Which one are you thinking of? Several have, to varying degrees, even over time within the same empire, including the British, Roman and Mongol.
I’m curious to what extent the two areas cited, law enforcement and defense, are exclusively the purview of the Empire. Obviously, there’s a need for kingdom and local law enforcement where kingdom and local laws are concerned — the Empire can’t be responsible for enforcing rules it doesn’t make. And if a kingdom decides to ‘expand’ into neighboring territory, as when Nepal was conquering the territory that had been Bangladesh, I would think that would also be on its own responsibility. Given that, though, I would think armed conflict BETWEEN kingdoms would be something the Empire WOULD curtail, severely, and likely would have to from time to time.
I would love to get into a discussion of the merits of the fair tax vs the flat tax and so on, but it would detract from attention the story deserves and I really don’t have the energy for it anyway right now.
now im talking old empires,, not PC’s empire.. you would think that,, but no,, there is too many instances where the “empire ” would let the two fight it out , an step in after,, cuz both are now weaker an no threat to sed empire. .. convenient population control.. an keeps the uppity kingdoms weakened.. an the empire makes the kingdoms look bad,, win win for the empire…
That’s one of the reasons that the Kingdoms are set up the way they are, with each having their specialty.
Colombia has medical research.
Romania has oil and plastics.
Poland has heavy industry.
Catia will have interstellar trade.
Keep the Kingdoms dependent on each other, not competing. No trade barriers, no tariffs. Everybody wins.
Some of the attractions of a fair tax over a flat tax are the lack of reporting to the government, the lack of the expense of a bureaucracy to keep track of it all, and no nightmare set of laws covering deductions.
As said in TGW-633, your life remains private, the government knows nothing about your finances, property ownership, etc. It doesn’t even have to know where you live or work. And April 15 becomes just another Spring day.
I agree it would be a huge improvement over the current system, for the reasons you cite — and a big one for me, because ALL the tax an individual pays would be at the retail consumer level, so he KNOWS what he is paying. As is, an individual has no idea what he is paying in hidden taxes rolled into his purchases — tariffs, taxes paid by producers, distributors and retailers, and the like. Besides his own payroll and property taxes. A taxpayer who knows what he is paying in taxes knows to complain when he sees his government wasting money.
But I wonder what keeps a retailer from simply not reporting all his cash sales — checks and plastic would be harder even without reporting to the government — and pocketing the difference. And I get the impression that in the Empire a lot more of commerce, especially at the retail level, is handled with hard cash, possibly as a curb on inflation.
Also, the Empire has a luxury the US government has very little of since it ran out of “unclaimed” land taken from the Native Americans to sell, a lucrative property it has exclusive rights to. Gravity engines are already being used in space and atmospheric transport, and a version is being adapted for land vehicles, and presumably water as well, if that’s still cheaper than air, which it might not be any more. Royalties from that will be a permanent source of income. Or — does King hold those rights in his own name and not that of the Empire? I could see an argument for either. With his retirement, the two will be increasingly separate.
There is a book “The Fair Tax Book” by Neal Boortz and John Linder. It’s an easy read and explains the whole concept.
The transition would be a bit messy, and the book doesn’t address that, but I have ideas on how it could be managed pretty cleanly.
If Aadam wants to go to the palace to talk to his grandfather, or to use its communication facilities to make a general appeal to the public, either could be handled nearly as easily and a lot faster right where he is, I think. But it could be something else that could only be done there.
Top Story – There was once an actual country that followed those rules.
It’s a shame that it was lost,
Which one are you thinking of? Several have, to varying degrees, even over time within the same empire, including the British, Roman and Mongol.
I’m curious to what extent the two areas cited, law enforcement and defense, are exclusively the purview of the Empire. Obviously, there’s a need for kingdom and local law enforcement where kingdom and local laws are concerned — the Empire can’t be responsible for enforcing rules it doesn’t make. And if a kingdom decides to ‘expand’ into neighboring territory, as when Nepal was conquering the territory that had been Bangladesh, I would think that would also be on its own responsibility. Given that, though, I would think armed conflict BETWEEN kingdoms would be something the Empire WOULD curtail, severely, and likely would have to from time to time.
I would love to get into a discussion of the merits of the fair tax vs the flat tax and so on, but it would detract from attention the story deserves and I really don’t have the energy for it anyway right now.
now im talking old empires,, not PC’s empire.. you would think that,, but no,, there is too many instances where the “empire ” would let the two fight it out , an step in after,, cuz both are now weaker an no threat to sed empire. .. convenient population control.. an keeps the uppity kingdoms weakened.. an the empire makes the kingdoms look bad,, win win for the empire…
That’s one of the reasons that the Kingdoms are set up the way they are, with each having their specialty.
Colombia has medical research.
Romania has oil and plastics.
Poland has heavy industry.
Catia will have interstellar trade.
Keep the Kingdoms dependent on each other, not competing. No trade barriers, no tariffs. Everybody wins.
Some of the attractions of a fair tax over a flat tax are the lack of reporting to the government, the lack of the expense of a bureaucracy to keep track of it all, and no nightmare set of laws covering deductions.
As said in TGW-633, your life remains private, the government knows nothing about your finances, property ownership, etc. It doesn’t even have to know where you live or work. And April 15 becomes just another Spring day.
I agree it would be a huge improvement over the current system, for the reasons you cite — and a big one for me, because ALL the tax an individual pays would be at the retail consumer level, so he KNOWS what he is paying. As is, an individual has no idea what he is paying in hidden taxes rolled into his purchases — tariffs, taxes paid by producers, distributors and retailers, and the like. Besides his own payroll and property taxes. A taxpayer who knows what he is paying in taxes knows to complain when he sees his government wasting money.
But I wonder what keeps a retailer from simply not reporting all his cash sales — checks and plastic would be harder even without reporting to the government — and pocketing the difference. And I get the impression that in the Empire a lot more of commerce, especially at the retail level, is handled with hard cash, possibly as a curb on inflation.
Also, the Empire has a luxury the US government has very little of since it ran out of “unclaimed” land taken from the Native Americans to sell, a lucrative property it has exclusive rights to. Gravity engines are already being used in space and atmospheric transport, and a version is being adapted for land vehicles, and presumably water as well, if that’s still cheaper than air, which it might not be any more. Royalties from that will be a permanent source of income. Or — does King hold those rights in his own name and not that of the Empire? I could see an argument for either. With his retirement, the two will be increasingly separate.
A repeat from way back in 2016:
https://www.deviantart.com/cat-man-dancing/art/Burning-Days-635875211?ga_changes=1&ga_submit_new=10%3A1590906368&ga_type=edit
There is a book “The Fair Tax Book” by Neal Boortz and John Linder. It’s an easy read and explains the whole concept.
The transition would be a bit messy, and the book doesn’t address that, but I have ideas on how it could be managed pretty cleanly.
If Aadam wants to go to the palace to talk to his grandfather, or to use its communication facilities to make a general appeal to the public, either could be handled nearly as easily and a lot faster right where he is, I think. But it could be something else that could only be done there.