After 100ish hours I finally understand taxation in eu5. That game is too dense sometimes. I guess it makes sense to enrich your populace and then tax them thus getting more money via taxation but it's not really explained how you do that. A few estate privs and good RGOs later and I'm seeing how people get to the point they swim in gold. Add in the peasant market buildings and roads it gets spicy. Playing as Aragon who actually has a bit of a rough start economically but I took Navarra and Granada while castile was busy with the BBB and it's not even 1400.

edit; holy shit just survived a war against castile, didn't get any territory but showed i could go toe-to-toe with them. gonna be an interesting playthrough.