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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Jun 11, 2017 0:54:30 GMT
Whenever tax collectors on the island of Helna went to visit guild halls, they were met by a skilledauditor and accompanying retinue.
In one such instance where Captain Garrett was present, he led the word, "Hold on," Captain Garrett said, "These men here will accompany you. We have worrying reports that some tax collectors believe themselves to be above the law on this island and are not following the proper protocols. We would like permission to audit your most recent collections and, failing that, no collections will occur until such time that we are confident our payments are actually going towards meeting our obligations. You understand, I am sure, that we cannot allow ourselves to be charged twice to pay towards the same obligation, that we cannot allow fraudulent tax levies, nor permit negligent tax levies. Your cooperation in this matter is much appreciated."
Those who consented to such audits and were found to have conducted their business satisfactorily received payments as promised. If negligence was the only concern, the auditors would assist the tax collectors in correcting their errors. Fraudulent tax collectors, of course, would be reported to the local authorities for them to deal with.
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Post by Alined on Jun 11, 2017 1:22:43 GMT
A young squire, accompanied by a retinue of Prince Uther's supporters, marches about the province organizing rallies, performing protest songs, and giving impassioned speeches to inform and warn Nemeth's public about tax issues, and to tell them stories about how the mislaid money would be spent if they didn't resist. A fine flutist, some say his music's magical, and detractors claim men would follow it off a cliff, once charmed by it.
Among his words is the message that the taxes are just being used to get their boys killed, so paying them does more harm than good, anyway. One of the more popular chants they find is "We don't need the castle, we need the new king!", heard spoken in the streets hundreds of times.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Jul 20, 2017 16:57:57 GMT
They had been discussing the matter for a while. The auditors had gotten to the bottom of it, and now Captain Garrett was trying to defuse the tension and resolve the issue. It had been a challenge, because the numbers themselves hadn't been off, so the auditors had been perplexed at first until they had realized the cause. After each side had had a chance to express their concerns, to put it mildly, Garrett took the word, "I do find it ironic that each party is so busy collecting taxes to preempt the others, that they don't have the time to collect the taxes they are due. One might say that you're all quite right in your accusations, but for all the wrong reasons."
"So let us instead work to be wrong in our accusations, for the right reasons." Garrett continued, "You've each neglected your own duties in your quest to prove the other party neglectful. A gentleman's agreement then, is in order. Each party has offered to focus on their assigned duties and jurisdictions. So long as this agreement is upheld, all of you will enjoy the continued support and cooperation from our guildhalls, as you are entitled to, and you won't have to lay awake sleepless at night, wondering if someone is poking around levying the taxes and fees you were supposed to be collecting the very next day."
The arbitration took a few more weeks to fully settle and to spread the news throughout Helna, but eventually the corrupt activities of the various tax collectors had ceased, and the guilders could pay their taxes without fear of being taxed twice, and without fear of their taxes ending up in the wrong pockets.
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