Rescinded Property Standards Amendment Act

[EATB]

A
BILL
To

Amend the Property Standards Act, the Taxation Act, and to remove the Plot Regulations Act​

​

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment

(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Property Standards Amendment Act.'

(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.

(3) This Act has been authored by Construction Secretary Endeavour.

(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Gwiis.

2 - Reasons

(1) New player CBDs are within the jurisdiction of the Department. This act hamstrings the Department's ability to carry out its duties.

(2) The Department does not have the ability or capacity to undertake regulation of active storefronts. If someone is using their property as intended they get a complete tax break, but what does this achieve? We already have a system to deal with inactive storefronts through the eviction system. There are better ways to incentivise activity than to have the department track and monitor every active storefront.

(3) When we add a taxation exemption to a plot, and the plot changes hands, it can easily go unnoticed and induces an unnecessary burden on staff.

(4) Leasing a billboard does not need to be regulated. Many of them sit empty.

(5) Auction levy and plot restrictions carried over to PSA.

(6) Removal of legislated requirements of New Player CBDs.

3 - Amendment to the PSA: Auction Levies

3 - Auction Levy
(1) There shall be a tax on all eviction auctions held by the Department of Construction and Transportation based on the amount of plots the player making the winning bid has at bid submission.
(a) Town plots, wild plots, and residential plots shall be exempt from both the tax itself and the calculations for the tax.
(2) The tax shall be in addition to the winning bid price for the plot. It shall only be paid if that player has won the auction.
(2) The tax is added to the winning bid and is only paid if the player wins the auction.
(3) The following tax schedule shall be used:

Amount of plots owned by winning bidder (Both numbers inclusive, but not inclusive of the plot won)	Tax (as a % of bid offer)
0-9	0%
10-14	25%
15-20	50%
20+	75%

(4) Bids by players who own enough plots to warrant an auction levy tax must include the amount of tax that would be paid if the bid is successful. Bidders are responsible for calculating this, and must include the tax amount in their bid message as a separate amount from the amount they are bidding.
(5) If an auction is won by a player who is required to pay auction levy tax, the Department of Construction and Transportation shall charge the tax to the player’s balance, on top of the bid offer. The tax must be charged before the won property is transferred. If the player is found to be unable to pay the tax, the property will not be transferred, a new auction will be held, and the offending player shall be charged with Auction Levy Neglect.
(6) Any bid with a miscalculated or completely missing tax when the bid should include one shall be considered invalid.
(4) Players who must pay auction levy tax must calculate and include the tax amount separately in their bid message.
(5) If such a player wins the auction, the Department of Construction and Transportation will charge the tax in addition to the bid amount. The property will only be transferred once the tax is paid. If the player cannot pay, the auction is void, a new one will be held, and the player will be charged with Auction Levy Neglect.
(6) Bids missing or miscalculating the required tax are invalid.

4 - Amendment to the PSA: Plot Limits

(1) C Plots. A citizen may not own more than 30 commercial properties.
(2) R Plots. A citizen may not own more than 2 residential properties.
(3) I Plots. A citizen may not own more than 2 industrial properties
(4) S Plots. A citizen may not own more than 6 skyscraper properties
(5) BM Plots. A citizen may not own more than 1 black market property.
(6) Government Subsidized Commercial Spaces. A citizen may not own more than 2 of each type of Government Subsidized Commercial Spaces.
(7) Realtors. Any citizen with a Realtor job may exceed these limitations by 5 plots each
(a) excluding BM and Government Subsidized Commercial Spaces.
(b) provided the plots exceeding these limitations are for the purpose of reselling the plot within 30 days of purchasing the plot.
(8) Plots located within towns are not subject to the above plot limits. Each town shall retain jurisdiction to create their own plot limits for plots located within their town.

5 - Amendment to the PSA: Government Subsidized Commercial Spaces

9- Government Subsidized Commercial Spaces
(1) Government Subsidized Commercial Spaces includes several types of government-owned rentable areas:
(2) Business Districts. Plots beginning with 'cbd' or 'nbd' are Business Districts.
(3) Market Stalls. Plots beginning with 'revstall' are Market Stalls.
(4) Newsstands. Plots beginning with 'revnews' are Newsstands.
(5) Large Billboards. Plots beginning with 'billboard' are Large Billboards.
(6) Mini Billboards. Plots beginning with 'minibillboard' are Mini Billboards.
(7) Food Trucks. Plots beginning with 'FT' are Food Trucks.
(8) Only the Department of Construction and Transport shall create rentable regions that fall under these naming conventions.

6 - Amendment to the Taxation Act: Removal of Active Storefront Exemptions

(3) If a plot is registered as an active storefront, that plot shall not be calculated in determining property tax. Only up to 7 plots per person may be excluded from the property tax calculations in this way.
(a) Plots must be manually requested for this exemption through the Department of Construction and Transportation. Requests must demonstrate proof of active storefront presence on the designated plot in order to qualify for tax exemption.
(i) To qualify as an active storefront, a plot must have multiple chest shops that are accessible to the public, and are frequently stocked with goods of value that are sold for profit. Further, the primary function of the plot must be its function as a storefront; i.e., chest shops cannot be added to an office building in order to qualify as a storefront. The Department of Construction and Transportation has discretion over what does and does not qualify for this exemption, and has to enforce the above definition fairly, reasonably, and honestly, without creating absurd outcomes.
(b) If a plot exempted through this method is no longer used as an active storefront, the owner of the plot must inform the Department of Construction and Transportation within 7 days, and the plot shall no longer qualify for exemption. Failure to do so shall be considered Property Tax Evasion.
(c) If a plot exempted through this method changes ownership, the previous owner of the plot must inform the Department of Construction and Transportation within 7 days. Failure to do so shall be considered Property Tax Evasion. The plot may once again qualify for exemption upon request by the new owner through the method outlined in 13.3.a.
(d) The Department of Construction and Transportation shall be empowered to, and be charged with, conducting regular and unannounced inspections of plots that are listed as active storefronts in order to ensure that they meet the standards of an active storefront as determined by the Department.

7 - Plot Regulations Act
(1) The changes made within the Plot Regulations Act are nested within this act and carried forward, unless otherwise amended above.

(2) The Plot Regulations Act is rescinded.