When does the Tax Collector's ability trigger for characters that have abilities that involve the end of their turn? My specific examples are as follows: The Alchemist builds a district with all of their gold. Does the gold he spent return and THEN he is taxed, or is the tax ineffective because there is no gold and only then he gets his gold back? The Diplomat's ability says that at the end of his turn, he may use the swap ability. Can he do this (and thus use up an remaining gold he has) or must he pay the Tax Collector first?
1 Answer
The alchemist description found in the rules, page 18, strongly suggest that first the tax collector taxes the alchemist, then the alchemist gets money back from his construction. Then, if the alchemist has no money after building something, the tax collector gets nothing. See also a similar question on BGG.
Applying the same rationale, the diplomat swapping ability will be effective in the end of the turn, after he pays the tax collector. Note that the diplomat's collection of coins from red districts may happen before or after building something (if the player wants it, of course), as stated in the rulebook, page 12. The end of turn happens after that.
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That's the rationale I was using. However, the diplomat's ability specifically states that it is done at the end of his turn (and I think this implies that he cannot collect from a newly acquired building). Apr 19, 2014 at 21:45
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No, the coin collection is not restricted to the end of the turn, only the swapping. Please, refer to the rules, pg 18.– RamiroApr 19, 2014 at 21:49
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"At the end of your turn, you may take a district from another player's city in exchange for a district in your city." Apr 19, 2014 at 22:45
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Yes. That's about swaping, not about collecting coins from red districts.– RamiroApr 20, 2014 at 12:06
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Oh, now that I read your previous comment more carefully, I understood what you meant. Like the diplomat swapping ability, the alchemist ability is triggered at the end of the turn but prior to that, he must deal with the tax collector ability. But the bonus coins the diplomat gets from red district happen prior or after building. This rule about bonus coin collection is explained in the manual, page 12. The end of the turn begins is reached after everything else is done, including the collection of this bonus.– RamiroApr 20, 2014 at 23:10