Can you confirm that the property tax rate in Waterdeep is ~1% of the property price per year? It's .88% in NYC, but 2.5% in the Flemish region of Brussels.
— RPG Match – connecting TTRPG players (@RpgMatch) September 13, 2021
1)
Nope. You’re applying a flat formula across a city that, like all real-world cities, has grown over the years. Most real-world cities have the same disparities that exist in Waterdeep: taxes vary from place to place within a city, and rates also vary with social… 2)
…class (political clout); i.e. the nobles, AND temples, AND guilds get themselves tax breaks, and wheeler-dealer wealthy individuals broker deals with the Palace (just as in real life): I give you this land for civic purposes if you'll give me a low rate on yon..#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 13, 2021
3)
…property over there. In Waterdeep, the annual realty tax (“property tax”) rate tends to be lower than 1 percent of the property price; Waterdeep doesn’t have “mill rates,” it has set taxes per property that get reviewed by the Palace (and always raised) on… 4)
…about a twenty-year cycle. (And the above brokering comes into play to win yourself delays in reassessment.) Waterdeep has always had a "flee south to warmer climes for the winter" problem that it has attempted to soften by keeping realty taxes low (as it has…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 13, 2021
5)
…other sources of revenue like the gate taxes, docking fees, permit fees, etc.).
You can use a percentage of purchase price rate as a VERY rough guide to estimating probable taxes, but don’t make the mistake of thinking the city calculates taxes that way. 6)
It's always perilous to apply modern real-world ways of doing things to the Realms. And just a brief glance at real-world cities of any longevity (London, Paris, Rome) will reveal that as years pass, their taxation systems change radically (and are inconsistent).#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 13, 2021
7)
For years, I’ve worked in public libraries, and run D&D mini-campaigns as library programs. Once I ran for five middle-aged, conservative female librarians who wanted NO bloodshed, no monsters, and no magic.
So I gave them a Waterdeep campaign that was… 8)
…Jane Austen-like "social whirl" on one level (daughters of ambitious guildmasters trying to break into the nobility, or at least become social equals with the weakest, poorest nobles), and on the other: turn Daddy's guild money, not quite keeping pace with his..#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 13, 2021
9)
…ambitions, into large fortunes by shrewd property investments (buy, sell, flip, reno, rent out, etc.), and impress Daddy so much that he lets you behave like a full guild member or more, because you understand finance and social nuance better than he does. 10)
They loved it, and as a result, we delved into (and I detailed) the byzantine property valuations, tax system, and tax dodges of Waterdeep.
And I inspired two of them to try becoming real estate magnates in real life. One had a disastrous time, but the other…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 13, 2021
11)
…left her library job behind for wealth and a big mansion in Woodbridge and a trophy husband.
Ah, they grow up so fast… ;}#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 13, 2021
