ebuckley / legislation_as_code Goto Github PK

Hello,

The formula you used in your code is quite straightforward:
(household_income - base_rate) / (dependants_number * 0.1 * rate)

However, disregarding the constants which change on a regular basis, the law specify a wealth of other conditions:

And so, the formula used does not: 1) take into account 2/3 of amounts exceeding a threshold; 2) consider $1 for each $8 exceeding a threshold,; 3) adjust it for each dependent by $500, etc.
A formula much closer to the text would appear to be:

I've been digging through the minutes and documents published but could not find any explanation as to the choice of the formula, despite it being a crucial element in encoding the Rates Rebate Act. Would you be able to let us know how you came to choosing this formula? Why did you disregard certain elements in the original legal text?

Using the example which you have in your code (household income of 45000, 2 dependents, 2000 rate), your output gives a rate of 75, whereas the closed formula from above yields 0---quite a notable difference in other words.

We're in the midst of writing an academic book on the subject and would very much appreciate being able to include a rationale behind this discrepancy.

Many thanks in advance for your answer!
Best wishes,
Clement