Ma-tek
11-05-2004, 20:08
NENYA, TUESDAY - The EOTED Imperial Executive Council today delivered the 'final budget' for the fiscal year beginning March, on the same day that the Imperial Bank raised interest rates by one quarter of a percent for the first time since its rebirth last year. The raise in rates was initially greeted with dismay from many quarters, with fears that the interest rate rise could damage the already flagging and tiny financial industry (banks, building societies, and insurance operations being the only allowed financial institutions in the Empire of the Eternal Dawn), but the new budget has caught many off-balance - to the delight of all.
The new budget delivers a massive increase in income per annum for the general population, with a massive tax cut to just 33% - representing a massive instant boost to the population. Tax returns were, as always, instant; all national citizen accounts have been reimbersed fully, with an average return of Rlh4,374.03 (US$10,497). This represents an increase in income per annum of approximately one third - to the new figure of Rlh18,957.37 (US$45,497).
The budget does involve cuts to social spending and investment, however, which is expected to strip the Imperial Trade Conglomerate of some Rlh500 billion in pre-tax profits; however, ITC projections make "this small loss quite insignificant in comparison to the general improvement in the standing of living in the Empire, which, all said and done, is... the main purpose of the Imperial Trade Conglomerate", Empress Rialla ux-Rihad II, Chairwoman of the ITC, said Tuesday.
The cuts delivered also involve a fairly largescale cutback to the IDF, and General Ian Eskera-Rihad believes that the cutbacks will hit the IDF GF hardest. On the subject, he said Tuesday, "It'll certainly hurt... the IDF GF most."
When General Eskera-Rihad was questioned on the ongoing downscaling of the IDF GF, he said only that "the Empire cannot pursue stability with a gargantuan ground-based armed force", and that he fully accepted that the Empire has to "lead the way in lethal disarmament... wherever and however that goal is possible".
~ Excerpted from the Nenya Today broadsheet
The new budget delivers a massive increase in income per annum for the general population, with a massive tax cut to just 33% - representing a massive instant boost to the population. Tax returns were, as always, instant; all national citizen accounts have been reimbersed fully, with an average return of Rlh4,374.03 (US$10,497). This represents an increase in income per annum of approximately one third - to the new figure of Rlh18,957.37 (US$45,497).
The budget does involve cuts to social spending and investment, however, which is expected to strip the Imperial Trade Conglomerate of some Rlh500 billion in pre-tax profits; however, ITC projections make "this small loss quite insignificant in comparison to the general improvement in the standing of living in the Empire, which, all said and done, is... the main purpose of the Imperial Trade Conglomerate", Empress Rialla ux-Rihad II, Chairwoman of the ITC, said Tuesday.
The cuts delivered also involve a fairly largescale cutback to the IDF, and General Ian Eskera-Rihad believes that the cutbacks will hit the IDF GF hardest. On the subject, he said Tuesday, "It'll certainly hurt... the IDF GF most."
When General Eskera-Rihad was questioned on the ongoing downscaling of the IDF GF, he said only that "the Empire cannot pursue stability with a gargantuan ground-based armed force", and that he fully accepted that the Empire has to "lead the way in lethal disarmament... wherever and however that goal is possible".
~ Excerpted from the Nenya Today broadsheet