Is it just me or has the art style shifted a bit? The faces are drawn longer than before. Look at his face on the last page, and compare it to Chp 1 where there's a similar angle.
The DLC gear exists in the world as normal clothing. He calls it DLC gear because he only knows of it through the DLCs.
Just like how the info about the 6 Sages sounded like a setup for a DLC, as said in previous chapters.
45% tax sounds high but IRL you pay much more in taxes without realizing.
There's sales taxes that can range from city to county to state. Tax on gasoline, depending on the state. Property tax varies wildly too, depending on where you live.
AFAIK in CA there's a tax on processed foods that...