When I had to explain this game to a friend something obvious stand out.
As player I have 3 ways to generate income (gold)
This third point attracted my attention. Where do my villager legally get their gold from? As far as I am aware of, there is no salary and no shared or community gold.
Markets don’t sell, they collect the taxes from your housing.
I think thats the point hes asking: where do these golds come from when you start?
I dont think this has an obvious explanation, but probably immigrats carry some golds with them into your town, perhaps? Or this is just some unexplained silly feature that devs didnt give too much importance because “its meant to be a fantasy world” or whatever.
They don’t pay you for furniture and stuff, you don’t pay their salaries (except guards, …) … they decided to simplify everything like that.
well, they call it “taxes” but what is that for? I’d say it’s for getting supplied with food and goods
means: they pay for it indirectly
but that’s not the point. I know that the gold is not “generated” in some way. This system is used for balance purposes.
At some point we need to establish services. This need to specific actions to maintain.
Ratcatcher, faeces collector, medi, guards, soldiers…have costs, so you need this imaginary income. I assume that is used to prevent overuse of services.
I am not sure if that is really necessary.
and it doesn’t matter anyways. Who did ever have any financial problems in this game? There is no need of neither taxes nor service costs.
Where do they get the gold to pay taxes?
Do you have the income from luxury goods under #3? If not, that would be #4. Spices area HUGE boost to income with fully upgraded houses.
I know where I get the gold from 
but where do THEY get the gold to pay the taxes for the luxuries I provide them
Yeah, there’s no expense for the workers unless they’re soldiers or guards. Even the healer’s hut and such are attributed to the building itself.
They’ve run away from the evil Feudal lords with their heartless taxes, just to become tax-paying serfs under the players rule.
They even mint their own coins out of thin air for the privilige to get food and shelter in exchange of their hard labour in the mines…
I think the house/upgraded houses just generate the gold for the taxes and based on it’s level it makes more. Kind of weird i know but i believe thats whats going on.