After a pause, Chongzhen said again: "So I deliberately want to simplify the tax law, which is convenient for the people and the court, and makes it difficult for corrupt officials and subordinates to make profits from it."
Upon hearing this, the court officials present immediately became vigilant.
Zhang Shenyan also became expressionless, this is a century-old plan!
Tax law reform has not been easy since ancient times, and it has always been accompanied by bloodshed.
As the chief assistant, Zhang Shenyan felt that he had the responsibility and obligation to advise: "I would like to remind you that the reform of tax laws is a century-old plan. You must not be careless and you must not ignore it. I think you should think twice about it!"
Meng Zhaoxiang also echoed: "The Two Taxes Law of the Tang Dynasty was one of the whip laws of this dynasty. At the beginning of the reform, they claimed to be convenient for the people, but in the end the results were often counterproductive. Not only did the people not benefit from the convenience, but they also suffered a greater burden."
Liu Lishun also echoed: "I also think that it is better to be still than to move."
No minister supports it. Sad
Everyone opposed Chongzhen's reform of tax laws.
Even Zhu Cixi was opposed to it, but he didn't say it.
This result was already expected by Chongzhen. After all, every change in the past has been accompanied by bloody storms, and the results are not necessarily good.
But Chongzhen was not in a hurry.
Because the biggest obstacle has been cleared.
At that moment, Chongzhen continued: "What if I tell you that we will abolish all miscellaneous taxes, including Ding tax, and only retain the land tax as a regular tax?"
"Ah? Abolish all miscellaneous taxes?" Shang
"Will the corvee be abolished?"
"Only land tax is left as a regular tax?"
"This, this, this, is this okay?"
"I'm afraid there will be an increasing shortage of national supplies."
This is indeed a bit unexpected.
I didn’t expect that the tax law reform of the Holy Spirit would be such a reform.
Thinking about it carefully, well, it seems pretty good. At least it’s convenient for the people, it’s convenient for the court, and the subordinate officials in charge of taxation have no room for rent, because the land tax is calculated.
Unlike miscellaneous taxes, there is a lot of room for maneuver.
For example, the division chief and subordinate officials have the final say on how to distribute the corvee.
If they don't like you, the subordinate officials can make your family pay equal labor every year to ensure that the procedures are in compliance.
Here it is necessary to introduce the tax law of the Ming Dynasty. The tax law of the Ming Dynasty is divided into three categories. The first category is the land tax, which is also the regular tax, which is five liters, three in five spoons per mu for official land, three liters, three in five spoons per mu for civilian land, and three liters and five spoons per mu for civilian land.
Relatives of the emperor received royal favor and were exempted from regular taxes, but officials and gentry still had to pay formal taxes in name.
But this is only in name. In fact, officials and gentry can use their power to achieve the effect of not paying taxes through means such as cheating and spreading. Guiding is to transfer the cultivated land under their own name to someone else's name.
To spread is to transfer one's own farmland to others, and let others pay the regular taxes on their behalf.
Therefore, except for the honest peasants with no personal connections, the wealthy gentry, the royal relatives and the clans and vassals, no one pays taxes seriously. In the early days of the founding of the country, because there were few powerful people and many farmers, the problem was not big. However, by the end of the dynasty, a large amount of land was concentrated to the point where
In the hands of the powerful who do not need to pay taxes, tax sources will be lost in large quantities and financial problems will arise.
The second major category of tax law in the Ming Dynasty is the Ding tax, which is the head tax. There was no Ding tax in the Ming Dynasty. After Zhang Juzheng implemented a whip law, the corvee was divided into two parts, one part was allocated to the field tax, and the other part was divided into two parts.
The tax was levied on a per-capita basis, with preferential treatment for women and children. The original intention was to reduce the burden on the common people, but it backfired. The end result was that the land tax increased, the corvee still paid, and there was an additional head tax. Sad.
There are regular dices, half dices and remainder dices, but the standards are different anyway.
The different standards gave tax collectors and well-connected wealthy gentry families a lot of room for maneuver.
The third major category of the Ming Dynasty's tax law was corvee, which was a variety of servants forcibly assigned by the government to the common people, such as working as servants in yamen, inns, docks and other places, etc. Zhang Juzheng followed the whip method and collected it on a per capita basis in the form of ding silver.
However, not long after Zhang Juzheng's death, the corvee returned, but no more missions were sent, and only silver was paid.
What should the common people do if they have no money? They can only exchange it for grain, and in the process they are exploited by wealthy households with grain.
So by the end of the Ming Dynasty, tax laws became more and more complicated, and the burden on the people became heavier and heavier.
There is only one way to reduce the burden on the people, which is to abolish all miscellaneous taxes, leaving only regular taxes, and the standards must be unified.
Most officials actually agreed with Chongzhen's law reform, but they were worried that the reform would not be successful. In the end, the annual income would drop sharply, and the burden on the people would not be lightened either.
Of course, some officials hold objections.
A minister said: "Ding tax has been collected for two thousand years since the establishment of King Shang, and corvee is even older. Why did the Holy Spirit say that if it is abolished, it will be abolished? Taxation is the foundation of the country, how can it be such a child's play?"
"Because the Ding tax and the corvee tax are the most ridiculous taxes." Chongzhen said loudly.
"At the beginning of the dynasty, there were few people and plenty of land. Everyone had land to cultivate. The taxes set by Taizu were also very low. Naturally, every household of the people could afford the Ding tax and various corvee services."
"Later, when vassal families, royal relatives, and even the wealthy gentry annexed land, and the population increased, there was very little arable land under the name, and there was even no land. I would like to ask, what are the landless people?
What will be used to pay the Ding tax and various Yao servants? Will their children be used to offset the tax?"
It is only fair to pay more taxes if you have more land, pay less taxes if you have less land, and pay no taxes if you have no land.
To talk about paying taxes aside from land is to be a hooligan, and the dynasty that is a hooligan deserves to perish. Shang
Immediately, another servant said: "If you don't have land, you can farm it on a sharecropping basis. If you lay down grain, you can pay the tax."
"It's good to be a tenant farmer!" Chongzhen said angrily, "You don't have to pay land tax for tenant farmers, but the rent is as high as 50% or even 60% to 70%. The remaining grain is not enough to live on, so there is no excess.
What's more, there are all kinds of corvee services, so the people will be overwhelmed and forced to rise up."
Another minister said: "When the Ding tax and all kinds of corvee are reduced, the state's supplies are still insufficient. If the Holy Spirit abolishes the Ding tax and the corvee, the state's supply will be even more insufficient. In this case, everything will come to an end."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "This is a big fallacy." Chongzhen snorted coldly, "The shortage of national funds is not because there are fewer tax types, but because there is only a small amount of land or the people who have lost their land are paying taxes.
, but those wealthy gentry families who own tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile land do not have to pay a penny in taxes, so the national talent is increasingly in short supply, and everything is in trouble."
Zhu Cixiang lost no time in saying, "What my father means is that from now on, all land cultivated in the Ming Dynasty, regardless of the identity of the owner, regardless of the vassal family, regardless of the emperor's relatives, regardless of the gentry and wealthy families, must all pay for it as one, right?"
"Except for the land rewarded by the soldiers in the name of the town, everyone else needs to pay the grain together." Chongzhen said, "But you only need to pay the land tax. The Ding tax and the corvee are all abolished. As for the tax quota, it will be in accordance with the standards set by Taizu.
Official land, regardless of whether it is ripe or raw, will be taxed at five liters, three in five scoops per acre, and private land, regardless of whether it is high or low grade, will be levied at three liters, three in five scoops per acre."
After a pause, Chongzhen continued: "When paying taxes, you can pay the grain directly, or you can pay the tax with silver notes. When paying the tax with grain, you must pay the official price, and no big or small buckets are allowed. When paying the tax with silver notes, you must pay the official price. It is strictly forbidden to raise taxes privately.
For fire consumption, local states and counties are not allowed to apportion without authorization, and violators will be severely punished without credit."
This greatly blocks the operating space of subordinate officials and reduces the burden on the people.
The Ming Dynasty had about 700 million acres of land. Even if it was levied on civilian land, 23.45 million shi could be collected every year. According to official land, 37.45 million shi could be collected. According to the current grain price in Jiangnan, that is 56.17 million yuan.
Such a high annual income is enough to maintain the operation of government agencies in two Beijing and thirteen provinces.
Originally we had to maintain troops, but now that the army is supported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there is no problem.
In order to avoid irritating the officials and gentry, Chongzhen did not say that the officials and gentry should receive grain from one body, but only said that all cultivated land in the Ming Dynasty must receive grain from one body. This would make it easier for the civil servants to accept it emotionally.
Privilege is an addictive thing, and no one is willing to give it up easily.
Originally, if the previous incident had not happened, all the civil servants present would have opposed it.
But with the previous one, it was much easier for the civil servants present to accept it.
The principle is not to worry about scarcity, but to worry about inequality. The civil servants present and their relatives and clans were all punished. The land under their names was either used as family property or paid as official land. Why should others be exempted?
Especially the Jin gentry family in the south, why can they still enjoy tax-free privileges?
If you want to pay, pay it together. Everyone pays taxes on official land. This is fair and just.
Zhang Shenxing was the first to come out and echoed: "This tax law is a truly convenient law for the people, and I think it is feasible."
"I second the motion." Meng Zhaoxiang and Liu Lishun followed closely. Wu Linzheng hesitated and finally came forward to second the motion.
Of course Wu Linzheng was unwilling in his heart. We southern officials and gentry had not made any mistakes, so why should we bear the same tax burden as your northern officials and gentry? But there was no way, who would make the southern ministers less? Shang
"Okay." Chongzhen nodded happily and said, "This tax law will be included in the ancestral precepts of the Emperor Ming Dynasty at the next court meeting."
Once it is written into the constitution, it is not that easy to change it. Even if there is an unworthy descendant in the future, it will be difficult to grant tax-free privileges to the prince or the uncle and father-in-law.
…
While the monarch and his ministers were talking, the train had already arrived at Bali Bridge.
At this time, the Bali Bridge has long lost its original scorched earth shape. Perhaps because of the nourishment of corpses, the vegetation has grown more lush and lush.
The railway did not pass over the Bali Bridge, but another steel bridge was built.
Of course, the design concept of the steel bridge was also provided by Chongzhen, and Pascal, the dean of the School of Mathematics and Physics of the Ming Dynasty, was responsible for the design. All bridges from Beijing to Nanjing are steel bridges.
Including the Yangtze River Bridge across the Yangtze River, it is also a steel bridge.
However, Chongzhen was not sure whether the Yangtze River Bridge could be erected.
There should be no problem with the design, it just depends on whether the construction can keep up.
Not long after, the train slowly pulled into Tongzhou Railway Station.
The ministers in the carriage turned their attention back to the train itself.
[As far as this book is concerned, this agricultural tax is already insignificant, but it is a big event after all, and there must be an explanation]
