Bills

WHEREAS Marti-Pair Furxheir had a good idea, and

WHEREAS it is good to not only encourage another area of Talossan activity, but also to make opportunities for usefulness, and

WHEREAS the overall structure of a future business world can be laid, with care and thoughtfulness, while also providing a service to today's businesses. This service is to provide them with a manner in which they can uniquely appeal to Talossan customers, while at the same time benefiting our country, by delineating a method to certify a business's donations made to the country, and

WHEREAS careful numbering will allow the future substitution and discussion of this act with ease, and thus its appearance, and so much of the wording has been changed from the sources, and

THEREFORE:

1. The Minister of Finance is empowered to create the Bureau of Corporations, which body shall be responsible for the registration of all Talossan corporations and businesses, the enforcement of applicable business laws, and such further tasks as may seem fit by the Ziu. Should and until the Minister of Finance creates such a Bureau, the Minister of Finance shall hold these responsibilities and others listed herein, and execute them to the best of his or her ability.

2. The Bureau of Corporations shall issue licenses in a timely fashion to all those corporations and businesses that apply for one. Application is voluntary and free.

3. The Bureau of Corporations may also register official articles of incorporation for a corporation when applying for a license. Registration of such articles is voluntary and free. A registered corporation need not be registered in any other country. Registered articles shall be considered binding. Registered articles shall be a matter of public record.

4. An application for a business license must include the following information:

The name under which the corporation will do business in Talossa.

The name of the citizen that owns the business and who has applied for registration.

The type of business.

The status of the business, either profit or non-profit.

The name of the business outside of Talossa, if desired.

The articles of incorporation for the business, if applicable.

5. Business licenses shall be issued by the Bureau in a standardized format, including all of the above information, and assigning each business its own official number. This number shall be composed of three digits to indicate the year of registration combined with three digits to indicate the order a business was registered, beginning with 001. For example, a business, registered in 2012/XXXIII, that was the seventh business registered in Talossa, would have the number 033007. Changes to this numbering scheme may be made at the discretion of the Bureau, but are discouraged. Business licenses shall be a matter of public record, and will be made available by the Bureau on request.

6. Talossan businesses may choose to become official Supporters of Talossa. This distinction is achieved when the Bureau certifies that the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue has received a donation of at least 13ℓ from that business. Such a business is entitled to describe itself in advertising as a Supporter of Talossa. The Bureau shall maintain a public list of Supporters of Talossa.

7. A business that advertises itself as a Supporter of Talossa, without having been certified by the Bureau, is in violation of the law. The registered owner of this business shall be subject to a fine of 5ℓ. If a business is not registered, then the individual who produced the advertising shall be subject to this fine, instead.

WHEREAS no citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa currently may hold citizenship in what is legally defined as micronation, and

WHEREAS this policy was enacted to avoid divisive entanglements with what were perceived as "bug nations", but is itself the cause of as much divisiveness as any bug, and

WHEREAS the Kingdom of Talossa should not concern itself with micronations unless they actually pose a threat to Talossa, now

THEREFORE 37RZ2, The What’s The Difference Act, is hereby repealed, but the repeal is not intended to revive any of the statutes repealed by that Act.

FURTHERMORE the Ziu hereby enacts as follows:

1. A micronation is hereby defined for all purposes of Talossan law to be any society of persons (whether claiming territorial sovereignty or not) that

a. claims a governmental organization and citizenry and

b. is not a member of the United Nations and

c. is not a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization and

d. is not the Kingdom of Talossa, or a subdivision thereof, or officially recognised by the Kingdom of Talossa.

2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall keep a blacklist of micronations that are considered a threat to the Kingdom of Talossa due to the commission of hostile acts or demonstration of hostile intent against the Kingdom of Talossa. Micronations may be added to or removed from the blacklist by law.[/i]

3. It is a criminal act for any Talossan citizen to knowingly accept or hold citizenship in a blacklisted micronation. The Attorney-General, on being informed of any alleged violation of this act, and upon verifying the same to his personal and legal satisfaction, shall immediately notify the accused that the government has determined that valid cause exists for a criminal case to be brought against the citizen. After providing this notification, the Attorney-General shall allow ten days for the accused to dissolve any and all allegiance to the micronation, or to organize a defence against the charge. If, after this ten day period, the Attorney-General determines that the criminal act yet continues, he shall immediately file criminal charges against the accused. If after this ten day period, the Attorney-General determines that the criminal activity has permanently ceased, or the micronation was removed from the blacklist, he shall not file the considered charges.

4. Non-citizens who would be in violation of section 3 of this Act upon becoming Talossan citizens are not eligible for Talossan citizenship, and the Ministry of Immigration may require prospective Talossan citizens to certify that they are not citizens of any blacklisted micronation.

5. All members of the Ziu, the Cabinet, the Uppermost Court, the Magistrate's Court, the Chancery, or the Royal Treasury must report the following information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within 15 days of assuming the aforementioned office or of a change in micronational status, whichever is later:
a) All micronations of which he/she is a member.
b) All offices he/she holds in these micronations.

6. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall make any information reported under section 5 available to any Talossan citizen upon request.

7. It is a criminal act for anyone holding an office mentioned in clause 5 of this Act to provide false information about his/her micronational involvement.

8. It is a criminal act for the Minister of Foreign Affairs or the Minister of Defence to seek, accept, or hold citizenship in a micronation.

9. "Citizenship" in a micronation, for the purposes of this act, shall not include "honourary citizenship," where the honourary citizenship:
-does not entitle the honouree to vote in the micronation's elections,
-does not entitle the honouree to hold political, governmental, or administrative office in the micronation,
-does not obligate the honouree, after the grant of honourary citizenship to pay taxes, fees resembling taxes, or membership dues, and
-does not create any continuing obligation or bond of allegiance to the micronation.

10. Commission of any of the criminal acts defined in this Act constitutes a class A misdemeanour for a first offence, and a class I felony for a subsequent offence.