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<blockquote data-quote="Chimera" data-source="post: 29925" data-attributes="member: 2002">These things would vary greatly, depending on the Setting, the local economics, the Merchant, the local governments, the commodity, etc, etc, so exact answers cannot be forthcoming.I was recently trying to figure out what &quot;cost&quot; would be on transporting a regular 5-wagon caravan eight times a year to a small village in high hills over 300 miles from a big city.&nbsp; Came to a pretty high figure, given local wages, the price of horses, etc.&nbsp; The Merchant had to add a 200% markup just to cover his costs!On the other hand, if you're a local merchant carrying goods between the big city and all it's local farm villages, then you're going to be turning over your stock much more frequently.&quot;Not entirely honest with Customs...&quot;.&nbsp; I guess the success of that depends on the gullibility of the local authorities, and their access to spells like 'Zone of Truth' and 'Detect Thoughts'.&nbsp; I would expect any decent power to use these spells to exact the proper level of taxation.&nbsp; No 5th Amendment or need for a Search Warrant.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Chimera, post: 29925, member: 2002"] These things would vary greatly, depending on the Setting, the local economics, the Merchant, the local governments, the commodity, etc, etc, so exact answers cannot be forthcoming. I was recently trying to figure out what "cost" would be on transporting a regular 5-wagon caravan eight times a year to a small village in high hills over 300 miles from a big city. Came to a pretty high figure, given local wages, the price of horses, etc. The Merchant had to add a 200% markup just to cover his costs! On the other hand, if you're a local merchant carrying goods between the big city and all it's local farm villages, then you're going to be turning over your stock much more frequently. "Not entirely honest with Customs...". I guess the success of that depends on the gullibility of the local authorities, and their access to spells like 'Zone of Truth' and 'Detect Thoughts'. I would expect any decent power to use these spells to exact the proper level of taxation. No 5th Amendment or need for a Search Warrant. [/QUOTE]

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