Chapter 256: King Qi: Second brother, you will be punished this time
Chapter 262 I am greedy for money based on my ability, why do you make me pay taxes!
Hangzhou Prefecture, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, was one of the richest prefectures in the Ming Dynasty.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, this place was known as the "granary of the world". Although the title of wealthy landowners was soon banned by Huguang, Hangzhou people relied on handicrafts such as silk weaving, cotton weaving, printing, paper making, shipbuilding, wine making, and tea making.
It promoted the prosperity of Hangzhou's commerce, and the prosperity of commerce fed back the prosperity of handicraft industry, which continued to feed back... In a virtuous circle, the prosperity of Hangzhou Prefecture has become a bright pearl in the Ming Dynasty.
Interest and power are not separated. Behind the prosperity, Sun Yuchun, the prefect of Hangzhou Prefecture, is also making a lot of money. He recently built two new cellars, but the cellars were quickly filled with gold and silver. As a last resort, Sun Yuchun
Futai was forced to build two more cellars.
Sun Futai is less than forty years old this year and has a bright future. However, after Sun Futai tasted the sweetness of Hangzhou, he was unwilling to move up.
When he first came to Hangzhou to be the prefect, he thought he would earn a lot, but what he didn't expect was that he actually earned so much. Now Sun Futai is unwilling to leave. When he became the prefect of Hangzhou, Nabu and him
He wouldn't even want to change it.
At this time, Sun Futai was lying in the cellar, lying on the bed made of silver bricks. The surrounding walls were all made of silver bricks, enjoying the beauty brought by gold and silver.
He has more than ten such huge silver vaults, and the total adds up...
Sun Futai can no longer remember clearly.
The money he earned in Hangzhou Prefecture could not be spent by his descendants for eighteen generations. Sun Futai did not know what the use of earning so much money was, but he just liked the taste of money and would not be bored no matter how much money he earned.
Sun Futai is not an official fan. When he reached the position of prefect, he no longer had any desire to climb higher. He just wanted to continue to make money in Hangzhou Prefecture. With his strong backing, Mr. Sun was able to achieve the position of prefect of Hangzhou.
I have been sitting there for ten years, with others watching eagerly, but I can't wait for Sunfu to rise to the top.
When Sun Futai heard the tax rate of 99%, it was too late to care about the nonsense that everyone must pay taxes.
Taxes are as fierce as tigers. The poorer the country, the more severe the tax collection. The rich still do not pay taxes, while the poor become poorer and poorer. When the poor can no longer survive, the opposite will inevitably happen. The rise and fall of the country depends on this.
"I transferred the border troops from the north to the south to serve as tax inspectors in order to prevent the tax inspectorate and the tax inspectorates of the southern provinces from being co-opted by local forces. But this is not enough. The impact of the tax inspectorate is too great.
, rebuking changes."
"Beast, what the hell are you talking about? A tax rate of 99%, is that human talk?"
"But have you ever thought about why the tax rate is so high? Because the more black taxes there are, the higher the tax rate is. The salary of ordinary officials and the court tax will not exceed 20%. Is 20% of the tax still too much?
"
This is not because the South is poor, but because the intertwined interest relationships are so deep-rooted that no one who is truly rich pays taxes at all, only the poor.
Yao Guangxiao said quietly: "The empire is like a temple built on the top of a mountain. How high the temple can be depends on how high the mountain is. What kind of mountain is it? It is nothing more than local gentry and nobles. If the mountain collapses,
How can the temple survive?”
"Wouldn't it be enough to just see the effect?"
"Collect... tax?"
I am greedy for money based on my ability, why do you make me pay taxes!
The inspector of the Tax Supervision Department stopped what he was doing, touched his chin and said: "To be precise, 99% of the tax rate is an additional tax. With your level of corruption, you still have to pay the imperial court every month.
The fixed tax of 20% is fine. It's not much. It's only 129%. Let me do a rough calculation... I raided sixteen of your cellars before, and the black taxes found out, plus the fixed tax, the total is
…” "Well...I figured it out, Mr. Futai, I now officially announce to you that in addition to confiscating all your personal property to pay taxes, you still owe about 170,000 taels in unpaid taxes. May I ask what your personal property is?
How do you plan to pay this tax in the future?”
On the carriage sent to Shuntian Mansion, Yao Guangxiao looked through the memorials sent by the provinces and sighed: "The commotion this time is much greater than the previous redistribution of vassal fiefdoms. You are too impatient. Now the officials of the southern provinces,
They are all opposing your tax law reform."
Sun Futai was a little confused about the people in front of him. He said these people were Jin Yiwei... If they were Jin Yiwei, Sun Futai's head would have been hanging on the city wall of Hangzhou by now. But if he said these people were ordinary people,
Officials, how do these people look like ordinary officials?
Sun Futai was startled and jumped up from the silver brick bed. Only then did he realize that a group of black-robed sergeants with swords were making gestures against his silver brick wall, as if they were counting.
"This is an internal strategy. What you are talking about now is the external impact, so I will talk to you about the external policy."
Sun Futai felt unable to breathe and fainted on the spot.
What kind of bullshit tax inspector is this?
What are they talking about?
After using all my assets to pay taxes to the court, I still owe the court a tax of 170,000 taels, and I need to work for 98 years for free to pay it off?
…
However, no one answered him.
Zhu Gaojie tapped the document with his fingers and said calmly, "So, I asked Lu Chaoyang to come to the Chief Supervisor of the Tax Academy because he was in charge of the North Town Fusi and South Town Fusi of Jinyiwei. The North Town Fusi was in charge of foreign affairs and investigations, and the South Town Fusi
Lu Chaoyang knew how to deal with the corruption problem of the Tax Supervisory Institute itself. He established an internal tax department and investigated the officials of the Tax Supervisory Institute in central Beijing and the tax officials of the provincial tax superintendents. The tax officials were punished by ten
Nothing can stop people's greed. In the face of huge interests, people's greed will be infinitely magnified. Only the constant threat of a sword can keep them rational."
Together, I earn one hundred taels, but I have to hand over ninety-nine taels to the court, so I can end up with one tael of silver?
He felt that these people in front of him were all lunatics!
The fact that the Ming Dynasty is not short of money now does not mean that it will not be short of money in the future.
"Master Futai was stunned by the money when he saw it, wasn't he? The law has been changed!"
Zhu Gaojie asked unhurriedly: "Do you think I am short-sighted and cannot see the long-term destiny of the country and only see immediate interests?"
The official walked to the side of Sunfutai, holding a small notebook in one hand and a charcoal pen in the other to record, and waved to Sunfutai: "Master Futai, please go to a different place to sleep. We are busy here, don't delay."
We work."
"May I ask who you are?" Sun Futai asked tentatively.
He was not blinded by the benefits brought to Ming Dynasty by the tax reform. On the contrary, he worried about gains and losses and thought long-term. This was not about looking forward and backward, but thinking long-term.
Is there anything more ridiculous than a 99% tax rate?
“Ding dong dong dong…”
The official counted the silver bricks seriously and replied casually: "Li Wenyu, the fourth-grade inspector of the Tax Supervision Department. Don't worry, Mr. Futai, we are not here to cause you trouble with corruption. We are here to collect taxes. As long as you don't
We won't do anything to you if you delay our tax collection."
Sun Futai was confused, "I am a Jinshi and the prefect of Hangzhou. If you ask me to collect taxes, you must be asking the wrong person!"
"If you can't afford it, it's not a big problem. We allow you to use your salary as a mortgage. You are a fourth-grade official, and your monthly salary is equivalent to one hundred and forty-four taels. Hi, congratulations to Mr. Futai. You only need to pay more
If you work for the imperial court for free for ninety-eight years, you will be able to pay off your debt to the imperial court!"
Yao Guangxiao sighed: "Reforming the tax law has touched the foundation of the country and local interests. It can indeed bring huge benefits to the country in the short term. But have you ever thought that the reason why literati passed the imperial examination is because the gentry is exempt from taxes? But now you
If you want everyone to pay taxes, wouldn't it mean that the lifeblood of the dynasty is cut off?"
Crazy, all crazy!
"Who are you and how did you get in?"
This also led to a problem. Except for Southern Zhili, the Ming Dynasty could not collect taxes from other southern provinces. It is obvious that the south is richer, but the tax revenue in the north is several times that of the south!
Taxes in the North are higher than those in the South. What is the concept?
The south is rich and the north is poor. This has been the truth since ancient times. The development direction of the north is mainly focused on the military. Even if the military garrison system can barely allow the military towns to provide for themselves, it can't give much back. There are millions of sergeants on the nine sides who have no time to develop.
Commerce. With the nine borders in the north as a barrier, the south can freely develop its economy. However, the annual tax revenue in the south is surprisingly low.
The revenue of the treasury is divided into land tax and commercial tax. The land tax cannot be collected and is subject to various tax avoidance and tax evasion. The commercial tax cannot be raised and only the taxes of some small businessmen are collected. Big businessmen have many ways to evade tax.
Zhu Gaojie took out a document and handed it to Yao Guangxiao, "This is the half-month southern tax sum table submitted by Lu Chaoyang. The tax collected in this half-month has almost caught up with the income of the Ming Dynasty's treasury in ten years. What is this concept?"
"
The crisp sound of silver colliding echoed in the cellar, which was particularly clear. Sun Futai thought that the people below were transporting silver to the cellar again, and said lazily: "I told you, there is no more silver in this cellar.
, send the shipped silver to the new cellar, do you have calluses in your ears?"
Sun Futai's mind went blank at the moment.
Zhu Gaojie asked, "In the tax rates of the new policy, there are black tax officials, and the tax rates vary. There are 99% tax rate, 120% tax rate, and even 150% tax rate. Is this tax rate high? High
, because the taxes levied by the state have exceeded their personal wealth.
The inspector of the Tax Supervision Department kindly reminded, "The New Laws of the Ming Dynasty clearly stipulate that everyone must pay taxes, whether they are royal family members, relatives, or literati who came from the imperial examination, they all have to pay taxes, starting at 10%, and black taxes at 30%.
"Fan, I did some calculations for Mr. Futai. If your income is just salary, you can charge a tax of 13%. However, given the large amount of black tax you bear, the tax rate has been raised to 99%."
Someone who looked like an official yelled: "Count them all clearly for me. If you count a piece less, the penalty will be increased by ten degrees. It's not a joke. I will lose my head!"
This old monk is not short-sighted. If he had been short-sighted, he would not be where he is today.
"I still have a way to deal with the problem you just mentioned."