Vesten wrote:shaddowdemon wrote:You can't think of real life like Minecraft.
Woah woah woah woah, back up..... Is this true? 
I know right some people just don't take this game seriously enough. ^^
But to be honest whilst Minecraft does do and interesting job in providing a microsm of all of humanity and society as it is a social game. There are some parts of minecraft that can be on parralel with real life because they deal with the same fundamental truths as in real life, however minecraft is very obviously still just a computer game.
On taxes specifically and minerealm itself. We 'pay' indirect taxes like a sales tax or Valued added tax rather than income tax which is direct taxation. Income taxes I would agree should be to a certain extent progressive (increase at higher levels). The gaps between income levels do increase over time due to the effects of inflation in real life. Those on higher incomes can afford to buy more and at higher prices as money becomes less valuable, due to having much more spare money. It's easier for those with enough money to distort market prices making essential commodities and luxuries more expensive for those on lower incomes. Since the prices of goods are the same for everyone. The price represents a larger slice or percentage of overall income for those on lower wages than those who earner higher.
Since the purchasing power is much higher for those on higher incomes they can afford to pay more and high prices for goods. High prices for goods leads to demands for higher wages and this leads to market inflation. I'm sure I'm oversimplifying everything here by not going into enough detail and into all the different types of inflation, but to cut this explaination short.
Differential taxes on income in real life are designed to fight inflation I think by reducing the gap between the rich and the poor. Where there is less of a divide, a flat tax rate on income is probably more relavent?
The necessaries of life occasion the great expense of the poor. They find it difficult to get food, and the greater part of their little revenue is spent in getting it. The luxuries and vanities of life occasion the principal expense of the rich, and a magnificent house embellishes and sets off to the best advantage all the other luxuries and vanities which they possess. A tax upon house-rents, therefore, would in general fall heaviest upon the rich; and in this sort of inequality there would not, perhaps, be anything very unreasonable. It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
In minerealm the Tax we pay is indirect tax? Like VAT. There are probably actual function differences between VAT and the 10% transaction tax and differences in their purpose too.
Since the 10% 'tax' isn't a real tax as far as I'm aware as Intelli doesn't receive anything, its just taken out of circulation and it's designed to stop the quick a accumulation of credits between a large team of friends who could quickly increase the rate at which they buy realms by 'pooling' credits into one person.
I guess its an anti-trust? measure of sorts or atleast designed to help even the playing field a bit between individual players and groups of players.
