Taxes, the Imperium, and You!

[ottarrus]

In another thread, support for the Imperial Navy came up. How is is paid for was the thrust of the question.

With the Imperium ruling between the worlds, that strongly implies that they have to get their funding the same way. Imperial shipbuilding and maintenance, the Imperial Army and Marines, the Imperial bureaucracy, nobles skimming their share, and more besides needs to be paid for.

If the taxes must be on trade, how much would that be since the Imperium wants to promote trade? Maybe they want to promote trade because that is the income source.

IMTU, I set the taxes for purchasing trade goods as 2% to the Imperium and 1% to the world, but on reflection that is probably woefully inadequate.

What are your thoughts on funding the Imperium? How much? Where from? Etc.

Replying to the OP here.

IMTU the Imperium itself doesn't tax individual citizens. The Imperium taxes trade, interstellar corporations and worlds. The member worlds may impose an income or sales tax on citizens, but that's a local matter entirely.

As for exactly how much the Imperium takes in per annum, I have no idea. However much it is, it is enough to cover the Imperium's expenses.
I don't really think that this is an important statistic in any event. Nobody wants to play a game of 'Auditors and Accountants' anyway. Taxes on cargoes are probably low [say 1-2% of the cargo's value], taxes on interstellar corporations are probably medium to high [5-7%], and the individual worlds bear most of the burden at probably 10% [in addition to troop levies and other requirements]. When compared to other milieux, this is at the low end of medium taxation [between Star Trek's 'we wave the magic replicator at it and *poof!* all our needs are met' and WH40K 'we take make you tithe 90%'].

The one single thing we know about the top limit of the Imperial budget is this: The Imperium cannot afford to field an entire Sector Fleet with 16 battle squadrons TL 15 Tigress class dreadnoughts. Many, perhaps most, IN battle squadrons are older model /early build TL 15 battleships filled out with some even older TL 14 models that have been upgraded to TL 15 electronics. And these squadrons equip even high threat Sector Fleets like the Spinward Marches Fleet, the Sol Fleet and the vital Corridor Fleet.

 

[Terry Mixon]

Replying to the OP here.

IMTU the Imperium itself doesn't tax individual citizens. The Imperium taxes trade, interstellar corporations and worlds. The member worlds may impose an income or sales tax on citizens, but that's a local matter entirely.

As for exactly how much the Imperium takes in per annum, I have no idea. However much it is, it is enough to cover the Imperium's expenses.
I don't really think that this is an important statistic in any event. Nobody wants to play a game of 'Auditors and Accountants' anyway. Taxes on cargoes are probably low [say 1-2% of the cargo's value], taxes on interstellar corporations are probably medium to high [5-7%], and the individual worlds bear most of the burden at probably 10% [in addition to troop levies and other requirements]. When compared to other milieux, this is at the low end of medium taxation [between Star Trek's 'we wave the magic replicator at it and *poof!* all our needs are met' and WH40K 'we take make you tithe 90%'].

The one single thing we know about the top limit of the Imperial budget is this: The Imperium cannot afford to field an entire Sector Fleet with 16 battle squadrons TL 15 Tigress class dreadnoughts. Many, perhaps most, IN battle squadrons are older model /early build TL 15 battleships filled out with some even older TL 14 model that have been upgraded to TL 15 electronics. And these squadrons equip even high threat Sector Fleets like the Spinward Marches Fleet, the Sol Fleet and the vital Corridor Fleet.

Makes sense. Thanks.

 

[collins355]

Chris Thrash did a detailed analysis of the size and costs of the Imperial military. I know some quibble with it, but I haven't seen anything else approaching this level of detal.

Military Forces and Spending in Classic Traveller