Chapter 983: Reform of the tax system


    About taxation, it is actually a very interesting subject. Among all the senior intellectuals of the Han Dynasty, the economic knowledge of Feiqian''s three-legged cats is world-leading.


    At the end of the Han Dynasty, that is, at this point in time, why farmers are increasingly unable to survive and land is increasingly concentrated in the hands of noble gentry. One of the important drivers is all the head taxes collected by the imperial court. .


    Land tax is too low and head tax is too high, resulting in an extremely unreasonable tax structure for the entire society. In the Han Dynasty, there were not only oral taxes but also corvées assigned to everyone, which caused the burden on ordinary farmers to increase day by day and eventually they were crushed.


    As for these things, everyone in the hall can actually understand and master very few.


    Jia Xu looked at Fei Qian. Even though he was a stable person, he was surprised. Except for Zhang Liao, Huang Xu and other people who tended to be military generals, compared with others, Jia Xu was actually more interested in the lives of ordinary people. Some people who have personal experience are even more grassroots than Zao Zhi...


    ??Although Jia Xu is said to be the successor of Jia Yi, moving to Xiliang is tantamount to ruining the family. Just like in later generations, if you have a household registration in Kyoto, it is estimated that not many people will voluntarily and voluntarily move their household registration to the Western Regions, right? Just like this, Jia Xu also knows very well how heavy the tax on this population is for middle-class or poor families. After hearing that Fei Qian wanted to cancel the tax on head, he finally The first person to react was also the most surprised, and even had some admiration that came from nowhere.


    ?This Fei Qian is really brave...


    But after all, Jia Xu was still here for the first time, so after the first few seconds, he gradually lost his surprised expression and returned to a calm look. He just lowered his head and kept rolling his eyes in his slender eyes. Revealing the uneasy mood in his heart.


    Du Yuan repeated hesitantly and said: "What the Lord said... From now on, only land tax will be collected, not Ding tax?"


    ?Fei Qian nodded again.


    "...This, I''m afraid it''s a little difficult..." Du Yuan murmured subconsciously, and when he saw Fei Qian''s gaze coming towards him, he quickly explained, "...Husbands pay taxes, giving them happiness, taking away them makes them angry, that''s why The people are all like this... Although the people are really happy about the abolition of the Ding tax, where will the expenditure come from? "


    Fei Qian nodded, indicating that he heard Du Yuan''s opinion, then turned to look at the others and said, "Don''t worry, you can speak freely."


    Xun Chen stood aside and cupped his hands and said: "The land is represented by the real number, and the land is counted in real numbers. This is what Guan Ziyun said, and the goodness is also good... However, when looking for land, there is a difference between the top and the bottom, and there are deviations in edges, corners, thinness, and barrenness. , it is difficult to judge. If the beetle officials profit from it, it will be difficult to detect, and it will harm the country and the people. In the end, good governance will turn into bad policies. I hope you will think twice."


    Linghu Shao nodded, agreeing with Xun Chen''s statement and saying so.


    ??Zao Zhi really hoped that the people''s taxes could be reduced or reduced, but after hearing what everyone said, he couldn''t help but frown. After thinking about it for a while, he found that he had no choice but to silently look up at Fei Qian.


    Fei Qian waited for a while and saw that everyone had talked about almost everything and had said everything, so he smiled, feeling somewhat surprised in his heart.


    It seems that these nobles in the Han Dynasty were not so greedy and stubborn that they were completely hopeless...


    Fei Qian had always thought that someone might suggest that the laws of the ancestors were immutable, and that one law could be used for all generations, and other purely theoretical things, without talking about specific matters at all. But now it seems that, at least these people in the hall, This is not the case. Both Du Yuan and Xun Chen started from very practical issues, rather than just opposing for the sake of opposition.


    Fei Qian said in a deep voice, "Taxes are used to collect grain for food; taxes are used to build military weapons; this is the original intention of taxes. However, after the pre-Qin period, there were many disadvantages. Why? "


    The head tax existed as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It became a common practice during the Qin Dynasty. It was preserved and is still in use today. It will even continue throughout history until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. changed.


    One of the main reasons why such a tax can continue is that it is easy to calculate the tax. As long as any ruling class controls the household registration, it can easily collect the population tax based on the household registration, regardless of the calculation method or even the The collection channels are very simple, but the cost of becoming a refugee or losing one''s household is very high for ordinary people. Ordinary people will not do such a thing unless they have to. Therefore, the population tax has become a common practice in all dynasties. an important means of making money.


    The Chinese ruling class''s exploitation of the people, or the tolerance of ordinary people to these systems, is basically very high, just like later generations have repeatedly increased their tolerance for inflation, but for ordinary people''s deposits in banks However, interest rates have been slow to adjust with inflation, or are far lower than inflation. From a certain perspective, this negative interest rate operation is an additional invisible poll tax for the entire population.


    Why most modern societies have abolished the explicit poll tax? This is because although this type of tax is highly efficient, it is the most unfair. From an economic point of view, the imposition of a poll tax can only widen the gap between the rich and the poor.


    But in fact, not only in the Han Dynasty, but even in modern society in later generations, regarding taxation, the unfairness on the surface has been transformed into the unfairness invisible. Taxes in other categories, such as personal...


    To give a simple example, commodity taxation generally adopts a proportional tax rate. Intuitively, when taxing general consumer goods, those who consume a large quantity will also have a greater tax burden, and those who consume a small quantity will also have a smaller tax burden. This seems to be in line with the principle of fair taxation. .


    However, further analysis shows that the quantity of personal consumer goods is not proportional to personal income. An individual whose personal income is several times, dozens, or even hundreds of times higher than others will never spend many times, dozens, or hundreds of times on consumer goods than others.


    In this case of diminishing marginal propensity to consume, taxation of goods is regressive. The less the income, the greater the proportion of consumer spending in the income, the heavier the tax burden will be, resulting in an unfair tax burden in fact.


    Secondly, when taxes are imposed on all consumer goods, due to different elasticities of demand, the price increases caused by the tax are also different. Necessities are often the fastest, followed by daily necessities, and luxury goods are the slowest. Therefore, the tax burden of commodity tax will fall more on the shoulders of low-income earners.


    Thirdly, the number of wealthy classes and strata in any country is always a minority, while the relatively poor classes and strata are always a majority. Generally speaking, the tax burden of commodity taxation must be mainly borne by the majority of relatively poor classes and strata.


    Rules always benefit those who make them.


    This is an eternal truth.


    It''s just that those who are ruthlessly exploited will soon be overthrown, and those who know how to use the small knife Lingchi will naturally survive longer. But now, Fei Qian can only replace the original big knife with as many as possible. Small knife…


    "If you want to correct the past shortcomings, you must now..." Fei Qian paused, and then said, "Divide the land into acres, divide the taxes between Hu and Han, and establish the foundation again."


    After Fei Qian said these twelve words, he couldn''t help but think silently in his heart, don''t lift up the coffin board of someone in future generations, but according to the current timeline, this person should be considered a descendant, and he doesn''t know that he exists in the future. Where is it? Anyway, it’s a bit messy...


    In the hall, everyone was a little confused after hearing these twelve words.


    For these people in the Han Dynasty, this was definitely a hot and fresh concept. "Dividing a small person into an acre, dividing the taxes between Hu and Han, and re-establishing a new one to count the expenses?" Zao Zhi tilted his head and murmured.


    Du Yuan on the other hand twirled his fingers thoughtfully, as if wondering what impact this tax rate would have if he really did this, or how to make it more appropriate...


    Wei Liu looked at Fei Qian, then subconsciously glanced at the southern sky outside the hall, rolled his eyes, and didn''t know what he thought of.


    Xun Chen twirled his beard, tilted his head slightly, and his eyes flickered uncertainly.


    After Jia Xu said from Fei Qian, "Everyone is divided into acres, taxes are divided between Hu and Han, and taxes are divided between Han and Li," he changed his dull expression and looked at Fei Qian with bright eyes, as if he was expecting Fei Qian to continue. Come up with something.


    Fei Qian said loudly: "In the ancient country, there were no more than ten cities, no more than a hundred miles of land, no more than a thousand chariots, and no more than ten thousand mouths. Today, the Han Dynasty has a hundred times the territory and ten thousand times the population. How can it remain unchanged as time passes? What''s more, this The current tax system must be changed!”


    "The month is the watch, and it has returned to normal. One year old, garrison, one year old, hard work, thirty times as much as in ancient times. Land rent, salt and iron benefits, twenty times as much as in ancient times..." Fei Qian continued slowly. Said, "You should know this..."


    Most of the people here have read some books, so they are no strangers to this passage. Even Zhang Liao knew it somewhat. Seeing Huang Cheng on the side looking a little confused, he came closer and explained it in a low voice.


    "In the early Han Dynasty, the land tax was lightened to encourage mulberry farming. This was the best thing to do..." Fei Qian looked around at everyone and continued, "But now, the land tax is still the same, there is no increase in tax, and there are so many refugees who have no intention of farming. , Why? Is this the fault of Tian Fu? The pre-Qin army was strong and the laws were strict, so why did it decline?"


    ?As soon as these questions came up, everyone was thinking silently.


    “Labor harms the people! Therefore, it is necessary to divide the land into acres and replace the corvee with land tax! There are refugees to do the labor and rebellious barbarians to drive away, so why force the people of your own country?”


    ?Fei Qian came to the first conclusion decisively.


    We can only draw this conclusion. It cannot be said that it was caused by the annexation of land by the gentry, and then pointed the finger at the gentry, asking the gentry to donate their family wealth accumulated over hundreds of years for free to benefit the working people?


    So, this is a conclusion that can be accepted by no matter the upper level, the middle level, or the lower level.


    "Secondly, in our land, the Qiang and Hu people live together, and they rebel or surrender, and it goes back and forth. Is it because our soldiers are not strong and our soldiers are not brave?" Fei Qian continued to strengthen his tone and said, "This is because the Hu and Han taxes are not divided. The Hu people are chasing water and grass, and they have no place to live. However, we don’t think of ways to make them pay the land tax, which is twice as much. Therefore, we need two points from the Hu and Han people, and the Han people pay the land tax, and the Hu people pay the land tax. The animal tax is calculated on a tribal basis, and one in twenty is exempted.”


    Hearing this, Jia Xu slowly closed his eyes, then sighed slightly, opened his eyes again, and solemnly raised his hands towards Fei Qian and said: "Your Majesty is really wise and insightful, but it is a pity that your Majesty cannot come to the court early... If you have How can Qiang and Hu rebel against this move? If it is extended to Yong and the two states, it will fall into the hands of the princes!"


    Jia Xu has lived in Xiliang for a long time. He has indeed seen more Qiang and Hu things in this regard than anyone here. Naturally, he also knows that many times it is not that the Qiang and Hu are rebellious by nature, but that sometimes they really cannot stand the behavior of Han officials. Oppress.


    It is a painful and cumbersome thing for a barbarian to pay for grain and crops. Take the mulberry tax as an example. You must first exchange cattle and sheep skins and other tradeable items for coins, and then use the coins to buy mulberry crops before paying. Tax, in this case, the difference is more than a little bit...


    As soon as Jia Xu finished speaking, everyone''s eyes couldn''t help but become eager. They exchanged glances with each other. The more they thought about Fei Qian''s words, the more they felt they made sense.


    "Third, if there is land, there must be households, and if there are households, there must be fields. If there are households without land, they will move to the farm; if there is land but no households, it is not public land. If the land is lost for no reason, the lighter case will be sent to the army, and the worst case will be forced to work. Again. To establish a military title, the common people will have half an acre, the public officials will have one hectare, and the upper hectares will be half an acre. According to the title, each will be granted land, and the land will be given with a tax of half, and the civilian land will be twice as much. If the title is light and the land is heavy, and the land is twice as much as the title, then the tax will be paid. Then double it, and so on. If you set up another merchant, you can''t be an official within three generations, and the land and acres will be taxed twice. The person who gets the currency will pay the tax, which is the same as Hu''s. One out of ten.”


    Finally, Fei Qian came up with the most important trump card.


    Laddered land tax system.


    Granted fields, that is, military merit fields, can enjoy the lowest taxes. Ordinary civilian fields need to pay normal taxes and land rents. If the fields under your name are more than twice your military merit title, you need to pay double taxes. There is no limit to this...


    As long as this article is officially promulgated, it will also increase the cost of land annexation. If you want to buy or sell land, you can, and there is nothing to stop you. However, when the land is changed from granted land to private land, the taxes will change. If the private land reaches a certain scale, then the tax will increase again. In this way, the profits generated from buying and selling the land will be reduced. The effect will be diminishing, so that land will not be overly concentrated in the hands of a certain person or a certain family.


    Wei Liu was stunned for a moment, and then said hesitantly: "...Well, sir, if there is no noble in the family, wouldn''t it be a heavy tax?"


    "Of course! Jue Tian can support three generations. If there is still no new merit after three generations, it will be transferred to Min Tian..." Fei Qian glanced at Wei Liu and raised his voice a little higher, "Everyone! The voice of Qilin Pavilion is special, and Yuntai Zhu''s The general''s spirit will last forever! Han''s children should be lifted up seven feet, so why should they show off to their descendants if they fail to do so?"


    Hearing this, Zhang Liao suddenly clapped his hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty''s words are very kind!"


    Huang Cheng also nodded repeatedly and said, "This is the right principle of heaven and earth!"


    Even Zao Zhi, Linghu Shao and others on the side agreed.


    At this time in the Han Dynasty, most of the gentry children still tended to be pioneering and enterprising, and were not as lifeless as after the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Fei Qian''s words also aroused the pride of everyone present, and they all nodded in admiration for a while, feeling that it made sense. .


    If you want to have benefits, then go hard and win military glory!


    "This is an auspicious time, this is also an unfavorable time. Here is ignorance, here is wisdom. This can be bright, this can be dark. This can be full of faith, and this can be confusing. There is a beautiful spring here, There is also a desperate winter..." Fei Qian said loudly, then looked around at everyone, "...I would like to encourage you all..."


    ??Everyone in the hall looked at each other, and then unanimously raised their hands toward Fei Qian and said in unison: "Wei! I am willing to advance and retreat together with the king!"


    (End of this chapter)