Li Zhi hired fifty accountants who could read and accept accounts, and at the same time bought a courtyard in a busy city as an office location in each county to prepare for collecting business taxes.
For more than a month, Han Jinxin used surveillance and bribery methods to collect dirty things about the big merchants and bureaucrats on Tianjin West Road, and gradually gained some results:
The magistrate of Jinghai County, Chang Fengdong's family, loaned huge amounts of money at usury, forcing five poor households to death.
The magistrate of Xingji County once accepted a bribe of 3,000 taels from the gentry and seized 4,000 acres of land on the river bank for the gentry, causing hundreds of land-owning farmers to become gentry tenant farmers.
The nephew of the magistrate of Qingxian County ran a business and cheated people out of money. He once forced dozens of gamblers to death.
Li Zhi took this list of criminals and sneered again and again. The officials and businessmen of the Ming Dynasty really did a lot of evil, and none of them had a clean butt. Moreover, these officials and gentry relied on their power and had already taken care of all the gods.
They did not hide their illegal business at all. Once Li Zhi made trouble, these crimes were all the reasons for Li Zhi to embarrass them and even arrest them.
Li Zhi looked at Han Jinxin and said loudly: "You did a good job!"
Han Jinxin bowed and said, "I'm just a lowly official who has done my best."
Li Zhi put the list on the tea table and said: "Let's get started. Tomorrow the order will be passed and the General's Office will begin to collect commercial taxes. According to the tax rate set by Taizu: forty taels of annual turnover is tax-free, and forty taels of sales are tax-free.
Thirty-one tax for sales above the turnover!”
Zheng Hui was stunned. This was the first time he knew that the general wanted to collect business tax. He was surprised and said: "Sir, will the entire West Road be levied?"
Li Zhi replied: "The country is short of money, but the businessmen do not pay taxes. The fiscal recession is unable to support the national defense soldiers. This is a chronic disease of the country. Of course, we tax the entire West Road. Let the businessmen take the initiative to file taxes, and then put 50
An accountant is sent to three counties to inspect taxes one by one! If there is a big discrepancy between the tax declaration and the tax inspection, he will be severely punished!"
Zheng Hui nodded, then left to busy making announcements.
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As soon as Li Zhi posted a notice levying commercial tax, the whole West Road was in an uproar.
Most of the businessmen were from gentry families. To withdraw money from their pockets, they had to ask their backers whether they would agree. The businessmen found their backers one after another and complained. The bureaucrats and gentry in the three counties quickly took action.
, looking for connections one by one, and finally gathered at the home of Song Daoming on Bingbei Road on the West Road.
On January 16, the eleventh year of Chongzhen, just after the Shangyuan Festival, civil servants and gentry on Tianjin West Road gathered in the Bingbei Mansion to discuss how to deal with Li Zhi's business tax.
These big businessmen have tens of millions in assets, but Li Zhi's 40-tael turnover tax exemption cannot take care of them. Li Zhi's 30-tael tax rate is equivalent to pulling out a tooth from a tiger's mouth, taking food from their mouths.
When Song Daoming heard what the gentry said, his beard trembled with anger and he said loudly: "This Li Zhi is so bold. Who does he think he is? How dare he collect commercial taxes on behalf of the government? Does he think West Road belongs to his family?"
Chang Fengdong, the magistrate of Jinghai County, poked his head in and said, "Master Bingbei, Li Zhi didn't discuss such a big matter with you. This Li Zhi doesn't take you seriously!"
A business gentry stroked his beard and said: "This is a repeat of the Wanli Dynasty's business tax disaster! The tax supervisors of the Wanli Dynasty caused countless families to break up and many people to flee. In the end, the world was in an uproar, and nothing was done."
Song Daoming snorted coldly and said: "No! I won't give him a single copper coin. What do you think of him?"
Chang Fengdong said uneasily: "Sir, this Li Zhi has strong soldiers and horses. Now after posting the notice, he has stationed a thousand men and horses outside each county. These soldiers and horses are tigers and wolves. If they don't pay taxes, I'm afraid this Li Zhi will have to use them."
So strong!"
"Does he dare to use force?" Song Daoming rolled his eyes, feeling helpless, and said, "Does this Li Zhi still have the imperial court in his eyes?"
Chang Fengdong said worriedly: "Now that the emperor is short of money, he is trying to make money everywhere. I'm afraid that once Li Zhi pays the tax money, the emperor will not be unhappy!"
A businessman sitting at the bottom said loudly: "Are you afraid of him? Let's go on strike! If we make the matter bigger, let's see how the emperor will deal with him!"
This suggestion was quickly recognized by merchants from all walks of life, and they all said, "Yes, we will go on strike!"
"Make things worse! If trouble breaks out, the emperor will definitely not spare him!"
"The people's homes don't have enough rice for a few days. Once the grain stores close, there will be trouble in the cities and counties. Let's see how Li Zhi ends up!"
Song Daoming stroked his beard, nodded and said, "A strike is indeed a good idea. What else can you do?"
Song Daoming's second son Song Jinyu was also sitting in the lobby, sitting behind his father. Hearing this, Song Jinyu said loudly: "Father, the students in each county can strike!"
In these days, poor families had no money to study, and most of the scholars were children of gentry families. Li Zhi taxed the merchant gentry, which meant taxing the families and relatives of the scholars, which was enough to trigger a crusade from the scholars.
Hearing this, Song Daoming's eyes lit up, he stroked his beard and said, "Okay, this method is wonderful! In Jinyu, you can contact the students in the three counties and strike together! The more lively it is, the better!"
Hearing his father's praise, Song Jinyu's face was filled with joy. He quickly agreed and said loudly: "Father, don't worry! I will definitely take care of this!"
After everyone discussed with Song Daoming for a while, they felt that they had found the backbone and felt relieved. After chatting for a while, the gentry and merchants made up their minds to go back to the counties to organize strikes on markets and schools.
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After Li Zhi's commercial tax notice was posted, the merchants in Fanjiazhuang all actively cooperated and went to the government office to pay the commercial tax.
Li Zhi's 30% tax is equivalent to a business tax of 3.3%. The gross profit of Fanjiazhuang merchants is generally about 30%, and the 3.3% business tax is equivalent to charging about one-ninth of their profits, which is still affordable.
What's more, the General exempts sales below forty taels from tax, which makes the tax rate for small traders even lower. The annual turnover of small traders in the market is only about one hundred taels, and half of their turnover is tax-free.
Most of the merchants in Fanjiazhuang are rich and can afford such taxes. What's more, the general must be short of money to collect taxes. The farmers in Fanjiazhuang have paid so much tax, so what does it mean for the merchants to pay a little business tax to the general?
Every morning, there is a long queue at the entrance of Fanjiazhuang's official office, all of them are Fanjiazhuang businessmen who pay taxes.
Li Zhi looked at the merchants in Fanjiazhuang who paid taxes and felt happy in his heart. He secretly said that he had run Fanjiazhuang for several years and made the people of Fanjiazhuang live a well-off life. These people had not forgotten him.
The situation in the other three counties on the West Road is completely different.
From the day after Li Zhi's commercial tax notice was posted, merchants in Jinghai County, Qing County and Xingji County went on strike and closed their doors. Not only did the merchants not have the consciousness to take the initiative to file taxes, but they also
The momentum of fighting General Longhu to the end. The three counties suddenly became deserted. Not only did no one call for business, but even Mi's grain farm was closed!
