Commerce Archives
For the purpose of clarity in this document: the current Minister of Commerce is Demiwar; the word Republic refers to the Republic of the Silver Sun; the word Alliance refers to the Tindremic Republic.
The Commercial Sector of the Republic is regulated by the Ministry of Commerce[MoC]. The MoC is responsible for indirectly controlling intrastate prices to ensure the affordability with which all members of the Republic are able to equip themselves in the increasingly dangerous world of Nave, as well as collecting the wealth the state needs to perform its duties. The MoC is responsible for tracking all trade that happens on the state level and ensuring the continued economic growth of the city of Soacio.
Beliefs and Goals of the Current Minister
Taxation
It is the belief of the Minister of Commerce that no form of taxes should be placed upon the plebians of the Republic for an amount greater than that which is absolutely necessary for the preservation of the Republic and the insurance of the freedom of those that reside within Her. The Ministry is not here to restrict private trade in any way, put instead to promote it. The only forms of taxation deemed economically efficient by the Minister of Commerce is the taxation of local businesses, preferably instituted as a sales tax though flat taxes may be needed to inhibit tax evasion, property taxes placed on those prosperous enough to own a house, and taxation of foreign trade in the form of tariffs to help protect the local businesses of Soacio from outside market saturation or economic sabotage. It is the belief that taxes upon the plebian population would drain money from the private sector that would otherwise go to the local crafters to further improve the Republic's economy. It is the duty of the Ministry of Commerce to find means of income in forms other than taxes with which to support the Republic.
Supply and Demand
The Ministry of Commerce is responsible for insuring a steady supply of raw materials to provide to the public for common crafting and that there is a large enough force of crafters to supply the needs of the Republic. The Ministry of Commerce is also responsible for keeping prices within Soacio stable and insuring that prices are high enough for crafters to make a good profit, but also low enough that adventurers may replace their equipment for a reasonable expense.
Attitude towards Alliance Members
Fellow members of the Alliance are split by the Ministry of Commerce into two categories, resident and non resident allies. Resident allies are those who reside within the city of Soacio. Residents are expected to pay taxes during their stay as decided by the Senate and, as such, are commercially treated as full members of the Republic, gaining the same discounts from the Ministry of Commerce on goods and services. Non-Resident allies are those which reside in a city or town other than Soacio. Non-Residents pay no taxes to the Republic and as such do not receive the economic benefits of a full member. However, due to their willingness to come to the aid of the Republic in times of defense, they are granted slightly discounted rates and a special tariff lower than that of foreigners.
Foreign Trade and Tariffs
The Ministry of Commerce is charged with two responsibilities that may at times overlap, providing the required resources for the Republic to function and keep prices high for crafters, and providing enough finished goods and keeping prices low for adventurers. Foreign trade has the ability to provide extra resources and finished goods, bringing both prices down, but the Ministry of Commerce must regulate this trade to allow a fair market for both domestic and foreign traders. Tariffs will be used for this purpose. They will be implemented to provide somewhere between equal footing for both based on the taxes placed on domestic traders to providing a slight advantage to domestic traders and businesses.
Economic Trade Council
The Economic Trade Council is chaired by the Minister of Commerce and co-chaired by the Mayor. Seats on the Council are filled by the owners of incorporated companies. The purpose of this council is to provide an organized location for citizens to provide suggestions to the Ministry of Commerce and allow the most experienced economists in Soacio to voice their opinion clearly to the Minister. The Council will discuss and vote upon items involving the economy of the Republic including but not limited to, the price of the fines sent to the Ministry of State for suggested criminal reparations, the validity and effects of any taxation plans, current state of the economy and fair market value of goods, and the Ministry's stance towards foreign trade. This council serves solely as an advisory board to the Minister and meetings may be public or private at the Minister's discretion.
Employees
Minister of Commerce
The Head of the MoC is the Minister of Commerce. It is the duty of the Minister to directly oversee all trade convoys representing the state and assure their safety through the use of armed escorts when necessary. The Minister is charged with delegating all crafting related needs to the Mayor to be passed on to the Commerciantes and then the Craftsmen. Other duties of the Minister include setting the taxes for the city of Soacio, balancing the national budget, ensuring the availability of raw materials, conducting diplomatic trade missions to other nations, updating the Senate on the economic status of the Republic, communicating with the military to ensure adequate supplies for troops and that the city's economic safety is met, placing a monetary punishment on crimes committed by criminals found guilty, creating dues and fees, placing tariffs and taxes on foreign trade, proposing taxes on foreign residents, and always making sure to place the Republics economic needs before his/her own.
Mayor
The position of mayor is an elected position within the cities of the Republic. The Mayor is responsible for everything that goes on in the city, but is tasked more towards the construction side of things, leaving the management of trading to the Minister when available. However, in the Ministers absence, the Mayor is granted the authority to act on his behalf and create non binding solutions to any problems that arise until the Minister's return. It is for this reason that the Mayor must always continue to perform in a manor deserving the trust of Minister or risk being swiftly replaced by one more worthy of this power.
The Mayor's daily tasks are mostly comprised of administrative work with the commerciantes. Checking the daily reports to ensure their completion and distributing orders in need of completion are the primary tasks. On a weekly basis the Mayor must ensure the delivery of each commerciante's weekly summary report to the Minister of Commerce and fill out the Weekly Personnel Report. The primary monthly task for the Mayor is to perform an analysis of each commerciante's performance and give a detailed summary of their activity levels, job performance, and overall demeanor. The Mayor should also give a monthly personnel report that summarizes all applications to the Ministry in the past month and their status.
Commerciante
Commerciantes are officers in the Ministry of Commerce. This position is responsible for performing the day to day operations of the Ministry. They assist the Minister and Mayor in collecting and tracking due taxes and rent, managing city stockpiles and communicating the economic worries of the members. Commerciantes are divided into two distinct groups, asset management and urban development.
Asset management commerciantes are responsible primarily for maintaining acceptable stock levels within the city's warehouses through the use of buy and sell orders.
Urban development commerciantes are tasked with constructing building projects as designated by the minister as well as collecting and maintaining a list of all rent payments owed and paid by city residents.
