How do people deal with Tax in games, in particular Sales Tax or VAT.

Do you bother with them at all? If so how do you enforce them and what rates do you set them at?

Depends on the game. In a modern era game it would just be part of the price.

In a D&D type game I don't bother with POS type taxes. The taxman visits quarterly/annually or whatever and collects.

Depends really, in some games I'd ignore it, others it becomes a vital part of the game experience. If the game feels like it should involve some smuggling, yes, or if a PC has taken an accounting skill, sure.

Yes players in my games take characters with accounting and beaurocracy skills, very handy in a futuristic urban environment. That episode of Angel where they decide to take over the hotel as a home base but don't want to pay anything for it, and are advised by the super rich nerdy guy to apply for funding for the restoration of a historical building from the local authority is a great example of why. Or if they've recovered an artifact from a murderous cult and now need to bring it to a secure location/defeat another cult in a different country they'd better know the legalese surrounding the import and export of archaeological treasures, or be really good smugglers, or be ready to do a lot of swimming. Especially if customs is suspect.

To say nothing of the officious hounds of war that can be unleashed even on powerful enemies by someone who knows how to push the right buttons, complaints about health and safety, violations of privacy statutes, zoning and planning objections, improper disposal of waste, SWATting, the bad guys and their employees had better be running a pretty tight ship.

This intrusion of mundanity can work really well in helping the group to stay engaged with the setting.

The players in the last campaign I ran ended up owning and running a tavern as a base of operations (and as a hiring pool for new blood). After a while they were more content sitting around and trying to maximize profits instead of going out and adventuring so I threw taxes at them. I also had someone steal their precious ale recipe, leading to a pretty fun romp through the city sewers.

Quote from: jadrax;681245How do people deal with Tax in games, in particular Sales Tax or VAT.

Do you bother with them at all? If so how do you enforce them and what rates do you set them at?

Typically, adventurers are outside the 'normal' economy, so taxes aren't much of an issue.  Depending on the type of game you play, you can get PCs to willingly donate money to 'worthy causes' whether that be tithing or taxation.  But in a game where money is going to buy something they REALLY want, like a magic sword, PCs might be resistant to taxation.  

Since PCs are mobile and powerful, they can basically go somewhere where taxation can't be enforced.  So if you're planning on making it part of the experience, it's best to make sure that the players are on board.  Otherwise you might end up with a game that you find less interesting...  

If the game is new, you might want to consider some type of 'license' requirement.  Kingdom X doesn't have the resources to eliminate a dungeon full of treasure, so rather than taxing what you bring out of the dungeon, they make it illegal to enter without buying an 'adventuring license' first.  It's not too hard to get the PCs agree to a 'percentage' at the same time.

Example:

To enter the Dungeon of Doom, the players must buy a license (250 gp).  25% of anything they bring from the dungeon is paid as a tax.  If they enter without a license, 75% of anything they take from the dungeon is taxed.  

High level adventurers would have no problem murdering the tax collectors if they really wanted to - so be prepared for that....

I typically go with "part of the price", too.  Unless I want to use it as a plot event.

In my ongoing Monster Island campaign, I charge adventurers returning to the colony 50% of their gathered loot or traded goods. The player characters complain, but there are no other taxes and the wealth goes towards garrisoning the settlement walls and providing a charitable hospice, the latter of which they heavily frequent.  

They also try to cheat the guards and smuggle stuff in, with various levels of success...

Sales tax would never have existed in pseudo-medieval land, so I don't have that, but avoiding taxation can be an enjoyable challenge. Usually I will have tax collectors in a big city, so when adventurers turn up with thousands of gold pieces they will garner attention from the authorities who demand a tithe. It never fails to make the players get creative about smuggling.

Quote from: noisms;681293Sales tax would never have existed in pseudo-medieval land, so I don't have that,

Just doing a quick Google: Sales Tax was invented in 2000 BC by the Egyptian; was used in crusader Jerusalem; was used in medieval Bulgaria; was used in medieval Paris and was a favorite tax of Henry IV of England.

Most of the Known World collects a 1 coin transaction fee for sales (Only things worth 1 copper coin are not taxed, but if you buy a 2 copper item it is 3.  Once my players figured this one out... they would compile huge lists through a given vendor, then pay their one coin.  If the transation is in copper or silver (silver being the standard), it is 1 copper coin. If it is over 100 silver, it is taxed as 1 silver.  My players started working the system and buying no more than 99 silver in a given transaction.  

100s of gold have a 1 gold transaction tax, but that has only come up once.  (They bought an inn... for no other reason than it was traditional. )

The Known World is very big on Licenses and Marks of Permission.

Quote from: jadrax;681298Just doing a quick Google: Sales Tax was invented in 2000 BC by the Egyptian; was used in crusader Jerusalem; was used in medieval Bulgaria; was used in medieval Paris and was a favorite tax of Henry IV of England.

Fair enough. I think you mean Henry IV of France though, smarty-pants.

As a game element I've had tax collectors come around as well as the usual "shakedown the outsiders" type of taxes and 'usage fees' otherwise I just kind of assume that it's part of the cost-of-living.

Quote from: noisms;681302Fair enough. I think you mean Henry IV of France though, smarty-pants.

Quite possibly, I seem to have mislaid that source in the past 10 min or so.

Quote from: MoonHunter;681300Most of the Known World collects a 1 coin transaction fee for sales (Only things worth 1 copper coin are not taxed, but if you buy a 2 copper item it is 3.  Once my players figured this one out... they would compile huge lists through a given vendor, then pay their one coin.  If the transation is in copper or silver (silver being the standard), it is 1 copper coin. If it is over 100 silver, it is taxed as 1 silver.  My players started working the system and buying no more than 99 silver in a given transaction.  

100s of gold have a 1 gold transaction tax, but that has only come up once.  (They bought an inn... for no other reason than it was traditional. )

The Known World is very big on Licenses and Marks of Permission.

So now we know how big box, one stop shop stores became popular in your campaign.

Depends on campaign scope and culture.

I've used feudal service, in-kind, corvee labor, scuttage, port duty, toll fee, annual tax, obligated gifts. indentured servitude (currently a goblin), gifts for passage, etc.

I'm currently plotting for two NPC, one to attempt collect tribute and another attempt extortion -- the only real difference is the explicit legitimacy of their governance.