Money and the budget
Taxes, charges you can set, and where the money goes.
The city earns money from taxes and from what it charges, and spends it on roads and services. Open the budget window to change any of these. Higher charges make people less happy, and unhappy people pay only half their tax.
What you can set, and where it starts
| Charge | Starting value |
|---|---|
| Residential tax | 100% of the usual rate |
| Commercial tax | 100% of the usual rate |
| Office tax | 100% of the usual rate |
| Industrial tax | 100% of the usual rate |
| Electricity bill | $0.02 |
| Water bill | $0.02 |
| School fees | Free |
| Community college tuition | $0.20 |
| University tuition | $1.50 |
| Hospital charge | Free |
| Bus fare | $0.05 |
| Ride-hailing licence fee | $0.15 |
Where money comes from
- Taxes on residents, shops, offices and industry. Income tax is 2% of what each resident earns at the usual rate.
- Bills and fees: electricity, water, school fees, tuition, hospital charges, bus fares and the ride-hailing licence.
- Property tax on estates.
- Farms, mines and oil selling what they produce.
- Fines and tickets written by the police.
- Parking fees at garages (starting at $0.10) and attractions.
- Tickets and tourism: what residents and visitors pay at attractions.
Where money goes
- Roads: a small running cost for every block of road.
- Services: each school, park, garage, station, hospital and plant has a running cost, listed on its wiki entry.
- Buses: each bus stop has a running cost.
- Businesses, estates and farms cost the city nothing to run.
Game time and pay day
One game day takes about an hour of real time at normal speed, and 20 minutes at 3x. The city is paid once a day, at midnight: the day's taxes less the day's running costs, plus the fees and fines taken that day. The top bar shows the daily balance. Charges in the table above are by the game hour.
The reference pages are made from the game's own data, version 1.8. Numbers can change between versions.