Chapter 0925 How should the Song Dynasty tax law be changed?
Kou Ji was confident that after the commercial and tax laws of the Song Dynasty were perfected, the commercial taxes of the Song Dynasty would double. That's why he dared to promise in front of Zhao Zhen that he would make a sure profit without losing any money.
The Song Dynasty was one of the few feudal dynasties with developed commerce.
The Song Dynasty was also one of the few feudal dynasties that supported commerce.
Export industries such as porcelain and silk during the Song Dynasty were the businesses that the Song Dynasty focused on supporting.
It is precisely because of this that the Song Dynasty has a better commercial survival soil.
In the existing business of the Song Dynasty, the tax revenue that could be generated reached tens of millions.
In the future, when the commercial scale of the Song Dynasty continues to expand, continue to extend, and continue to expand to the surrounding areas, the tax revenue generated will be even greater.
Therefore, the little money Zhao Zhen invests now is nothing.
Zhao Zhen actually didn’t understand business, and even most officials in the Song Dynasty didn’t understand business.
Don't look at the fact that each of them has a huge business.
It was run by their family members, or by their tribesmen. They were either obsessed with government affairs or obsessed with making friends with other officials, and had no intention or idea to do business.
So they don't understand the business.
Coupled with the low social status of businessmen, they, the superior scholar-bureaucrats, were even less willing to understand.
They would rather read one more book than take another look at business.
It is precisely because of this that the only one who can teach Zhao Zhen business experience and business knowledge is Kou Ji.
Zhao Zhen could only learn some business experience and business experience from Kou Ji.
Fortunately, although business in the Song Dynasty was prosperous, it could not be compared with that of later generations.
Kou Ji could barely manage the relatively primitive business of the Song Dynasty.
So I can impart some useful experience to Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen heard Kou Ji's blunt statement that he was sure to make a profit, and couldn't help but ask: "If we are to sell off the power to recover the tax, we must pay a high price to scare away the local wealthy families.
How can we make money from something that even they think will cost them money?"
Kou Ji smiled and told Zhao Zhen the tax collection standards and tax collection methods of the Song Dynasty.
Then he estimated a rough figure for the amount of taxes that the Song Dynasty could generate and reported it to Zhao Zhen.
After everything was said, Kou Jixiao asked: "Since the Song Dynasty can generate up to ten million guan in commercial taxes every year, even if we invest eight or nine million guan for tax collection rights, we will still make a profit."
After listening to what Kou Ji said, Zhao Zhen looked a little unhappy.
The commercial tax levied by the imperial court was only about 6 million guan each year, but the amount of commercial tax collected by the Song Dynasty was over 10 million guan each year.
That was back when the Song Dynasty had a small territory.
Nowadays, the Song Dynasty has a larger territory, more border markets have been opened, more goods are available, and more people are doing business.
Commercial taxation has not seen any significant growth.
On the contrary, the Dingkou tax (that is, the agricultural tax) is rising linearly.
Logically speaking, the commercial taxes of the Song Dynasty should also increase to a certain extent.
But Zhao Zhen did not see a significant increase in commercial taxes through the documents from the Ministry of Household Affairs.
In other words, millions, or even tens of millions, of guans were swallowed up by the imperial court every year.
And it has been swallowed for decades.
That's all the court's money, his money.
How could he look so good-looking?
Seeing Zhao Zhen's ugly face, Kou Ji guessed what Zhao Zhen was thinking. He smiled and said: "The imperial court's commercial tax has never exceeded tens of millions. The main reason is that the imperial court sold away the commercial taxation rights.
Although the court saved a certain amount of trouble, some of the benefits were given to those wealthy families.
In addition, those wealthy families can take care of their own business after controlling the taxation rights.
For example, they don't have to pay taxes.
They only need to pay the residence tax for the place where they live.
Some people even don't pay business tax at all.
As long as they use their business tax power to issue tax documents to themselves, that will be enough.
It is precisely because of this that there is such a large tax vacancy."
After Zhao Zhen heard this, he gritted his teeth and said: "After our Song Dynasty captured Liao, I thought our Song Dynasty had reached its peak. But now after understanding it carefully, I realized that our Song Dynasty is still riddled with holes.
.
In the Song Dynasty, there are still many things that our monarchs and ministers need to do."
After saying this, Zhao Zhen stared at Kou Ji and said: "I don't know much about commercial taxation. I only know that the power of commercial taxation is given to those rich and powerful families, and they are allowed to increase various exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes under clever pretexts, which is not good for the people.
That’s why we are determined to rectify business laws and business taxes.
Now the fourth brother mentioned that there are loopholes in commercial taxes and commercial laws, which gives those people the opportunity to evade taxes.
As a result, I, Da Song, lose millions, or even tens of millions, of money every year.
Fourth brother, can there be a remedy?"
Kou Ji nodded and smiled: "Of course there is... It was not the right time before, so I didn't explain the matter to the officials more. I originally thought I would explain the matter to the officials when commercial tax and commercial laws were implemented after entering the court.
Now that something unexpected has happened, I will first explain the matter to the officials.
It is not difficult to resolve this matter, as long as the officials take back the power to collect taxes.
We can then make adjustments to commercial laws and commercial taxes.
For example, we can unify the transaction tax and residence tax in the commercial tax and levy only the sales tax, that is, one tax per twenty.
As long as private merchants do business, we can tax them.
Buy and sell once, levy once.
We don't care about the rest.
It's enough for us to just focus on buying and selling.
Because if we break down the tax and residence tax, we will have to send two groups of people to do this.
There will be more troubles and more loopholes in between."
Zhao Zhen frowned and said: "But if you only levy a sales tax, there will be many loopholes that can be exploited. Our people can't keep an eye on others doing business all the time, and if others make false accounts, it will be difficult for us to detect it.
In addition, they can avoid sales tax if they do business in the form of barter.
There are also many ways to avoid sales tax, such as gifts.”
Zhao Zhen doesn't know much about things in the business world, but he is very proficient in taking advantage of loopholes.
After all, the court is full of smart people, and their favorite thing to do is to take advantage of loopholes.
Therefore, whether he is issuing an edict or issuing other documents, he must ensure that there are no loopholes that others can take advantage of.
It is precisely because of this that when Kou Ji proposed to collect only sales tax, Zhao Zhen immediately discovered the loopholes that could be exploited.
Although it requires a lot of manpower to pass taxes and residence taxes, it is easy for loopholes to be exploited.
However, the risk of exploiting tax loopholes is lower than that of transaction tax.
After all, there are rigid standards for paying taxes. As long as the court takes back the right to collect taxes, merchants cannot avoid it and must pay it as long as they do business.
Although there may be situations where you pay less, it is better than not paying at all.
If only sales tax is collected, merchants will most likely take advantage of the loophole and pay nothing.
Kou Ji heard Zhao Zhen's worries and said with a smile: "Actually, there is no perfect law. All laws are gradually completed when people find loopholes.
Just like the loopholes you mentioned just now, we can formulate corresponding laws to restrict them.
Such as bartering.
Buyers and sellers, even if they are bartering, have their accounts recorded.
They are willing to barter, and we can just price them according to the market price and then tax them."
Zhao Zhen said in a deep voice: "Ordinary people barter, but they don't have account books."
Kou Ji raised his eyebrows, stared at Zhao Zhen and said with a smile: "The people who barter among the people are almost all from poor families. Do the officials still want to levy commercial taxes on them?"
Zhao Zhen was stunned for a moment, pursed his lips and said nothing.
Kou Ji smiled and said: "The imperial court levied commercial tax, and the tax was twenty per thousand yuan, and the residence tax was thirty yuan per thousand yuan. In other words, the imperial court had never levied commercial tax on transactions of less than one thousand yuan.
It can be seen from this that the imperial court never levied commercial taxes on poor people.
We can also start a campaign with a thousand coins."
After listening to Kou Ji's explanation, Zhao Zhen began to think about it.
Kou Ji continued: "I know that what officials are most concerned about is the issue of false accounts. The problem of false accounts is actually difficult to cure and difficult to avoid. After all, there are endless ways for people to make false accounts.
We simply cannot come up with a tax collection method that can completely prevent false accounting.
So we can introduce tax stamps."
"Tax stamp?"
Zhao Zhen stared at Kou Ji with a puzzled look.
Kou Ji nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, tax stamps. We can print them into fixed-amount tax stamps for ten thousand dollars or less and issue them to merchants.
The tax stamp is stamped with the seal of the local tax department.
Money can be deposited directly into Yizijiaozipu.
For those with more than ten coins, you can go to the local tax department to issue a tax stamp after the sale is completed.
The tax stamp that needs to be issued by the local tax department does not have a denomination.
The invoice is issued by the imperial court, and the amount is filled in by someone from the Taxation Department.
The seal used is also the Department of Taxation.
In addition to collecting taxes on a daily basis, people in the tax department also need to go out from time to time to monitor whether merchants are paying taxes.
Check tax stamps once a month, and verify quarterly taxes and tax stamps every quarter.
During the inspection process, if it is discovered that a merchant has not paid taxes, penalties such as fines, shop closures, and property confiscation can be imposed on them.
In addition, every six months, the transaction accounts of the buyer and seller and the deposit and withdrawal records of Yizijiaozi Shop can be verified.
Check the accounts with three parties to see if there is any tax evasion."
Zhao Zhen opened his mouth blankly and stared at Kou Ji. He seemed to be listening to a heavenly book, his eyes full of confusion.
He understood every word Kou Ji said, and he understood even the combination, but he was very ignorant of the advantages and disadvantages.
When Kou Ji saw this, he smiled and said: "The officials don't need to think about it carefully now. I will write a memorial and send it to the palace later.
I will state the matter in detail in the memorial at that time.
The officials will understand after reading the memorial."
Zhao Zhen nodded slowly. He would not express any opinion before he saw the specific memorial and understood all the meaning of Kou Ji's words.
He simply asked, "Will this prevent businessmen from making false accounts?"
Kou Ji smiled and said: "I dare not say that it can be completely eliminated, but it can eliminate a large part of it."
Zhao Zhen asked: "How much is it specifically?"
Kou Ji thought for a while and said: "We can eliminate 70% to 80% of the business we can see in the market.
It’s hard to say for those outside the market.”
Zhao Zhen opened his mouth, wanting to ask people outside the market why it was hard to tell, but after careful consideration, he still didn't speak.
He sighed, "It would be a great achievement to be able to put an end to the seven or eight on the market."
Kou Ji smiled and nodded.
Zhao Zhen asked again, "Can we start after we get back the commercial and taxation rights?"
Kou Ji shook his head and said with a smile: "No, we must wait until the county school and the government school are established."
Zhao Zhen was stunned for a moment, stared at Kou Ji and said: "Fourth brother is afraid that after this decree is implemented, most of the people below will be illiterate and be deceived on business taxes?"
Kou Ji nodded, "In fact, we don't care about those big and wealthy families. But we still have to protect those small families.
This prevents them from being deceived when they are illiterate and ask for help paying taxes.
Now the imperial court has been promoting Mongolian education for several years.
Almost all the Meng children are literate and are learning simple articles.
In a year or two, when the Meng children grow older, they will naturally be able to share the worries of the family.
Then we won’t have to worry about some small businessmen being deceived.”
Zhao Zhen nodded and said with emotion: "Mongolian education is the foundation of everything we want to do."
Kou Ji added: "Mongolian learning is the foundation of everything in the Song Dynasty.
Once Mongolian education is thoroughly rooted in people's hearts, officials will no longer have to worry about people using it.
There is no need to worry about the imperial power not going to the countryside anymore.
At that time, the officials will only need to send more people to distribute reports, and every decree of the court can be conveyed to the people word for word.
Those wealthy families and local government offices can no longer deceive others.
Don’t even think about using the common people to threaten the imperial court again.”
The reason why wealthy families dominate local areas is because most of their families are literate.
All the decrees of the imperial court need to be transmitted to the people through their mouths.
And when they publicize the government's decrees to the people, they always tell the people something that is beneficial to them.
They didn't mention anything that was of no use to them.
It is precisely because of this that even if the government's decrees are for the benefit of the people, the people do not know about them.
Even some government decrees that were good for the people were misinterpreted by them and turned into decrees that oppressed the people.
The common people didn't know the true meaning, so they deceived them and turned against the imperial court.
He even helped them violently resist the imperial court.
Therefore, Mengxue is the imperial power sent to the countryside, and it is the foundation for the imperial court to truly control the place and benefit the people.
After listening to Kou Ji's words, Zhao Zhen's face became more excited, "After I get back the commercial and taxation rights of other places.
I will let all prefectures and prefectures prepare to establish county schools and government schools."
Hearing this, Kou Ji said with a mixture of laughter and tears: "The officials don't have to be so anxious. Every decree in the reform of the cultural system takes time.
We also have plenty of time.”
Zhao Zhen immediately said: "I can't tolerate those moths living for one more day!"
Kou Ji smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying nothing more.
Anyway, the imperial court's recovery of commercial and taxation rights cannot be completed in three or two days.
Even if it is through secret selling, it will take at least a year.
Implementing the commercial laws and commercial taxes mentioned by Kou Ji cannot be done in just three or five days.
Just because the tax department has changed from dark to clear, a lot of trouble needs to be solved.
Because there are examples to be found.
Historical records record that at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial court implemented a decree to establish multiple taxation departments in local areas and completely state-owned commercial and taxation rights.
However, after the establishment of local taxation departments, they encountered opposition from wealthy families and many officials, and were eventually abolished.
It can be seen that if the imperial court wants to implement the tax department, it will inevitably be hindered.
And the resistance is huge.
Of course, Kou Ji didn't care whether it was wealthy families or officials.
What Kou Ji really cares about is the Taxation Department itself.
When the Taxation Department was first established, it was bound to be full of difficulties. Not only did it have to do everything possible to help the court collect taxes, but it also had to compete with wealthy families and officials.
The most important thing is to be able to withstand the pressure from both top and bottom.
If you can't bear the pressure, if you are intimidated or targeted by others, you will fall apart.
Therefore, the establishment of the Taxation Department must be planned carefully, and officials at all levels of the Taxation Department must be carefully selected.
When Zhao Zhen saw Kou Ji smiling bitterly and shaking his head, he knew that he was impatient.
"We need to do too much. If we don't rush it, I'm afraid we won't be able to finish it..."
Zhao Zhen let out a long sigh.
Although he is an emperor, in terms of inheritance, he is not much different from the common people.
His idea is very simple, that is, to finish what he can and leave a stable, prosperous and prosperous country to future generations.
Let future generations not have to go through the hardships he went through.
Let Zhao Song Jiangshan be passed down for a longer time.
Kou Ji heard Zhao Zhen's long sigh and smiled without saying a word.
Because he knows very well that things in Jiangshan Sheji will never be finished.
Because every time you finish something, something special will happen.
Repeatedly like this, never ending.
Zhao Zhen and he can only do some major things that are relatively difficult to change, and set up a framework for the Song Dynasty that can be passed on for a longer period of time, so that it can be passed on.
Many contents in the framework need to be improved and replaced by future generations.
It is simply impossible to build a shelf in one go, fill it with everything needed, and let future generations use it for thousands of years.
When the founding monarchs of the past dynasties established the ancestral system, their first thought was that the rules they established could be passed down endlessly.
Facts have proved that their idea was just an idea.
The ancestral system they established not only failed to pass on their legacy for thousands of years.
Even in many cases, the ancestral system they established was an obstacle to the smooth passing on of their empire.
For example, the innovations implemented by many dynasties met with opposition.
The most powerful weapon in the hands of those who oppose it is the ancestral system.
Therefore, immutable laws and rules not only cannot become the foundation for a country to become stronger, but are the root of a country's gradual decline.
It is precisely because of this that only when laws and rules are used and perfected can a country continue to be strong.
"In the officialdom, one bite cannot make you fat. When it's time to spend time, we still have to spend time. If we rush for success, we will probably fail to get things done, and we will still waste time."
Kou Ji smiled and admonished Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen smiled bitterly, "I'm just impatient..."
Kou Ji continued to smile and said: "If the officials are impatient, they can select people now to prepare for the establishment of a tax department later.
Official status cannot be given now.
But officials can use them to do things first.
When the time is right, give them official status and let them turn from darkness to light."
Zhao Zhen thought for a moment, then looked at Kou Jida and said: "It's easy to choose the manpower of the taxation departments in various places, but I can't choose the right person for the time being.
Ninety-nine percent of the officials in the court are from wealthy families.
Even though he was born in a small family, after entering the court and assuming a high position, he gradually became a wealthy family.
We set up a tax department mainly to target those wealthy and wealthy households.
If this matter is left to people in the court, there is no guarantee that they will not leak the news and ruin everything we have prepared.
So I need to find someone with a humble background, but who dares to do things and can do things."
Kou Ji thought for a while and said: "I recommend two people for the officials. They can be selected by the officials."
When Zhao Zhen heard this, he immediately asked: "Who is it?"
Kou Ji said bluntly: "Fan Zhongyan, the prefect of Shaanxi Prefecture, and Zhang Fangping, the prefect of Gumeng Prefecture."
When Zhao Zhen heard the names of these two people, he was stunned for a moment, then pointed at Kou Ji and said, "Fourth brother, you actually lied to me. You seem to have recommended two people, but in fact there is only one person."
Kou Ji smiled and said nothing.
Zhao Zhen said with emotion: "Fan Zhongyan, the prefect of Shaanxi Prefecture, and Zhang Fangping, the prefect of Gumeng Prefecture, both came from poor families."
When Fan Zhongyan was young, his biological father died, leaving his mother alone and helpless, so she had to take Fan Zhongyan to remarry.
Fan Zhongyan was raised by his adoptive father.
When he grew up, his mother told Fan Zhongyan his life experience.
After Fan Zhongyan learned about his life experience, he was very sad. He said goodbye to his mother in tears and rushed to Yingtian to study under Qi Tongwen.
Reading hard in the cold window for several years.
Although Zhang Fangping has both parents, his family is very poor. Poor people cannot afford to buy books, so most of the time they borrow books from others.
Generally, if you read it through once, you will be able to remember the contents.
It was like this that he picked up books and read them sporadically, and passed the exam to become an official.
Although the two of them are the heads of the family, they don't have too many wealthy families involved behind them.
Both of them have ambitions, and they both want to do something great for the country and the people, and be famous in history.
Therefore, if either of the two of them were to chair the Taxation Department, they would probably not reveal the news to the rich and powerful.
However, Zhang Fangping had just been appointed as the governor of Gumeng Prefecture for a period of time, and barely got to know all the government affairs and people of Gumeng Prefecture.
Nowadays, the Gumeng Mansion is in dire need of development, and Zhang Fangping simply cannot leave.
Therefore, the only one Kou Ji could choose was Fan Zhongyan.
Fan Zhongyan's term in Shaanxi Prefecture has expired.
During his tenure in Shaanxi Prefecture, he used a series of resource allocations by Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji to lift the people of Shaanxi Prefecture out of poverty.
The iron money that was often circulated in Shaanxi Province has now been abolished.
Today, what is circulating in Shaanxi Mansion is the new Tiansheng Qian and Jiaozi cast by the imperial court.
Everything in Shaanxi Mansion is no different from other relatively wealthy mansions.
Of course, Fan Zhongyan could not completely eliminate all the poor people in Shaanxi Prefecture.
He only swept part of it, and some of it was moved to Dali and Liaodi.
But anyway.
Fan Zhongyan managed Shaanxi Prefecture with meritorious service.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs gave Fan Zhongyan a review for three consecutive years.
According to the imperial court's promotion standards, those who have been promoted for three consecutive years are capable officials and meritorious officials, and should be promoted by the imperial court.
There are currently no vacancies among the six films.
There is a vacancy in the political hall, but Fan Zhongyan's qualifications and merit are still a bit lacking.
So I joined the Unofficial Affairs Hall.
But being the head of the Taxation Department is just right.
This is why Zhao Zhen, after listening to what Kou Ji said, said that Kou Ji had clearly recommended two people, but he could only choose one person.