Why Import Taxes Should Be Lowered
PimpDollaz
I feel that our Import Tariffs are way to high, and thus send the wrong signals to our allies and friends across the eWorld. We have had an isolationist and protectionist policy for far too long, and we would be better off with a more robust marketplace, especially with the increased need to consume food and weaponry in the new military module. We would like to think that we can have our cake, and eat it too, by having a closed marketplace, and access to plentiful cheap goods, but it doesn't quite work that way. Other nations have open marketplaces, and we have access to those places, but they do not access to ours. This is not the proper way to function in an alliance, if we want the alliance to be as strong as it can. Enemy nations can be embargoed in order to prevent them from reaching us, but our friends around the world must exist in a symbiotic relationship with us, and we are not holding up our end of the bargain. We have already refused to rent a titanium region, let's not continue down the path of economic hermitism.
Lowering Import Taxes will make us more powerful as a nation. People want to buy weapons in order to fight, and fighting with weapons is a more efficient way of winning the battles we need to win in order to have a more secure nation. The better our marketplace is, the more powerful we become, as people have access to a larger supply of less expensive weaponry.
Nobody wants to be stuck in a country that has a stagnant economy filled with overpriced weapons that never sell, and only a handful of companies that are essentially keeping the prices inflated, and not making as much profit as they can.
We should never underestimate the necessity of civilian damage. An armed populace is an effective fighting machine. Civilian damage is still more effective than tanking in everyway, as long as MPP's are maintained continuously. Having a properly equipped populace means having access to the top end weaponry. We cannot do that in our current state of taxation.
Right now, q5 tanks cost upwards of 30 CAD on the market here. We cannot be strong as a nation and defend ourselves from attack if our access to high end weapons is both scarce and expensive. If you want a Q5 Rifle, then there are only a few market offers, the lowest offer starting at $40. We don't have much in the way of high end artillery in this country. In fact, there are no market offers for Q5 artillery. I find this to be quite unacceptable for a nation such as ours.
Sure, I'm using Q5 as an example, but take a look at the housing market, and you will see that any house that gives a decent amount of wellness is humongously expensive. There is also a real lack of variety compared to nations that have a less hostile tax structure. The cheapest Q5 House will set you back a whopping $269 CAD, supposing you want to go that route. We clearly need to open up the markets, because the supply is just not on par with what we should have in order to be a strong nation
Another area that we absolutely need to look at is MT's. We're not doing too badly at the 1-2 Zone level, but anything above that is a complete mess. Who wants to pay more than $10 for a 3 Zone MT, more than $30 for a 4 Zone MT, and more than $50 for a 5 Zone ticket? The problem is that there are too few companies operating here, so we need to open up the marketplace and strike a reasonable equilibrium. People need to be mobile, and the alternative is that they will use their ORGS to buy much cheaper MT's from overseas markets because the selection and pricing here leaves much to be desired. When people buy overseas, that means our tax stream suffers, and everyone misses out, including Canadian companies.
I propose that we lower some of our Import Taxes in order to gain a larger supply of cheaper goods across the board. With the influx of foreign investment in our nation, the tax revenue into our coffers will increase. People will be purchasing more, and that will also mean more income for our nation. Right now, there is a dearth of foreign companies exporting here because they are scared off by the excessively high tax rates they will have to deal with. We need to be encouraging them to export to us, and this will serve to open up an increasing revenue stream that we obviously do not have now. We have the titanium to support the weapons industry, and iron is also cheap, as is stone, so there shouldn't be any role play whining about how it will kill the homegrown companies here, because let's face it - there just isn't much of an industry here to speak of in most of the sectors I've mentioned.
We don't need to touch every industry that we have. Prices for raw materials are good. Food is a bit on the expensive side, but still manageable. I'm not sure on the status of the MoI, so perhaps someone can fill me in, and the upper crust of the government can decide if the lack of supply for Defensive Systems and Hospitals is a concern that we should worry about. In the current military module, we don't have to concern ourselves about the possibility of our Hospitals being taken over and used against us, so we should have more of them.
I do think it is pressing however, to reinvigorate our weaponry marketplace as a priority, so I am suggesting that we drop those Import Tariffs first. So far, we are on the right track with tanks, although that number can drop even farther. The other weapons industries need to be readjusted right away. Perhaps we can start by dropping all weapons taxes down to 20%, and see how that works for a bit. Housing should be dropped to that level as well, as should the taxes for MT's. The lower rate will encourage some foreign company owners to try and sell here if they have overstock, or if their own markets are stagnant, while still allowing a little bit of protection for companies here. With more companies selling here overall, our government revenue stream will increase, and our citizens will have access to a larger supply of cheaper goods, and our nation will be more competitive in a number of facets. If it goes really well, then we may consider dropping the taxes farther, to 10 or even 5%. We can also re-examine Food at a later date if need be.
This has been entered into discussion in Congress. I feel it is time to discuss this topic. If Congress agrees, then I will need some members of Congress to help with proposals.
Comments
Personal issues aside, you have some good points. I think the profitability of companies is causing wage inflation, so I think wages will drop a bit if import taxes are lowered.
I am selling the cheapest Q5 tanks on the market @29.99 CDN and I am still making a small profit ( around 5-10 % )
Looking at prices for the same tank in other countries, lowering the import taxes to 20% will not hurt my sales.
Buy my Tanks 🙂 Do some damage!
http://economy.erepublik.com/en/company/killer-tanks-made-in-canada/237696
LOWER TAXES!
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How is the government gonna afford to give more weapons out Crisfire if taxes are lowered?
Why ship our gold over seas and why should we do anything but lower income taxes so that eCanadians money is in the only safe place to keep eCanadians money, in their own pockets and in the eCanadian markets.
I didnt say reduce it to zero and how long can eCanadians continue to afford paying taxes for someone to come along and steal it, if the government can afford to have it stolen it can afford to lower income taxes a bit.
If you lower imports, eCanadian companies will lower wages to compete and foriegn workers will leave for greener pastures and stop buying commodities while they are here, is increasing the VAT an lowering income tax an option? just a question im not an erep economist.
Hey Kanada. Less arguing more raping of the UK. 😛
luv ya bros o/
There is no evidence that lowering import taxes leads directly to lowering of wages. I think it's a myth that everyone perpetuates because they don't understand how the system works. Most countries in this game have low import taxes, and they all get along fine. Very few countries have protectionist economies, we are certainly in the minority.
At any rate, lower wages will help Canadian businesses to succeed, and thus the economy will be better for all. The argument that our profits will be exported is therefore nullified. With lower prices, people will be able to afford more, so there will be no need for unaffordable salaries that only serve to make Canadian businesses uncompetitive. More of our companies will actually be able to stay in operation if their overhead costs are lower, and that will benefit the country way more.
I love lamp. I love lamp.
Pimp my Taxes... I needs more grillsss
Très bon article PimpDollaz!
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Je me posais la même question en fait : est-ce que notre économie fermée est toujours pertinente avec les nouvelles règles économiques et la ré-organisation du jeu?
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En ce qui concerne les salaires, PimpDollaz a raison. Le salaire maximal au Canada et aux États-Unis, en gold, est à peu près le même à 0.37 gold .
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Cette question mérite un débat!
import taxes should definitely be lowered for certain goods to benefit the Canadian populace. I'm not convinced they need lowering across the board... for that i would need to see some fancy graphs from addy 🙂
Good article, i will respond back with an article.
Here it is:
http://www.erepublik.com/fr/article/the-2-sacred-cow-of-ecanada-economic-model--1546715/1/20
Hooray!!! The case for the end of protectionism nicely put. It is certainly an issue that needs enational discussion.
Low import taxes have served the eUSA well for over a year.
Totally Agree!!
All you need to know is ..
Stuff>Gold!
Lower taxes makes other countries selling their stuff in your market.. which force the local company to lower their price.
Lower price = More money in Citizen pockets!
And what Publius Says..
That was the only way to funds the american war machine.
PS. The ``Lower Wages`` excuses is not really appropriated anyway.. Canada has some of the worst wages in EDEN countries behind Romania, Spain, USA and China..
Well said.
If people are concerned about the effects, there's an easy way to find out: make a very small downward change in the import taxes, say lower them by 1%. Take some time, then do another 1%. This will allow the market to adjust slowly and if the nay-sayers are right (which i doubt), we'll be able to see it without a big disruption.