Revenue and Customs Act

Revenue and Customs Act

 

An Act to afford to His Majesty’s Treasury the tools, authorities and abilities to exercise taxes and tariffs in order to fund the ongoing needs of His Majesty’s Government, and all other arms of the State dependent on those finances.

 

AUTHOR: Lord Baldassar Greyson-Partiger, Viscount of Bloodwick

SPONSORS: Nathul Furlbrow, Duke of Gold Coast; Lord Galmone Smith, Baron of Aurumsmark;

 

BE IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Temporal, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

 

1 Glossary of terms  
 * 1) In this act, “direct royal subjects” refers to “those common subjects of His Majesty who are his liegemen uninterrupted, and not the subjects of any of His Majesty’s vassals, or vassals of those vassals.”
 * 2) In this act, “His Majesty’s vassals” refers to “those landed peers of Stormwind who are liegemen uninterrupted to His Majesty, and not the subject of any of His Majesty’s other vassals.”
 * 3) In this act, “second order vassals” refers to “those landed peers of Stormwind who are liegemen to His Majesty’s vassals, or vassals of those vassals.”
 * 4) In this act, “second order subjects” refers to “those common subjects who are liegemen to His Majesty’s vassals, or vassals of those vassals.”

2 Rates of taxation with regards to  direct royal subjects  
 * 1) A capitation shall be collected from direct royal subjects of 25 silver coins per month, to be paid on the first day of that month, unless the direct royal subject in question should be a beggar, a prisoner, a religious ascetic, a member of the Armed Forces, or a Constable of the Peace.
 * 2) A land tax on the value of a direct royal subject’s land shall be collected, to the substance of 1 silver coin per acre, every quarter of the year, to be paid on the first day of each quarter.
 * 3) A tax on the profits of companies, corporations, guilds and urban businesses shall be collected, to the substance of 10% of net profit (after expenditures, but before taxation) every month, to be paid on the first day of that month.

3 Rates of taxation with regards to His Majesty’s vassals  
 * 1) His Majesty’s vassals will be expected to organise domestic systems of taxation internal to their lands, including their own vassals and subjects, and must submit the details of those systems to His Majesty’s Treasury.
 * 2) Of the monies raised by His Majesty’s vassals by their domestic systems of taxation and their personal finances, there is an expectation that in peacetime, 20% of those revenues shall be paid to His Majesty’s Treasury.
 * 3) In times of war, that rate shall be raised to 25% at a minimum, so long as the vassal in question commits his forces to the military service of Stormwind.
 * 4) Should a vassal withhold his forces from the military service of Stormwind in a time of war, they shall be expected to pay a scutage tax of an additional 25% to His Majesty’s Treasury.

4 Rates of taxation with regards to second order vassals and second order subjects  
 * 1) No taxation shall be levied by His Majesty’s Treasury against second order vassals and second order subjects, due to them already being under the tax burden of their penultimate liege, that being one of His Majesty’s vassals.

5 Rates of taxation with regards to excise on foreign goods  
 * 1) No excise or tariff shall be levied against goods imported from Alliance powers, or Alliance-aligned Absent or Minor Powers.
 * 2) A tariff shall be levied to the substance of 5% of the value of any goods imported from Neutral Powers, Absent Powers or Minor Powers with formal diplomatic relations with the Grand Alliance, but not with the Horde, or any other enemy of the Grand Alliance.
 * 3) A tariff shall be levied to the substance of 15% of the value of any goods imported from Neutral Powers, Absent Powers or Minor Powers with formal diplomatic relations with both the Grand Alliance, and also with the Horde, or any other enemy of the Grand Alliance.
 * 4) A tariff shall be levied to the substance of 15% of the value of any goods imported from Neutral Powers, Absent Powers or Minor Powers that do not have formal diplomatic relations with the Grand Alliance or with the Horde, or any other enemy of the Grand Alliance.
 * 5) A tariff shall be levied to the substance of 25% of the value of any goods imported from Neutral Powers, Absent Powers or Minor Powers that do not have any formal diplomatic relations with the Grand Alliance, but do have such relations with the Horde, or any other enemy of the Grand Alliance.
 * 6) The City-State of Dalaran shall be exempted from the provisions of Subsection 3 of this Section for the duration of the emergency consistory of the War with the Burning Legion.
 * 7) The Lord High Exchequer shall be empowered to waive the tariffs provided for by this Section for goods that he may deem as necessary for the war effort for the duration of the emergency consistory of the War with the Burning Legion.

6 Establishment of the Revenue and Customs Executive  
 * 1) There shall exist within His Majesty’s Treasury an agency, known as the “Revenue and Customs Executive” officially, or “RaCE” informally.
 * 2) RaCE shall be empowered by this Act to commence peacefully the collection of taxes and tariffs from the relevant paying individuals, and shall be free to organise itself internally in the best structure to achieve that goal.
 * 3) In circumstances where the non-payment of taxes or tariffs occurs, RaCE shall be obliged to hand the matter over to His Majesty’s Constabulary to resolve the resultant criminal issue.

7 Short title and commencement
 * 1) The short title of this act shall be the “Revenue and Customs Act”.
 * 2) The provisions of this act shall come into force immediately.

(( OOC Appendix I: This Act works off of the presumption that 1 gold coin is equivalent to $100. All calculations have been made relative to that. ))