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I just started messing around with the tax system and would like to make an observation about taxes and happiness.
From the taxes wiki: https://simsettlements.com/web/wiki/index.php?title=Holotape_Tax_Laws
"Cumulative Effects
The tax adjustments done for each plot type also have an overall affect on your settlements. The tax system will "add" up your tax rates for each plot type and apply the following:
For Each "No Tax": -1 Defense per Martial Plot AND + 3 Happiness
For Each "Half Tax": -0.5 Defense per Martial Plot AND + 2 Happiness
For Each "Standard": Normal Martial Plot Defense, and No Happiness Modifier
For Each "Double": +1 Defense per Martial Plot AND -4 Happiness
For example, so if you reduce all 5 tax zones (Residential, Agricultural, Commercial AND Recreational, Industrial) to "No Tax", you'll have -5 Defense/Martial and +15 happiness."
What's left unsaid is that if you raise taxes in all five zones, you'll have +5 def/martial and -20 happiness in all settlements.
If settlement has been claimed, but is unoccupied, settlement happiness starts at 50 with all tax zones set to standard.
If I change all the tax zones to "no tax," even though there are no plots at all, settlement happiness will start at 65.
This +15 flat added to the settlement's total happiness. Here's a shot of my Hangman's alley that was at 100 happiness with all standard taxes, but with no taxes jumps to 115:
(No caps being made, but damn Ada and Jezebel are super happy.)
Now consider the case where all tax zones are set to double:
Again there are no plots at all. Just increasing the tax to double in all five zones results in a flat -20 hit to settlement happiness.
Now for the observation:
All owned but unoccupied settlements start out at 50 Happiness, but if a settler shows up and none of their needs are met (no food, no water, no defense, no bed) settlement happiness starts at 20. In this case, if all tax zones are set to double, total settlement happiness would start at 0!
It's also worth considering that to maintain basic happiness (80) with all tax zones set to double, you'd basically have had to get to 100 happiness under the default tax scheme.
Since the tax laws are global and not local, it seems to me it's not a very good idea to raise taxes until each of settlements you care about are well over 80 happiness. Players, especially those new to SS, who raise the rates to squeeze out the caps will constantly be bashing their heads and wondering why their plots won't upgrade.
From the taxes wiki: https://simsettlements.com/web/wiki/index.php?title=Holotape_Tax_Laws
"Cumulative Effects
The tax adjustments done for each plot type also have an overall affect on your settlements. The tax system will "add" up your tax rates for each plot type and apply the following:
For Each "No Tax": -1 Defense per Martial Plot AND + 3 Happiness
For Each "Half Tax": -0.5 Defense per Martial Plot AND + 2 Happiness
For Each "Standard": Normal Martial Plot Defense, and No Happiness Modifier
For Each "Double": +1 Defense per Martial Plot AND -4 Happiness
For example, so if you reduce all 5 tax zones (Residential, Agricultural, Commercial AND Recreational, Industrial) to "No Tax", you'll have -5 Defense/Martial and +15 happiness."
What's left unsaid is that if you raise taxes in all five zones, you'll have +5 def/martial and -20 happiness in all settlements.
If settlement has been claimed, but is unoccupied, settlement happiness starts at 50 with all tax zones set to standard.
If I change all the tax zones to "no tax," even though there are no plots at all, settlement happiness will start at 65.
This +15 flat added to the settlement's total happiness. Here's a shot of my Hangman's alley that was at 100 happiness with all standard taxes, but with no taxes jumps to 115:
(No caps being made, but damn Ada and Jezebel are super happy.)
Now consider the case where all tax zones are set to double:
Again there are no plots at all. Just increasing the tax to double in all five zones results in a flat -20 hit to settlement happiness.
Now for the observation:
All owned but unoccupied settlements start out at 50 Happiness, but if a settler shows up and none of their needs are met (no food, no water, no defense, no bed) settlement happiness starts at 20. In this case, if all tax zones are set to double, total settlement happiness would start at 0!
It's also worth considering that to maintain basic happiness (80) with all tax zones set to double, you'd basically have had to get to 100 happiness under the default tax scheme.
Since the tax laws are global and not local, it seems to me it's not a very good idea to raise taxes until each of settlements you care about are well over 80 happiness. Players, especially those new to SS, who raise the rates to squeeze out the caps will constantly be bashing their heads and wondering why their plots won't upgrade.
