The Office of Imperial Revenue

[Mayhem]

OFFICE OF IMPERIAL REVENUE

The Imperial government has many branches, but few are as omnipresent and deceptive as the Office of Imperial Revenue. For most citizens of the Imperium, they might hear from the OIR only once or twice in their entire lives, receiving polite letters correcting them about tax calculations. Those in the know, however, fear the agency as a calculating eye scrutinizing every personal affair through which money must flow. Whenever a coin is pilfered or spent in suspect ways, another check is made in the auditor's book. The wise fear receiving visits from the OIR, whose agents remove the irregularities in balance sheets either by fixing the sheet or fixing the irregularity itself.

Located in a nondescript building around the Imperial Plaza, the OIR is divided into two wings. To the west are the General Counsel's offices, and the employees within work tirelessly to monitor and, if necessary, audit the income and expenditures of all Imperial citizens and businesses, as well as those of foreigners working or making transactions in the Imperium or its territories. Taxes and tariffs are received from all over the Empire, and the OIR has a close working relationship with the Guild of Coins and the international banks to ensure that every coin that belongs in the Empire's coffers is accounted for. The General Counsel handles all day to day dealings, including sending out letters, answering questions, and intervening directly to audit and correct all business – illegal or otherwise – inside the Empire. General Counsel takes appointments and is generally happy to help loyal citizens of the Empire better align their business practices with Imperial law. However, the Office of Imperial Revenue is not law enforcement, but law enforcement can and often does gain access to the tax records of suspects.

The Special Counsel's offices, located to the east, are closed to the public. Most irregular audits are overseen by the Case Managers, and from them the Auditors and Bookkeepers of the Special Counsel. It is these that the wise fear the most, and the threat of a surprise audit is often enough to push the weak-willed into line. What makes something a "Special" issue means it falls within three simple guidelines:

1. If corrective guidance is provided but the individual or organization persists in unacceptable practice,
2. If the behavior is not amenable to correction by standard procedure; or,
3. If the behavior constitutes treason against the Imperial Government

An open secret – depending on who you talk to and who you know – is that Special Counsel Auditors are trained assassins. Partnered with Bookkeepers, who act as assistants and often Auditors-in-training, they almost exclusively work in pairs. They work at the behest of the Office of Imperial Revenue, and by extension the Empire, to rectify irregularities that fall within the guidelines as they pop up.

These scenes are cleaned and archived by the Archivists of the Special Counsel and all records of the audited person (in all departments of the government) are scrubbed from the public record to be held confidentially in the east wing. Entire underground operations have been completely wiped from the record by the efforts of the Special Counsel, their assets seized and the very existence of the individuals and organization scrubbed from Imperial paperwork. To all official entities, it is as if they never existed.

Responsibilities/Purview

• Receives official accounts of income from citizens, officials, and foreigners doing business
• Performs regular and irregular audits to ensure accurate reporting
• Tracks official expenditures for compliance with the Imperial Mandate
• Ensures foreign trade goes through authorized channels, tariffs, etc., and that unauthorized business is reported
• Identifies citizens who are conducting illegal business and corrects their practice

Off Topic

Taxes are assumed to have been taken out of the base wage automatically. You do not need to calculate wages differently. However, if you would like to avoid paying taxes, please speak to Mayhem or Mirage.

--

To help with character creation, here is a list of possible occupations tied to the Office of Internal Revenue. This list is not conclusive, and as always, feel free to contact Mayhem or Mirage if you need assistance.

General Counsel
Accountant
Clerk
Lawyer
Auditor
Secretary

Special Counsel
Auditor
Bookkeeper
Accountant
Secretary
Archivist
Case Manager

Created with assistance from Imogen.

.