User blog comment:Zelron/Helgen Hometown (Dragons bring down my property values!)/@comment-30303790-20121128043831

Taxes: 

A funds management system would be required. I like the idea of a "funds chest" you mentioned, and I think that would be the key to the whole thing. A "treasury" that is kept seperate from your personal stash and seperate from purchase costs. Unlike the "build it once, you're done" style of Hearthfire, rebuilding Helgen could have a multi-tier upgrade system. To unlock the next level, requirements such as X amount of gold in the treasury, prerequisite structures and population must be met. Here's how it could work:

Filling the Chest:


 * A sum of Septims paid in as investment (transfered from the players personal wealth)


 * Taxes and returns from business invested/owned

Subtractions:


 * Guard Salaries (Required)


 * General Upkeep (Required)- The cost of keeping the structure sound.

Higher walls, watch towers, max guard numbers, and quality of buildings are all examples possible upgrades. In turn, higher quality structures need more expensive but less frequent repairs. Structures would never break, but the deduction is automatic.


 * The Jarl's Taxes/Independence (One or the Other)

Don't pay taxes or don't want to? The more the treasury owes the higher the costs of goods in your shops and lower the income you can make, paying makes life easy.Though alternatively you could use force or guile to gain independence...this however comes with costs of its own and infrastructure doesn't come cheap.


 * Supporting Imperials or Stormcloaks (optional) - Back your prefered side in the Civil War


 * Temple Donations (opt) - Extends the bonuses taken from activating divine shrines you find in your adventures