Questions
Will LocalDonation change the necessity of a wealth tax?
No. Through donations it will never be possible to raise as much money as possible to raise through taxes.
Why should I donate to a government when I already pay taxes?
At the current tax systems are high administration costs, high depts with sometimes high interest rates need to get paid back, governments do corruption like money laundering for example through genocides, war, coal and weapon support and local projects too rarely get funded.
By concrete donations projects can get funded for which governments usually don’t have enough money for. It’s ensured that the governments don’t use the donations to repay any depts or do corruption with it. A lot of money that was before untaxed can get accessed for public benefit through the process of donating.
Do the rich people decide what gets build?
Not completely. The process of donating to governments is very old and is already often done and is currently just sticked to a lot of backroom politics and relations. We make it only as easy, transparent and democratic as possible. We have two voting steps: first the citizens vote, then the governments. The voting is the first importance factor for decisions then the money. The tax deductibility is in most countries only for work income. The rich people usually made their money with investment returns and are therefore not able to put the donations in tax return. Nevertheless we are relying on the rich people’s money to be able to face humanities challenges. Furthermore everybody is able to decide on which amount of donations he applies to a project to implement it.
Does every donation count?
Yes. Every donation counts. The more money gets donated, the higher is the incentive to apply to the biddings to implement the projects. People can also implement the projects without any donations and only the building licence. But that might change from project and regulations.
Get richer regions better funded?
Not completely. Through donations the governments can save money in richer regions which can be used in poorer regions.
Are my donations to the projects tax-deductible?
Whether the donations are tax-deductible depends on the country and the institution responsible for the project and the country of the donator. In Germany donations to governments are usually tax-deductible. Means donators get on up to 20% of the work income their taxes back when they donate them to charitable organisations.
Don’t I sabotage the local governments financially through the tax deductibility of donations?
Usually the national governments repay the taxes. But that differs from country to country.
What am I allowed to post?
LocalDonation fights for freedom of speech and fights against senceless regulations and corruption.
In which row do the governments consider the suggestions?
We demand in the row of the best voting score from local votes an answer from the governments on the suggestions.
Is everybody able to vote everywhere?
We have a filter planned that distinguishes local votes from general votes. Only local votes are counted in the relevant row of requests from the government. That states also the German petition law.
How long does it take until a government replies to a suggestion?
It can last years until a suggestion gets a response. It is the duty for governments in some countries like Germany to accept or reject the suggestions because we legally form them as petitions and the German petition law obliges the governments to consider the petitions. But they don’t need to state a reason for their decision. Other countries might have different participation mechanisms.
Can organisations also raise funds on LocalDonation?
Yes. There will also be the opportunity for example for associations, living communities, the church and jewish kibbutzim to collect and manage donations with adjustable community moderation and monetization. For example to deduct usual organisation contibutions like rents with donations and moderate organisation members.
Can individual persons also collect donations?
Yes. It will be possible to collect donations for personal purposes and for others purposes also.
Will there be the necessity of identity card verification?
Yes. Otherwise votings could get manipulated. In addition this increases the incentive for a possitive communication because people can get legally prosecuted. Also the location is determined though the identity card what is relevant for the distinction between local and general votes.
Why do you support crypto currencies?
Crypto currencies are especially interesting at corruption for the traceability of donations and in regions with a high currency inflation rate to protect the donations value against the regions currency inflation rate.
Which crypto currencies do you support?
All carbon dioxide emission efficient currencies.
Is the software open source?
Yes. The software is open source. On that way everybody can develop new features, adjust the platform to local regulations or needs.
How do you make money?
We take a donation charge, what is changable and depending on the payment method and version of the receiver. We accept voluntary donations also in crypto currencies and sell merchandise, for example stickers, caps, tshirts and pullies. Furthermore we show advertisement and sell premium versions with some extra features, like: no advertisement, a special higher listing for donators, a voluntary tag in the profile, advanced coloured modes and app-icons. We offer a premium version for governments where we help them to add LocalDonation to their regular bookkeepings, and a premium version for organisations with advanced community moderation and community monetization features.