Taxation in Great Nortend

In Great Nortend, there are variety of taxes levied. The most important taxes are land tax, income tax, corporation tax, parochial rates and building tax. The tax burden in Great Nortend is comparatively low, at only 24·75 per cent of the GDP.

Crown taxes

Crown taxes are taxes that are collected by the Exchequer on behalf of the Crown and go to the Treasury.

Direct taxes

Income taxes

Personal income tax is levied very simply as a marginal tax. For taxable income from up to £233, there is an income tax of a shilling in a pound (5 per cent). From £233 to £498, there is an income tax of a florin in a pound (10 per cent). From £498 to £1000, there is a rate of a double florin in a pound (20 per cent). From £1000 to £1498 there is a rate of three florins in a pound (30 per cent). From £1498, there is a rate of two double florins in a pound (40 per cent).

First fruits and tenths

The Crown formally takes the first years' income from beneficed clergy, and ten per cent thereafter. Since the 19th century, this has been repaid in the form of a Crown grant.

Land tax

Land tax is levied on freeholds whereby the landlord is required to pay land tax on his freeholds, both in tenant and in demesne. The actual amount payable differs based on the quality of the land, as assessed every few years by the Survey Office. For an average manor, the tax is around £100, or a rate of 3 shillings in a pound of the value of the land. Many manors have levels of exemption from land tax, however, as a mark of royal favour. Land tax nets approximately £3,000,000 annually.

Messuage tax

Building tax is a part of land tax which is levied on residential premises (messuages) collected twice a year. It consists of a flat rate of six shillings per messuage. An additional sixpence is payable for each window in a house with between 10 and 15, and ninepence for every window in a house with 16 to 25 and a shilling for every window in a house with 26 or above. Chimney tax is also payable for houses with two chimneys (or fireplaces) or more, at a levy of sixpence each. It is payable by the freeholder of the messuage. The flat rate nets around £6,000,000 annually.

Stamp duty

Stamp duty is a flat-rate tax levied on certain legal documents, such as deeds and wills, to make them enforceable in a royal court. The rate varies, from threepence on cheques to several pounds for real estate alienations. Whilst the revenue collected on personal cheques is low (only around £175,000 in total over around twelve million personal and bank cheques), the total revenues for stamp duty does amount to over £1,000,000 annually.

Consumption duties

Consumption duties are levied on a large range of goods. The excises on salt, electricity, starch, sugar, alcohol, petrol and cotton are the major consumption taxes. Salt is taxed at 2d per ounce. With salt consumption being one of the highest in the world per capita, at a total of 120,000 tons of salt yearly, the excise equates to total government revenues from salt alone at £26,880,000. The alcohol excise is a rate of 18d per quart of pure alcohol. The petrol excise is twopenny per gallon of unleaded petrol. The cotton excise is £1·2·0 per hundredweight of cotton fabric.

Parochial rates

Parochial rates, or tithes, are taxes collected for the use of the parish. They are collected a rate of shilling eightpence in a pound out of tithable income which excludes investment dividends and the like. Traditionally tithes were split into 'great tithes', being corn, young of livestock, wood, hay, and wool, and 'lesser tithes' being personal income (exclusing investments, gifts, inheritances and the like), eggs, fruit, wax, linen &c. This continues to this day, however payment in the form of goods is nearly always replaced with payment in money. The remaining fourpence out of the traditional tenth of the income is the church tax, which is collected by H. M. Exchequer on behalf of the church. There is an upper limit of 15/6 for the church tax. If this limit is reached, any excess is allocated to parochial rates. Tithes are levied on income after income tax and building tax.

Exemption

Paupers who have sworn the pauper's oath are exempt from most taxes and rates, excluding consumption taxes.