User Guide

lives are hard enough; you might choose not to add to
their burden by taking their meager savings.
Also be sure to tax all the city’s residents fairly. If only
about half of the city’s inhabitants are visited by a tax
collector, they will become disgruntled quickly, which
could lower City Sentiment and cause people to turn
to a life of crime. Fairness is important to Egyptians,
and they want to be sure that people in similar stations
as themselves are also paying tax.
Tax Collectors’ offices, like the Palace and
Courthouses, each store a portion of your city’s funds.
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The money the city makes from collecting taxes, min-
ing gold, receiving gifts and exporting goods is stored
in vaults located in the Palace, the Tax Collectors’
offices and the Courthouses. The Palace has the largest
vault and can store the most money. Each Courthouse
can store about half of what a Palace can store. Tax
Collectors’ offices can store about one-third of what
the Palace stores. If one of these buildings is destroyed
by invaders, some of the city’s funds will be plundered.
If you demolish one of these buildings yourself, the
city’s treasury will not be affected.
The City’s Funds and Debt
Your Overseer of the Treasury keeps a running tally of
the treasury’s balance and provides the previous year’s
information for comparison’s sake. He uses several
line items in his assessment of your city’s fortunes. By
visiting him, you will be able to see the city’s sources
of income. You’ll also be able to see where the city’s
money goes.
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Municipal Functions
quick influx of money. Increasing taxes, however, is
not a good long-term solution to the city’s money
problems. A high tax rate has a dramatic negative
effect on City Sentiment, and citizens will not tolerate
high taxes for long. Many of them will move from
your city, draining your city of its work force. Other
citizens may turn to crime (see page 47). Be judicious
when raising the city’s tax rate, and carefully watch
your citizens’ reactions.
Lowering taxes, on the other hand, pleases your citi-
zens. They will praise your name in the streets as a wise
and benevolent ruler.
Tax Collectors
Citizens do expect to pay taxes, but they need a little
prodding. Tax collectors go door to door, assessing
what each household can afford and making sure citi-
zens are paying their fair share.
Tax collectors work out of Tax Collectors’ offices.
These buildings need road access and labor in order to
operate. The city must also have a Palace (see page
101) before you can build Tax Collectors’ offices. If the
Palace is destroyed, the Tax Collectors’ offices will
remain, but they will no longer send out tax collectors.
Build Tax Collectors’ offices anywhere you have hous-
es to ensure that most citizens are registered for the
tax. Sometimes, it may not be advantageous to have a
tax collector patrolling in particularly poor areas of
your city. Your poorest citizens will not owe much in
taxes, and the amount your tax collectors collect from
them may not outweigh the expense of building a Tax
Collector post and paying its staff. Your poor citizens’
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Municipal Functions
Tax Collectors’ office