CCP Soundwave has taken the time to write a dev blog entry explaining why NPC corporations are now being taxed 11 percent. It seems the main impetus behind the change is to motivate players to join a player corporation, although Soundwave emphasized the tax is not meant to "destroy" NPC corporations.

There were other reasons behind the addition of the tax. Between war immunity and no taxes, NPC corporations had an inherent advantage over player corps. Also, it's unrealistic to think a government wouldn't tax its citizens. Soundwave says that the the 11 percent tax may be increased if it doesn't provide the intended balance. You can read the full blog entry after the jump.

As some of you have noticed, NPC corporations on Singularity are now being taxed at 11%. This corporation tax functions in the exact same way you know them from player corporations; a certain part of your hard earned income disappears and you probably never see it again. Now that I think about it, it functions a lot like taxes in real life do... oh well. The tax applies to mission rewards, bounties and the likes, so if you're worried that your corporation will suddenly take a large chunk out of your wallet, don't be; that is not how it works. If you are in Faction Warfare, you do not need to worry either, the militias will not be taxed. Service guarantees citizenship and all that, so keep on trucking.

So why this change?

• It seems like an unrealistic scenario that the empires in EVE provide infrastructure, security and a host of other financially demanding services at no cost. I sometimes read people complaining about how EVEs physics are unrealistic, but on the realism scale, that still pales compared to a government that refuses to tax its citizens.
• NPC corporations are meant to be temporary spaces where people can go about their daily activities while searching for a player corporation. Currently the level of comfort they provide, both in terms of war declaration immunity and 0% tax, give them an inherent advantage over player corporations which was never intended. Hopefully, this will let player corporations compete on equal footing with NPC corporations.
• We would prefer that players join player corporations, or other entities that shape the world of EVE at a higher degree than the NPC corporations do, due to their impersonal and somewhat isolated role. That said, this change is not implemented to “destroy” NPC corps, they should be considered a small motivation to join a player corporation, where you can develop and flourish as a player.

So why 11%?

• After researching average taxes on player corporations, this number seems the most fair, when it comes to maintaining the balance between giving player corporations a competitive edge, and still keeping NPCs habitable. The large majority of corporations in EVE have relatively low levels of tax, which should be reflected in the NPC corporation taxes.
• 11% is our starting estimate. If it turns out that this number is too low and the changes do not have the impact we hope, it can always be adjusted to a higher level. Right now though, we are hoping 11% will provide the balance we are looking for.

So you are in a NPC corporation, what now?

• This might be the perfect time to start looking around for a player corporation. There are several places to look, such as the recruitment forum on eve-online.com, in-game adverts or the recruitment channel.
• If you are in the habit of bossing people or pets around in real life, you may just want to start your own corporation. Corporations do not need a thousand members to be enjoyable, in fact, many people prefer smaller corporations to the bigger ones.
• Still want to stay in an NPC corporation? That’s absolutely fine too, but remember this: while you may escape death in EVE, taxes will still get you.