Taxes and economy.

[Jboy2000000]

What Im wondering is, mostly, how are taxes handled now that all money outside small transactions is handled through credit card like device, like is there still a tax season, are taxes still based on income, and are interest rates still a thing for the frugal investor?

[Erik Tiber]

income.m wondering is, mostly, how are taxes handled now that all money outside small transactions is handled through credit card like device, like is there still a tax season, are taxes still based on income, and are interest rates still a thing for the frugal investor?

Taxes are primarily based on income. There are still interest rates, those are simply the prices of the loan market and you'll have them as long as you have loans. There is a central bank like institution in the Sol Alliance which enacts monetary policy.

The methods of taxation can vary heavily by jurisdiction. They still have income taxes and sales tax like normal, you simply don't send it in cash. Anyway, the majority of taxes come from VAT taxes, this is made up for with varying amounts of public assistance. The system is pretty similar to what you see in Europe. Income taxes are a thing, but they aren't so big. Corporate taxes vary by jurisdiction, but in Tau Ceti they're very low. Same with capital gains.

There are no tariffs within the Sol Alliance.

There is still tax season, but it isn't a concern for the majority of people in Tau Ceti in most jurisdictions, because the majority don't pay income taxes. Edit: They still need to send in tax forms to keep track of their income

Do note this all varies by jurisdiction. Some planetary jurisdictions have more income taxes or have a local VAT or have a local sales tax or something along those lines. That varies similar to how it varies in US states and municipalities.

EDIT: If you don't know what a VAT is or how exactly it works; neither does your character, so you're totally square. It's basically a sales tax, except businesses pay it at each step in the supply chain.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Guest

[Rusty Shackleford]

I suppose you'd just imagine your character pays taxes in a similar manner to how you do it in real life, to whichever respective nation they have their main citizenship in.