TAXES

axes are levied on citizens' income, which is measured by how nice their housing is. As a house evolves, its inhabitants pay more tax. Villa inhabitants (patricians) pay very large amounts of tax. But nobody pays any tax at all unless a tax collector walks past the house to register it and collect the tax. Tax collectors are trained and employed by your city's Senate, and by its forums. Your Financial Advisor can change the income tax rate upon your instructions.

Tax collectors take the money they gather back to the Senate or the forum that employs them. The money is stored in that building's vaults until the end of the year, when it is transferred to your main treasury. The money in these temporary vaults is included in your treasury's total and can be spent as if it were already in the treasury, but it is vulnerable to theft (see “Crime,” page 61).

People are quite sensitive to the city's tax rate. High taxes might bring you more cash quickly, but they also put people in a bad mood and hence encourage them to emigrate. Low taxes, on the other hand, make people happy and can thereby help lure immigrants, although they can make it hard for your city to pay its bills each month.

In each assignment, you'll figure out the best tax rate for your governing style. Remember this, though: You will rarely raise enough funds for a truly great city just by taxing your citizens. You are going to have to master industrial production and trade before your city can generate real wealth.