Improper Tax / Deduction on Transactions in Red Tower Shops (Greyport)

[Hrothgar Bloodaxe]

Hello. I am reporting an issue with the "tax withholding" calculation for the shops located within the "Red Tower" complex, in Greyport.

The shop says the tax rate is 5%, which, after speaking with the District leader, is in fact the correct rate.

HOWEVER, when an item is sold, a greater quantity than 5% is withheld. Specifically, it appears that 8% is being withheld in tax, for each purchase.

As in, I sell a wand for 5000 gp. The tax withheld is 400 (8%). At a previous Greyport shop, the tax withheld was 250 (5%).

The district head also informed me that the Red Tower cannot set custom tax rates for the shops (they used to own the Red Tower, and can confirm what it is capable of doing/not doing).

Accordingly, please fix the 4 "Red Tower" shops in Greyport to use the correct District Tax rate, which is currently 5%.

[a poem for the firmament]

I am not sure if this is connected, but Arcanum shops tax 8% as well from every sale. The shop sign says tax is 0%. I am not sure if this is bug or intended, but 8% tax rate feels very high, and most settlements have lower rates than a guild house.

From 50.000 gp sale, tax is 4000 gp (8%).

[Hrothgar Bloodaxe]

I am not sure if this is connected, but Arcanum shops tax 8% as well from every sale. The shop sign says tax is 0%. I am not sure if this is bug or intended, but 8% tax rate feels very high, and most settlements have lower rates than a guild house.

From 50.000 gp sale, tax is 4000 gp (8%).

I've long heard that there was/is a tax on certain "unincorporated" shops; i.e. like the Shadovar Tradepost. The idea was to make up for the fact that settlement shops are taxed, and that it would be too much of an advantage, on top of a "neutral" location, to have tax free shops.

I don't know to what extent that reasoning is correct, but it does explain why certain shops in the middle of nowhere, have a tax.

That said, the Red Tower shops don't really make sense, even within that context. The Red Tower is part of Greyport. You need to be a Greyport citizen to own the shops. The shops display the tax rate, of Greyport.

That's the piece that's most confusing to me - if the Red Tower was in the middle of nowhere, and just had an 8% rate, that would be consistent with some other "neutral" shop locations. But this is smack dab in the middle of Greyport, and is subject to all of Greyport's laws, residency requirements, and taxation - so I'm unclear why this is being treated differently from the rest of Greyport.

[a poem for the firmament]

I've long heard that there was/is a tax on certain "unincorporated" shops; i.e. like the Shadovar Tradepost. The idea was to make up for the fact that settlement shops are taxed, and that it would be too much of an advantage, on top of a "neutral" location, to have tax free shops.

Shadovar shop tax is 0% (my last shop was there), as is Sibayad, Dis and Crow's Nest. These are prime locations, but tax free. It seems so far that 8% tax you picked up, as is the case with my example of Arcanum, are tied to guild houses, not neutral hubs.

Other guild house examples with shops are probably shops within taverns, that operate in the same system, although I never had a shop in the tavern to confirm.

[Reikenbach]

Red Tower shops are Guildhouse shops, and the owner of the Red Tower has managerial control over them all. Greyport doesn't get tax revenue from them. Don't believe the leader of Greyport has any authority over them, either, at least from when I was managing the district.

I'm pretty sure it's intentional that they're treated as part of the guildhouse rather than the district.

[Hrothgar Bloodaxe]

Red Tower shops are Guildhouse shops, and the owner of the Red Tower has managerial control over them all. Greyport doesn't get tax revenue from them. Don't believe the leader of Greyport has any authority over them, either, at least from when I was managing the district.

I'm pretty sure it's intentional that they're treated as part of the guildhouse rather than the district.

That's fair, but then the sign is still incorrect and bugged. If it's an 8% tax, then the sign should say 8%. It says 5%, but charges 8%. So one way or the other, this isn't working properly.

I would probably not have bid on this shop, had I known that I'd be paying almost double the tax rate.