It all bubbles up into one thing, nobody will pay their taxes!
—John Lemon explaining the financial problems of Wildwood to Ed Simpson
A tax wave is a rapid & sudden increase in tax prices that is due to inflation, depression or continuous tax evasion by groups of citizens or districts. Wildwood was known to have at least three tax waves in it's history between World Wars I & II.
Types of taxes[]
- Income taxes*
- Social Security taxes* **
- District taxes*
- Property taxes*
- War taxes**
- Payroll taxes
- Corporate taxes
*Usually the case of tax waves
**Generally raised in wartime or is put into effect
Known tax waves[]
Post-World War I tax wave[]
Island(s): All
District(s): All
Percentage: Unknown
Taxes affected: All
First Wildwood tax wave[]
Island(s): Wildwood
District(s): 1, 2
Percentage: Unknown
Taxes affected: Property
Causes[]
This is the first of the three tax waves that occurred before World War II after the post-World War I waves. This tax wave was due to inflation as of a fact that property in Districts 1 & 2, especially on the boardwalk, was losing value or the taxes did not account for the entire value of the property. Tom Riddle, who was evicted, was one of the few who was removed from his home for tax evasion by refusing to pay the raise in taxes. This led to the continuous bank account game Riddle played with the government, which involved setting up one account after another by withdrawing money from one bank & depositing it somewhere else before the first bank freezes the account. Another cause for this wave was the end of an era called the Great Inventing, when a rapid increase in scientific discoverys & engineering had taken place to create newer things such as electric lighting & better housing, which also spiked a tiny debt the island began.
Second Wildwood tax wave[]
Island(s): Wildwood
District(s): 3-9
Percentage: Unknown
Taxes affected: Income
Causes[]
This tax wave occurred shortly after the first wave & was launched into income taxes due to the many failures to pay taxes in District 2 (this is because the usual salary for working class people in District 2 was slightly larger than the property taxes, but the tax would lead to bankruptcy if the income did not account enough for necessitys other than the tax [this is Tom Riddle's reason for not paying]) This wave failed as well because Districts 6, 8 & 9 all refused to cooperate & pay their income taxes.
Third Wildwood tax wave[]
Island(s): Wildwood
District(s): All
Percentage: D1-3 30%, D4-8 15%, D9-12 7%
Taxes affected: Property, Income
Causes[]
The general cause behind this wave was due to public debt & inflation in property taxes. Another reason for this increase was due to the fact that the previous waves had all failed in the poor districts & attracted resistance in some districts, like Districts 1, 2 & 7. Tom Riddle told John Lemon that the main reason for tax increase all snowballed from the fact that everyone like himself will continuously evade paying their taxes & risk eviction or imprisonment, which was the whole problem with the economy (if no one pays their taxes, the district cannot provide any funds to corporations or civic projects inside or outside the district, which leads to failure for trades & essentially brings the entire island's economic system crashing to the ground). Lemon repeated this to Ed Simpson when he was asked to write a script for a letter that would be copyed & posted on every streetpole & district bulletin board all over the island. Lemon resisted the property tax raise & was charged with evasion & was evicted. When evicted, Lemon gave up his fight & headed to the District Capitol to account his taxes & headed to Justice Building to confirm the overturn of his eviction. The wave caused great upset in the districts, which led to the decline of certain civic projects, such as that of the caretaking of the dike beneath the boardwalk, eventually resulting in the Great Flooding, which began the Second World War between Wildwood & the Knights of Storm.
World War II tax wave[]
Island(s): Both (later the Big Apple)
District(s): All
Percentage: 50%
Taxes affected: Social Security, War
Due to the war, the war taxes were put in effect & the Social Security was raised in all districts by 50%. This tax wave affected both Wildwood & Storm Island.