Gregory Baker sat quietly in the corner of the conference room, listening to the high-level talks of senior managers.
As a mid-level employee sent to the south by a tax farming company, he has been in Genoa for almost two years. He was initially assigned to a small town in the northeast of Poitou as a supervisor. After today's meeting, he will be promoted to a tax farming company because of his outstanding work.
One of the senior executives in Poitou.
This not only means an improvement in his personal status, but also means that his salary will also increase a lot. There is also a lot of oil and gray income that is not reflected in the bills. Coupled with his own savings, he should be able to make it in a few years.
Bought a small estate.
In the Europa Empire, tax farming companies are a special existence.
The empire outsources some taxes to tax companies in the form of contracts, that is, the state transfers its collection power to individuals. A contract is concluded every five years, and both parties agree on an amount. The tax company is responsible for the collection of relevant taxes, excluding the payment every year.
The tax payable was paid to the imperial treasury, and the rest was the tax-collecting company's own income.
This approach certainly has some visible benefits for the country and the emperor. The country can regularly obtain a fixed income that will not be reduced due to natural disasters and man-made disasters, and it does not have to spend energy on dealing with smuggling and tax resistance. This country is always financially hungry.
It is very important for the imperial power, not to mention that it is not easy to establish a clean and efficient national tax agency.
The upper level of the tax-contracting company is an interest group composed of a group of wealthy businessmen and financiers. They are called general tax-contractors, or partners, and are also nicknamed "financiers" - they exist specifically to solve national finances.
people.
There are 60 such general tax collectors in the country, and below them are tax collectors distributed in various provinces. The number is even greater. These tax collectors are senior managers. In addition to generous salaries, they have completed the tax contract company
After issuing the tax collection task, you will enjoy the right to dividends.
The taxes involved in the tax-collection company mainly include necessities such as salt, wine and grain, as well as bulk commodities such as tobacco, leather, coal and metal mineral deposits, as well as some luxury goods, as well as tariffs. In 1820, the empire collected
Take the 750 million louis tax as an example, which includes 250 million paid by the tax-paying company, accounting for about 30% of the total tax.
For this reason, the tax-collection company is a behemoth with more than 25,000 employees, more than 20,000 of whom are tax police. They have the power to carry out gun inspections and arrest tax resisters. In the process of law enforcement, they often ignore the power of local governments.
, the means are powerful.
The existence of tax farming companies seems to be able to divert public anger from heavy tax burdens, and tax farming companies are therefore accused by the public of being parasites, bloodthirsties and enemies of the people.
However, this monster is the product of the abnormal tax system of the empire. If it were not for the abnormal tax system, if there were not tariff differences and circulation barriers between provinces and countries, there would not be so much smuggling and tax resistance.
And Carlos II himself was once one of the general tax collectors. Because it was an advance payment system, whoever had money could invest, and the taxes would be collected and then dividends would be distributed - in fact, it was a forced borrowing by the state. Obviously the emperor's private treasury was relatively
However, it was only later that Carlos II had to withdraw due to strong opposition from scholars and the public.
Gregory Baker's ideal is to become one of the partners of a tax-paying company.
Today's meeting discusses the issue of taxing tea cultivation.
With the popularity of tea, as early as the end of last year, some people proposed to tax tea and treat tea as a luxury product and impose heavy taxes.
The huge hole in the empire's finances makes the big shots in the Holy City want to tax a weed.
Unable to reduce expenditures, they had to rack their brains to increase revenue and find new taxes. Some even proposed adding new titles, such as restoring the title of "Knight" - you can get it as long as you pay money. This was of course met with the aristocracy's disapproval.
their collective opposition.
The conference room was filled with smoke, and the person presiding over the meeting was Mr. Skone, one of the partners of the Imperial Tax Company, the top manager of the tax company in Genoa, and the general manager.
"Ever since Viscount Connelly discovered the wonderful uses of tea, tea has been planted in almost all the mountains of Poitou because of its profitability. This situation is expected to increase next year. The mountains south of the Otter Mountain have been speculated this year.
Because of the sky-high price, no one cared about the barren mountains and hills there before. In other parts of Genoa, it is now difficult to find land suitable for growing tea.
It is conservatively estimated that there will be 2,000 hectares, or 30,000 acres, of tea planted in the province this year. If calculated based on multiple pickings a year, 100 to 150 kilograms can be picked per acre. Of course, this is only theoretical data, because many tea gardens have just
Start planting and you won’t see the harvest until next year.”
When Cohen heard the report from his subordinates, he nodded happily and said: "If we only calculate it based on 30,000 acres, at least 30 million kilograms of tea will be harvested. This is a huge amount... By the way, what is the average selling price now?
"
"The average price is about 30 gold louis per kilogram. This refers to the selling price of the tea garden, and the market retail price is doubled. As for the top quality, such as the first batch of spring tea from the Viscount Connelly Tea Garden this year, the total output is less than 100 kilograms.
Up to 800 gold louis per kilogram
The price is astronomical, but Viscount Connelly is even reluctant to sell it. He only uses it as gifts to friends." Someone said, "Some people think this is a very clever sales strategy. In Genoa, if you can't get this top-notch spring tea,
He must not be a great person."
But some people disagree:
"According to my observation, the average selling price this year has dropped by at least 20% compared to last year, and it is expected to drop in the future. After all, many landowners now plant a large amount of tea. I predict that it will drop to 15 gold louis in the next five years, which is not impossible.
, tea has a tendency to become a popular drink, and the price is falling
This is actually a good thing, because it allows more people to try this drink, thus making tea cultivation truly an industry. Even 15 gold louis can be regarded as a luxury. Now 1 acre of tea plantation
The value is equivalent to the annual income of more than 70% of the entire empire’s families.”
"This price is unsustainable, but in the foreseeable future, this drink will become a must-have for thousands of households. And the tea tax will definitely become an important tax in the empire."
"Viscount Connelly owns 5,000 acres of tea gardens, 1,000 acres of which are mature tea gardens, which have brought him considerable income. This year, 2,000 acres will bring income, next year there will be 3,000 acres, and all he owns the year after
Tea gardens will bring in income. I also heard that he bought a lot of hilly land near Patna Fort.
So, based on the 5,000 acres of tea garden he now owns, and the most conservative estimate, his tea garden will bring him an income of up to 7.5 million gold louis in 1834. However, he did not pay a single shilling in taxes.
It is absolutely a significant loss of revenue for the empire and inexcusable."
However, this is impossible. Putting aside various costs, not to mention climate change and pests and diseases, once tea is widely planted in various parts of the south or even south of Longjiang, the selling price of tea will plummet like a cliff.
The year after that, in 1834, it would be good to be able to make a net profit of 300 gold louis per mu of tea plantation. Of course, Xiao Sin could enjoy the excess profits for a few years before all the landowners sold tea on a large scale.
This income allows Sean to do many things that cost a lot of money.
Gregory Baker, who was sitting in the corner, found that the meeting suddenly fell into a strange silence.
Nobles do not pay land tax. As a new thing, tea is neither grain nor fruit. There is no existing law that stipulates that Sean must pay tax for it.
So, this is a window period.
But apparently the big shots in the Holy City took notice, not to mention the members of the tax farming company in Poitou.
If tea is included in the business scope of tax-free companies, it will obviously immediately improve their performance. If we take a longer-term view, once tea becomes popular in the twelve southern provinces, this industry will provide the empire with nearly 10, 20 million or more.
The amount of tax is not a small amount.
But as mentioned before, this is a window period. If the tea is taxed now, Viscount Connery will consider it a kind of hostility and humiliation.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit cold, Cohen raised a document in his hand and said loudly:
"I have obtained the permission of His Excellency Nevar, the Minister of Finance, to temporarily impose a special tax on the tea plantations of Poitou. This document will take effect from January 1, 1832 next year."
The listeners were in an uproar.
"Mr. Gregory Baker?" Cohen asked.
"I'm here, Mr. Cohen!" Gregory Baker stood up quickly.
"From today on, you are the senior director and tea tax specialist of the Genoa branch of the tax-packaging company, specifically responsible for this matter." Cohen said, "This will be the top priority of our branch in the future. If we can do this collection well,
, not just you, anyone of us who is qualified to sit here will get the reward they deserve."
Everyone applauded. This new tax, which is expected to be quite substantial, is simply a gift from God.
They deliberately avoided the fact that Genoa was a member of the Estates-General. Paying whatever taxes you wanted could not be done with a single order from the finance minister.
Only the new commissioner Baker felt a little troubled and unhappy. Perhaps these big bosses deliberately gave this task that was destined to offend people to him, a man with no foundation in Genoa.
I don’t see anyone giving up on those errands that usually provide lucrative and leisurely work!
But because of his humble status, Baker did not have the capital or qualifications to resist.
treacherous!
But Baker is not easy to bully. For example, he will not tell these people that he and Viscount Connery have actually known each other for a long time.
Taxation on tea cultivation is inevitable. The viscount must understand it, right? Baker comforted himself in this way.
Frankly speaking, Baker really wanted to do this. After all, he was an idealistic person. He also wanted to give orders like Director Cohen and enjoy generous dividends and bonuses at the same time.
But how could the Viscount, a small tea tax commissioner, be able to fight against him?
The Viscount may be unable or unwilling to fight against the powerful tax-collecting company, but squeezing himself to death is about the same as squeezing a mosquito to death.
Perhaps thinking of many dark things, Baker's joy at being promoted has long since disappeared.
There are natural enemies between the tax collector and the taxed.
Commissioner Baker, who was sitting in the carriage, frowned and suddenly ordered the charioteer: