How about being able to vary the tribute rate per member?  A guy does well, he gets to only pay 10%, a guy does something wrong he's kicking up 90%.  Maybe the lesser ranks get a tribute cut, maybe hey pay more as an incentive to rank.  Your thoughts?

I think your suggestion makes some sense, but not exactly in the way you reason.
I doubt for example in the real mafia a thug paid the same amount as a consig to his don, % wise I mean...

With the introduction of associates the above gets a bit more sensible since a lower member technically doesn't walk up to his Don to pay him a tribute, no the lower member works for a member in the Don's family and tributes to him, exactly what you and The_Stig have going on at the moment to be honest. You in your turn pay tribute to me etc.

I can be wrong, but I think thats how it really works... but to imply that into a game.. ufff.

Also if a member is seriously doing something wrong he won't live much longer.

I really don't think this will work out, as certain family members might feel insulted and less-valued than other mobsters.

"as certain family members might feel insulted and less-valued than other mobsters."

While this may be difficult to code, or unneccessary, I sincerely hope that the rationale for this not being implemented is not "people's feeling will be hurt".

Mr. Lombardi... you are playing a game that is supposed to reflect organized crime of the past.

When the Captains feature was first suggested it was in order to deal with issues such as this.

A Don is extremely unlikely to employ directly, Thugs, Gangsters etc. These should be dealt with by the Made Men in the employ of a Capo. A tribute could then be charged seperate to that of the actual family, the crew would likely be more heavily taxed as they are newer, desperate to earn and prove themselves. 

Just because we've chosen to make Dons Captains with crews 50 members strong doesn't mean they could not be Capos with only a handful of Made Men + their associates.

~T~

I think that as you progress through the ranks you should have (at Made and above) more associates and have direct say over their taxation - in turn, the Made or above that has associates could be taxed at a higher rate

The issue with 'taxation' is that it doesn't need to be hardcoded.

By roleplaying it, it makes it far more interesting. It gives members the opportunity to really prove themselves (by donating well in a family with low 'taxes') or to try and abuse the leaders good will (by not donating). By making it a more optional/voluntary donation instead of a hardcoded one, it makes it a far more interesting postion to be in as a leader in my humble opinion.

This can all be monitored by a leader, so means that with a little work they know who is doing their fair share and who is not pulling their weight in the family.

Some family structures are broken down in sub crews, each run by a capo. In this set up, each capo is responsible for making collections from the members and then the capo donates to the boss.

By not simply relying on the "% take" available on the crew page, any scenario can be roleplayed out. It just takes the will of the leader to do it and a very small ammount of work. So putting time into 'variable taxes' is not seomthing I would deem as necessary.