Economy of Arvor

The economy of Arvor is the fourth largest in the world. It operates on the principles of consumer socialism. The country maintains extensive and diverse operations, focused on mining, manufacturing, agriculture, and services. The nation's dynamic educational system plays an important role in the nation's ongoing efforts to remain on the cutting edge of scientific and technological development.

Overview

Under the consumer socialist model, Arvor maintains the view that all citizens and firms should be free to produce, trade, and consume the goods and services they need or want without fear or use of force, fraud, or theft. Government intervention and regulation are varied depending on the sector, and taxation is even, both designed to encourage and sustain economic growth. The law focuses on consumer protections and on the rights of workers and firms to be secure in their properties while also ensuring the promotion of healthy competition and innovation.

Business environment

According to law, all foreign businesses must maintain a registered agent in the ADR to do business in the country. Domestic firms serve as their own registered agents, typically. Subsidiaries of foreign owned firms may serve as registered agent for both, and the foreign business may hire a registered agent. These agents see to the necessities of legal process, required filings, and other services as may be required or desired.

Legal structures for businesses in Arvor consist primarily of the following:

Business types

There are two primary categories of businesses within Arvor: the co-operative and the proprietorship. The former encompasses all large and medium-sized firms, while the latter typically is small businesses with only a local presence.

Co-operative

The co-operative firm is a business where all employees collectively own and manage the enterprise and have direct involvement in its operations. This structure was designed in Arvor and has become the standard large business model for consumer socialist business. There are several subtypes of co-operatives:

Production co-operative: производственный кооператив or PK, these firms specialise in the production of various goods or materials used by other firms and by the populace. Examples include PK YZUMASH, PK LIRMEKH, and the state enterprises GP Arvostal and GP Biodizprom.
Services co-operative: сервисный кооператив or SK, these firms specialise in various services, such as telecommunications, retail, and various personal service fields. Examples include SK Arvotel, SK Gold Ribbon, and SK IG Tabulation.

Proprietorship

The proprietorship is a business structure designed for small businesses, such as coffee shops, a chemist, or a bookstore, such as you would find on any town or village's high street. There are two subtypes of proprietorships:

Sole proprietorship: единоличное владение or YV, these are small businesses where one individual owns and operates their business.
Co-proprietorship: совместное владение or SV, these are small businesses where two to four (typically) individuals jointly own and operate their business.

Domestic stock companies have their stocks traded predominantly on the Sevestroma Exchange. It is located in the country's largest city of the same name, and is also the site of foreign trading.

The ADR maintains strong laws aimed at the protection of intellectual property, such as trademarks, patents, and copyrights. To ensure and preserve effective competition, the law provides for merger and acquisitions management under the oversight of the State Financial Monitoring Service (Gosmonitor). This agency is responsible for investigating potential mergers or acquisitions and ensure that monopoly status is not acquired. Additionally, Gosmonitor investigates and takes measures against such prohibited corporate activities as exclusive dealing and insider trading.

All businesses within the ADR, regardless of size, profits, or any other factor, must register with the State Taxation Service (Gosnalo), an executive agency of the Ministry of Finance. The Service maintains the National Registry of Companies. Should one business merge with another, or close its doors, it must likewise report this to Gosnalo.

Consumer protections

By law, no business within the ADR, either foreign or domestic, may engage in any activity considered to be predatory, manipulative, or misleading. They likewise cannot engage in exploitive pricing or price gouging. It is likewise against the law to make the purchase of any good or service contingent on the purchase of another good or service. Consumers are expected to ensure adequate service and maintenance of their purchases but cannot be forced into honouring a warranty or guarantee provision subject to any conditions of sale beyond initial purchase. Businesses are forbidden from discriminating on pricing, and by law all products must have their purchase price including value-added tax clearly marked.

Worker rights

All workers in the ADR enjoy various rights and protections that ensure they are simultaneously able to both earn the wages to sustain their livelihood and have the ability to address any and all necessary aspects of their personal affairs without fear of reprisal or restriction. Many of these were enacted during the Belikov administration and have remained cornerstones of the nation's economic freedoms ever since. They include:

Assurance of a living wage in accordance with the national law "On the minimum wage".
Three weeks of guaranteed vacation time per year (excluding bank holidays).
Six weeks of guaranteed sick leave with provision for more in the event of serious illness or injury.
Twelve weeks of paid parental leave.
Classification as full-time when working 60 hours per week or more.
Limitation to no more than 75 hours per working week, with anything beyond 65 hours being classified as overtime, which is paid at time and a half.
Protection against summary termination or suspension without the right to review and arbitration.
The right to meet with a labour advocate in the event it is necessary to lodge a complaint or request arbitration of an issue of concern.

Taxation

Arvor has a simple, no-frills taxation scheme. Businesses pay a 15% tax on net income. There is an additional 5% dividends tax on income distributions (such as payouts to investors and co-operative members), and there is also a 15% tax on profits repatriated by foreign companies. A foreign company is defined any entity whose ownership is held outside the borders of the ADR. Mechanisms within Arvorian law do not recognise firms operating facilities within the nation and claiming them as "local headquarters" in an attempt to bypass the tax. Attempts to do so will be met with sanctions and, if necessary, forced closure of the establishments in question.

Article I, Subsection VII of the Common Charter includes what is known as the Balanced Budget Clause - the People's Government cannot spend more than its income. Subsection VIII, known as the Programme Review Clause, requires that all programmes established by the ADR, with certain limited exclusions, are subject to review and renewal every five years.

Types of taxation

A value-added tax (налог на добавленную стоимость) is applied to all consumer goods at 5% and is applied when any good or service is offered for sale at wholesale or retail. Property tax is based on the value of land and levied at 5% and excludes any improvements. These taxes are collected by Gosnalo and dispersed to the oblasts and municipalities. On the national level, all citizens pay a base 10% tax on their annual income, which increases progressively depending on the income of a citizen or household, up to a maximum of 25%. There are no death or inheritance taxes. A 15% supplemental tax is paid on any and all capital gains transferred out of the ADR.

The ADR maintains a standard import tariff rate of 5% on wholesale prices before value-added tax, with export tariffs ranging from 2% to 10% depending on the commodity. There is no export duty on finished goods with an assessment of 2.5% on intermediate goods. Natural resources, as a general rule, are not exported.

Tax exemptions are granted by Gosnalo on a very limited status. Religious organisations are not granted any such status and are required to pay taxes as normal and are permitted to own only the land and facilities their worship facility is set on. No business or other organisation is permitted, by law, to conceal its records from Gosnalo for any reason should they request to access them and attempts to do so will trigger an inquiry which can lead to financial penalties and other sanctions.

Filing taxes

All Arvorian citizens are required to file their taxes annually, submitting their Individual Tax Return Form (Форма индивидуальной налоговой декларации) to Gosnalo no later than the last day of Estorun each year. The form consists of two pages (front and back) and is completed either by the individual citizen or jointly by a married couple, who will denote this status on the first page. After Gosnalo completes its review and analysis of the filing, it will send one of two return statements to the citizen or couple - a Statement of Individual Reporting, Complete (Заявление об индивидуальной отчетности, полное) which indicates their filing is complete and all taxes paid, or a Statement of Individual Reporting, Partial (Заявление об индивидуальной отчетности, частичное) which informs them of any difference owed on their taxes for the previous year and giving them 90 days to pay the amount owed either in full or to make the first installment payment according to the details provided.

All Arvorian firms are required to file their taxes throughout the year in monthly installments, to minimise complications and additional paperwork with the annual filing. These are required to be submitted using the Business Tax Return Report (Отчет о налоговой декларации бизнеса) to Gosnalo no later than the last day of Estorun each year. The firm's tax specialist or accounts department will be responsible for this work. As with a private citizen's filing, Gosnalo will review and analyse the submitted forms and ensure that all data reported is accurate. The firm will then receive a Statement of Business Reporting, Complete (Заявление о деловой отчетности, полное) or a Statement of Business Reporting, Partial (Отчет о деловой отчетности, частичный) accordingly.

Sectors

There is considerable diversity in Arvor's economic sectors. The industry sector accounts for 33.6% of gross domestic product (GDP), the mining sector for 11.2%, agriculture 7.5%, and the services sector accounts for the remaining 47.7%.

Manufacturing

The ADR maintains an extensive manufacturing sector, encompassing everything from automobiles and construction vehicles to home appliances, tools, and machinery. The products of this sector are manufactured for both domestic and foreign trade. Firms also produce both finished and intermediate goods, such as sheet and rolled metals, plastics, small parts and components, and chemicals.

Mining

The ADR operates mines primarily in the northeast and northwest, where raw materials for industrial and commercial use are extracted. All mining operations in the nation are conducted in accordance with strict environmental protection laws. Originally, iron ore and coal were the top mined resources in the ADR, but with the depletion of world coal resources, biodiesel has supplanted coal in recent decades. With the gradual phase-out of fossil fuel power uranium has become the preeminent fuel source mined, with some of the ore used in a variety of scientific and industrial efforts. This, too, is done under very strictly enforced guidelines.

Services

As in many other developed countries, the service sector has grown to be the largest economic sector. This encompasses administrative and support personnel who with both in business and government, as well as those in banking and finance, tourism, and transport. Education and healthcare count for a sizable portion of service jobs, as well.

Tourism

Arvor's popularity as a tourist destination comes from its relatively mild climate and rich cultural heritage. The nation has seen an average of twenty million tourists a year over the last decade.

Infrastructure

The ADR maintains an extensive infrastructure network, including one of the world's most power production networks. This network, as well as the national water and heat networks, are overseen by the various responsible agencies of the Ministry of Infrastructure, with certified contractor agencies being used to handle necessary works.

Energy

Main article: Energy production in Arvor

As of 1 Vetrun 7690 RH, the ADR is the world's XXth biggest consumer of energy and the XXth-largest producer. The nation is home to several companies which specialise in the production of generators and power systems, including one of the world's most prominent developers and manufacturers of nuclear power plants - PK Energia. In 7689 RH, 71% of the nation's electricity was produced by nuclear power. Of the remainder, 18% was produced by hydro, 9% by solar, and 2% by wind. Coal has been completely phased out as fuel sources in the country since the end of TBD RH.

Transport

A high-speed rail network known as Gosdoroga serves all of Arvor's largest cities and many of its smaller ones, with routes going through all 48 oblasts, and is one of the largest in the world. Small towns and villages also have access at local stations and connecting bus service. The trains provide three classes of service and routes running long-distance routes include amenities such as club and dining cars. Dedicated freight rail service tends to run adjacent to the high-speed passenger lines, and on occasion shares the same alignment. In this manner, goods and supplies can be shipped nationally with minimal fuss.

Waterways both coastal and inland, most of them manmade, provide additional means of access for goods and passengers to move from one location to another. This mode of transport is prevalent on the coasts. Additionally, numerous cities maintain extensive seaports for handling import-export activity, and international shipping. All transport-related concerns within the ADR are co-ordinated via the Ministry of Transport.

Trade

Arvor maintains an open market and promotes extensive international trade. The country exports a variety of inexpensive consumer goods such as appliances, electronics, automobiles, home goods, and furniture. Other products frequently exported include pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, textiles, finished metal goods, plastics, chemicals, some foodstuffs, industrial equipment, and machinery. The nation also imports some foreign-made autos and machinery, as well as other industrial products.

Currency and monetary policy

Arvor's currency is the rezat (резать, meaning "cut", symbol ₽), which divides into 100 delit (делить, meaning "to divide"). Issued by Gosbank, commonly used banknotes come in denominations of ₽5, ₽10, ₽20, ₽50, and ₽100. The delit comes in denominations of 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.25, and 0.50, as well as ₽1 and ₽2. Gosbank sets the value of the rezat based on a band influenced by the exchange rate of several currencies, including the Livarian voran.