So I've just encountered taxes. And if there's one thing I was not expecting to find in this game, it was taxes. Not a fan at all considering the game seems to imply through the events I've encountered thus far in regards to player agency that given good enough dice rolls and business choices I can get rid of things that don't suit my fancy, so I tried to look into things related to the Slavers' Guild, and the tax girl, but the only comments I can find on this website or otherwise seem to indicate that people LIKE this mechanic as it stems the flow of income and keeps the game interesting. I'm going to set aside how bonkers it is to me that people like to have their income knee-capped since I know arguing against how others enjoy playing a game is a waste of time, but is there really no way to get out of paying? Through my research on the subject I've seen people say the taxes can get as high as 95% of last month's income, and I don't care how much more of this game I have left to see, 95% is absolutely outRAGEOUS. It would be one thing if the only way it got that high was through you aggravating the Slavers' Guild or other such things, but the fact that it can get that high the way it does I think is insane. One might say, "Well, come on man. That's not your situation. It doesn't start off that high, and by the time you should worry about that you should be well off into the late game with some killer team that makes enough to where that's not a concern." First of all I've seen NOTHING that indicates to me that this tax takes into consideration your expenses. ONLY that it takes into account income. And if it's just income then I think leaving you with a potential low of 5% income is unplayable and that's being flattering.
Before I make this monolithic post longer for something that is solve-able, I will ask questions that heavily weigh on whether or not I think I can continue to enjoy the game: 1. Is there a way that I can get rid of the tax, and I have just managed to avoid using the right keywords in my search on these forums how, or when someone DID discuss how, their terminology was so thoroughly and utterly vague that my keywords haven't helped me locate said method? and 2. If there is no way to get rid of it, is the tax just not that big of a deal later on? And I just have a severe misunderstanding of the game?
For context to why I'm so bent out of shape, I was chilling going at my own pace, upgraded to the first move into the second district and got slapped in the face with how much more expensive things got, and had to severely restructure how I was approaching the game in order to stay afloat and not rely on the loan shark, and after trials, tribulations, and many reloaded saves, I improved my ways to make more money, only to run into this loaner who's asking me for around 1300 and some change for the first payment. I know this will sound pathetic given some of the amounts I've seen people making on the threads I researched, but 1300 for me would be financially devastating. I could likely manage it for awhile while I make more improvements, but they emphasized that the longer I stay, the worse it gets, which is highly discouraging. Granted, I have a self-imposed handicap where I've been trying to keep the workers to my MC, and planned to only whore other characters I liked less once I had more space, but I never reloaded due to a monster breaking in, or a worker being tempted, because I'm not so willing to die on that hill when I realize how important whoring is to the game's economy, and this comment is made out of the concern that even if I whore out every last character in my retinue, I might still not make the absurdist figures I've been reading about to pay this tax. I would REALLY like not to mod or cheat, but yeah. I've spent a lot of time working on some packs, and while they may not be as high quality as other peoples', I'd like for the work I've put in thus far not to be wasted on a game that I'm not good enough to succeed at even a regular difficulty. I'm hoping that I continue to play and not find it an issue, or that someone responds to this "Hey dumbass, just keep playing. You'll be able to get rid of her, you're just unlucky to not have found someone mention it." or "it becomes super easy/manageable later." But that being said I'm not holding my breath. For now I'll just hopefully keep playing and figure something out. Sorry for text wall, just had to emphasize:
I hate taxes. In real life. And in game. So much so that I reloaded a save to change my answer from "They're a necessary evil." To whatever the "fuck you taxes are the worst" option was. Even if none of you agree with me, I hope you at least found my whining funny.
Kite80
