% for those below the median. Median isnt a sudden dip to poverty line afterall.

Just for purposes of participation. Maybe 1, 10, 15 ,25, 35, etc works better.
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Absolutely not. Google medieval Tithes : 20% literally means reducing taxes for almost everyone! And no taxes beneath the median? No mandatory religious tithes? That's amazing!

Furthermore, IRL right now 20% would be very low for a developed country. Including VAT and stuff, here in France 50% tax isn't unusual for middle-class people (so slightly over median).

I am currently writing up a compromise vote where the upper layers of income taxes are taxed less, but the property tax is also a little progressive (mostly at 1-5%, then capping at 10% for the absolutely hugest incomes, to disincentivize endless investments and hoarding in anything but PCs or similarly very very profitable things). The reason the property tax is so much lower than a proposed income tax is because the income tax (which will cap out at 70% instead of 95% now) will not be entirely removed.
However do note that the property tax brackets will be much, much higher than the income tax brackets. I'm not falling into that trap!

This does indeed mean that past a certain insane wealth people are disincentivized from getting more unless it's very profitable, but that isn't actually a problem. Today there are economists who think that such enormous levels of insane wealth (not very wealthy corporations, but very very wealthy people) may be damaging for the economy as a whole, so...

@Goldfish, @Duesal, the people I'm responding to : any thoughts on such a compromise vote? Would you suggest changing things? Adding something? Is there a hole in my logic before I write out the whole thing?
Going for breakfast now, full updated vote in about 25 minutes (but it will follow proposed logic above and take into account suggestions here).
 
Abhishek M said:
The income tax cap at 50%?
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That's incredibly low though.
Here's some data about the 1960s USA, during a time of significant economic growth, investment and progress :
tax foundation said:
The top marginal tax rate in 1960 was 91%, which applied to income over $200,000 (for single filers) or $400,000 (for married filers) – thresholds which correspond to approximately $1.5 million and $3 million, respectively, in today's dollars.
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Edit : here is some data about property taxes for comparison. As you can see there was an additional tax on income from property, which was generally rather high. We aren't doing that and are instead imposing a very low tax on the value of the property (because only taxing revenue runs into the issue of accumulating zero-revenue land, magic stuff and shares with huge value but no dividends which would nevertheless grant massive influence).

Property Taxes as a Percentage of Own-Source General Revenue, Selected Years
______________________________
Year State Local
______________________________
1902 45.3 78.2
1913 38.9 77.4
1922 30.9 83.9
1932 15.2 85.2
1942 6.2 80.8
1952 3.4 71.0
1962 2.7 69.0
1972 1.8 63.5
1982 1.5 48.0
1992 1.7 48.1
1999 1.8 44.6
_______________________________
Source: U. S. Census of Governments, Historical Statistics of State and Local Finance, 1902-1953; U. S. Census of Governments, Governments Finances for (various years); and http://www.census.gov.
 
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TalonofAnathrax said:
That's incredibly low though.
Here's some data about the 1960s USA, during a time of significant economic growth, investment and progress :
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And it was full of so many exceptions that the only ones it effectively applied to were the 'new' rich. It was in effect a stratitification tax. Something used to keep a separation of entry to the higher levels from something as 'base's as income. 91% on Income not on investment. A hugely unpopular policy that mostly affected new income earners and not investors.

Because if it did there would have likelybbeen a general economic collapse. At those levels no work is worth worth the loss of leisure time purely due to how much does not go to you.

50% is the modern rate in the highest regions. Most dont have that outside the most social welfare providing nations. And even that is marked by staggering levels of emigration of the most successful of their populace for completely justified reasons.

Back to the doctor example what is the incentive for the additional effort and risks such a profession takes when most of the added income just disappears? Here what is the incentive for Mages to invest such costs of time, effort and risk to break through those levels and just be turned into revenue machines most of whose generated values is siphoned off? Why not just become something far more enjoyable to yourself?

It's the patent and intelectual property rights argument again. Anyway its past midnight here. Its Christmas and I dont want to spend it debating with you on why you shouldn't tax people 95% income tax for the 'privilege' of earning a lot of money in their profession.

Please dont tag me. Just vote for whatever tax you people want.
 
I think specifically because education for up to 3rd Circle casters is entirely subsidized by the State, and for those who have breached past 3rd Circle into 4th, quite legitimately, the various means they have of acquiring huge sums of money from outside revenue streams that do not constitute income (just looting a figurative mountain of valuable precious metals as an example at the highest levels, to looting a relatively lightly guarded ruin down to the bedrock) sort of make it worth it.

Income from pouring your newfound wealth into investments doesn't quickly reach destabilizing levels where entire companies have been bought up over night in a hostile takeover. You can spend your money on whatever you feel like. Taxes on what you own outright aren't overly onerous.

Most PCs are deep in the sunk cost hole by this point anyway and immediately invest their wealth into marginal levels of comfort if they can't just provide themselves a Magnificent Mansion or have their own Demiplane hideaway, and then the lion's share into new equipment, to keep ahead of the game and optimize.

By the time you are a Fifth-circle mage, you hardly need to engage in the economy to enjoy every luxury imaginable. When you're an Archmage, you can probably trade for the spell effects, or cast them yourself, necessary to build a fucking palace in a place no one will bother you.

Worry about tax havens? Why bother. A high-tier PC sufficiently prepared could hide a Scrooge McDuck vault full of wealth on some forgotten rock floating in another Plane and ward it to high hell and have a bunch of constructs guarding it. A less powerful PC could just wear nine tenths of it. Money is hardly a resource worth worrying about once you have the overhead already, time is the only thing worth spending and saving.
 
@Abhishek M
"It was a stratification tax" - yes, that's also the point of our current tax?
The brackets for the high taxes are so utterly enormous that there's no way that a normal mage or artisan will ever make even a fraction of that. There's be nobody capable of paying that kind of salary! Those income tax brackets are for people with a lot of investments, which altogether produce huge yearly incomes. They'd get to keep most of those incomes, but eventually they hit a soft cap where becoming Lowfyr-level rich becomes impractical.
Of course then they can make their children, aunts and uncles rich, etc, but that's already better than endless concentration of wealth within a single immortal.

Reminder said:
As a reminder, here's what happens if things are uncapped :
I am a rich Essosi Magister who controls a significant amount of land and trade in the disputed lands. I invest a massive pile of wealth into low-return, high-security investments. Say, 1% return guaranteed (this could be housing, land near an expanding metropolis, whatever). Every 100 years, I double my holdings. Meanwhile I'm still running my main businesses, but I'm also accumulating enormous influence as a landowner. This means I'm permanently grabbing a forever larger market share, keeping all newcomers out and getting ever more influence with which to further my main business and/or political goals. And I won't be the only one doing this!
This is just the simplest way (no complicated investments, little diversification, no web of contacts and debtors or whatever) and yet it's already a theoretical long-term problem. It's simplistic, but its a showcase of the issue.
And that's why we have a soft-cap in our tax system.
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In any case, I'll also remind you that our income tax brackets are very, very high. Much higher than IRL tax brackets! These taxes aren't going after the rich, they're going after people who make one thousand times the median income.
...
Although on second thoughts, the median income is currently very low (it's what, 50IM a year? Something like that? @DragonParadox, do you have any economic notes about that?). ACSEC as a whole makes slightly under 300 000 IM a month, so 3,6 million IM a year. It's one of the most insanely huge corporations in the setting, AFAIK. And the cap (+1,000,000% of the median income, so 500 000 IM) is currently significantly lower.
Now ACSEC is a very concerning monopoly and if it weren't government-owned I'd be asking questions, but if Amrelath made that much money from a diversified portfolio he wouldn't be wrecking the economy or anything. He'd be utterly mind-bogglingly rich, but he wouldn't be a macroeconomic problem per se AFAIK.

Therefore my adjusted plan will not only have lower income taxes, but it will also have significantly higher caps (subject to revision by the Crown should the median income be increased a hundredfold or should the macroeconomic situation radically change, of course).
 
TalonofAnathrax said:
Although on second thoughts, the median income is currently very low (it's what, 50IM a year? Something like that? @DragonParadox, do you have any economic notes about that?). ACSEC as a whole makes slightly under 300 000 IM a month, so 3,6 million IM a year. It's one of the most insanely huge corporations in the setting, AFAIK. And the cap (+1,000,000% of the median income, so 500 000 IM) is currently significantly lower.
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I did once, but I think that was before the last Great Financial Reshuffle so I'm not sure how good those are. That said yes the very highest brackets in the hundreds of millions/year are not something you make just selling magic items, though someone like Lya could make it selling magic ideas. That said I think the middle of your scale (the 60s 70s and 80s taxation) needs a bit of adjustment upwards since that does cuts into what and archmage could realistically make on his or her own work. RL does not really have artisans who can personally handcraft supercomputers or ballistic missiles so there is no comparable situation for the progresive tax to take into account.

I hope the tax stuff is not too boring guys, I can sort of follow it in spite of my low tolerance for math since I have a background in political science and they made us understand at least the basics of this sort of thing in uni, but I can see how this would be jarring in the middle of the high fantasy romp.
 
Brackets have been significantly revised upwards. Property tax now includes provisions for people saddled with properties they can't extract value out of (for example someone building a very expensive shop could ask for his taxes deferred, or a Lord who is saddled with militarily significant land in Draconys which he cannot use commercially and which even cost him a fortune due to his duties towards the public good can ask for taxes to be waived or for the Crown to buy the land off him). Of course the Crown can refuse if needed.
Oh, and property tax brackets are to be released only after their valuation, and said valuation is to be public (to disincentivise artifically lowering the tax valuation too much, as this would lower its resale value).
Transparency is also ingrained in this taxation system and in the reasoning behind bracket selection.

[X] The new Inevitables
-[X] Inheritance :
--[X] PREAMBLE : In the public preamble of our law, we explicitly explain the long-term economic and social issues linked to Reincarnation, immortality and wealth concentration we're seeking to avoid, and we proclaim the following long-term objectives :
---[X] Long-term objective : Avoid monopolies and overly large private private businesses or trusts.
---[X] Long-term objective : Taxation is to be progressive, to an eventual soft-cap disincenvitizing hoarding.
---[X] Long-term objective : Limit appointments to high-level posts in the administration to try to stop a single group from having too much influence in one area if possible. Efficiency remains paramount, of course.
---[X] Long-term objective : Encourage the development of new colonies, avoiding the family domination of some Shaitan colonies.
---[X] Long-term objective : Guarantee a basic standard of living for all to limit unrest. This is to be done through sound economic policies as well as a government safety net for tasks that cannot be met by the market and that currently rely solely on rather disorganized charity.
---[X] Hidden long-term objective : Not indicated in writing anywhere, but shared with Companions. We hope to create an artificial Heaven and/or to fix the old one.
-[X] All exiting taxes are to be reassessed and revised to remove impediments to trade, innovation, setting up new businesses, travel, and taxes that are regressive. Some taxes on specific goods or practices can be maintained as incentives towards certain behaviors, or to fund the costs such activities entail for local authorities. However these taxes are to be as universal as possible : we seek to minimise variations in tax laws between parts of our Empire as much as possible. This goal is publicly announced, and local Lords who must raise additional taxes are advised to follow it as much as possible.
-[X] Tax collection : Local Lords remain in charge of collecting taxes, and their own tax obligations to the Crown ("the Crown's share") are unchanged, although they may have to pay personal taxes depending on their own wealth and holdings. However, in case of repeated problems or if the Lord desires, the Crown can provide tax collectors at cost. It is strongly suggested that tax farmers be paid a regular wage and not allowed to take as much as they desire. Should the Crown's share be waived or reduced in a specific area in times of crisis, it is not to be collected.
-[X] Raising local taxes : Local Lords can still raise extra taxes. However, they are not to tax goods listed by the Crown as fundamentally essential (bread, water, etc - first list to be listed soon). Should the list change in the future, all new changes must be announced a year before they come into effect. However, the Crown may rule such extra taxes unlawful, and new taxes may be appealed by anyone who pays them.
-[X] Paying taxes : Taxes may be paid in kind, or in service for those who cannot pay in kind. Tax collectors can offer to collect taxes in service at their discretion, but refusing and paying in kind or coin remains an option. However, Lords must pay the Crown's share in coin. Transporting the Crown's share can be done by the Lord, or the Lord may ask the Crown to collect it in times or war or crisis in which its safety would not be guaranteed on the roads.
-[X] Income Tax:
--[X] An Income Tax will be applied to all legal entities (private citizens, guilds, merchant consortiums, companies, etc) operating within the Imperium which are not wholly owned and operated by the state, with annual rates determined by the income generated by each entity after other taxes have been taken into account. Income-based tax brackets and the rates associated with them are subject to periodic adjustment in response to various economic factors, though such adjustments must be announced at least one year in advance of implementation. Significant changes to the median income must be followed be a reevaluation of tax brackets, whose findings (even should the tax brackets remain unchanged) are to be made public.
---[X] Income Brackets & Annual Tax Rates
----[X] Income below Imperial Median = 0%
----[X] Imperial Median to +70% Median = 20%
----[X] +71% Median to +80% Median = 25%
----[X] +81% Median to +100% Median = 30%
----[X] +101% Median to +500% Median = 40%
----[X] +501% Median to +5,000% Median = 45%
----[X] +5,001% Median to +50,000% Median = 50%
----[X] +50,001% Median to +500,000% Median = 55%
----[X] +500,001% Median to +1,000,000% Median = 60%
----[X] +1,000,001% Median to +10,000,000% Median = 65%
----[X] In excess of +10,000,000% = 70%
-[X] Property Tax:
--[X] A Property Tax will be levied against the holdings of all legal entities (private citizens, guilds, merchant consortiums, companies, etc) operating within the Imperium which are not wholly owned and operated by the state.
--[X] This tax is to be progressive, and regularly reviewed in case of economic changes. The first detailed brackets will be published once general land and property valuations for a Province are complete, but the principles leading to the establishment of such a tax and the general guidelines of the brackets are laid out here :
---[X] There will be no property tax for those whose properties are worth less than 1 000 IM.
---[X] A 1% property tax rate will be applied to those within the first bracket. This aims to include extremely prosperous cityfolk, or very prosperous farmers. Wealthier people will be in further brackets.
---[X] The uppermost tax bracket will have a 5% rate, and will only apply to the richest of individuals. If Illyrio Mopatis were not a traitor to all mankind, he would be partly affected by this bracket.
--[X] This tax information is publicly available. All cadastral maps and land value estimates are to be shared with the Crown and must be publicly available to citizens. Some properties may be considered militarily significant and therefore cannot produce income, and can therefore be ignored for the purpose of taxation at the Crown's discretion. Furthermore, owners of properties which cannot produce income may petition the state to defer or waive taxes, or even to buy their properties should they serve the public good but fail to produce income.
-[X] Inheritance and Reincarnation Taxes:
--[X] Upon Reincarnation not sanctioned by the Imperium*, 80% of the value of one's estate is to be distributed to one's heirs after any outstanding debts have been settled.
---[X] In instances where the Reincarnated subject and his or her heirs are unable to agree upon the division of non-monetary assets, an impartial mediator will by appointed by the Imperium to oversee arbitration between the involved parties. Mediators will have binding authority to divide non-monetary assets should arbitration fail.
---[X] The assets a Reincarnated subject retains or accumulates after Reincarnation are not subject to further division among previous heirs, though any heirs produced following the latest Reincarnation do so benefit.
--[X] Upon Reincarnation not sanctioned by the Imperium*, 20% of the value of one's estate is to be paid as a tax to the Imperium should the Reincarnated subject have no living heirs.
---[X] Upon subsequent instances of Reincarnation without an heir, the rate of taxation will increase in 20% increments, to a maximum tax rate per Reincarnation of 80% of total assets.
--[X] *State-sanctioned Reincarnation includes any instance of an individual being Reincarnated after falling in service to the Imperium as part of their assigned duties.
-[X] Clarification of Inheritance:
--[X] An individual's children, both those legitimately born within the bounds of a marriage contract and those illegitimately born outside of such a contract, but who were later officially recognized, are considered their legal heirs. This ruling extends to any children one may have legally adopted into their family, but who do not share significant ties of blood relation.
---[X] Additionally, an individual has full control over the disbursement of their worldly assets to legal heirs, including the designation of a primary heir to receive inheritable titles of nobility.
 
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