Chapter 432 I Just Want to Scold People
Seeing that Concubine Shu was enjoying her meal, Qin Yishu also smiled.
In the afternoon, Qin Yishu handled various affairs in Chongyang Hall.
Someone came to report that He Yanxiu requested to see the emperor.
"Let him in." Qin Yishu raised his hand.
He Yanxiu walked slowly into the palace, knelt down and bowed, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
"Get up." Qin Yishu didn't even raise his head. "Why are you so anxious to see me?"
"Your Majesty, the notice regarding taxes and levies has been posted for a long time. I have asked people to collect public opinion and I have made a rough decision in my mind." He Yanxiu said.
"Tell me about it." Qin Yishu put down the pen in his hand and looked at him with interest.
"Your Majesty." He Yanxiu paused and said, "I remember that Your Majesty promised me that you would grant me a marriage with Lady Ping'an in late spring or early summer. Now the weather is already hot, so the marriage..."
Does the emperor still remember?
Qin Yishu: "..."
We are talking about serious business, could you please not interrupt us so suddenly?
But this is He Yanxiu in front of us, there is nothing he can't do!
Qin Yishu gritted his teeth and turned out the imperial edict that was pressed down by the mountain of memorials. "At noon, Concubine Shu mentioned this matter to me. I have already asked the Hanlin Academy to draft an edict. I just read it and told Minghai to ask the Ministry of Rites to find a good day to announce the edict."
You don't need to be so impatient.
He Yanxiu felt relieved when he heard the emperor say this. He smiled and thanked the emperor, "Thank you very much, Your Majesty."
"Get up." Qin Yishu raised his hand, "Go on."
"Yes." He Yanxiu nodded. "Regarding the abolition of the crop tax and the population tax, the people have different opinions. However, relatively speaking, the call for abolishing the population tax is higher."
Qin Yishu nodded slightly. "The crop tax is 20 wen per mu of land per year, and the population tax is 50 wen per year. The population tax is much higher than the crop tax, and it is indeed more expensive."
"That's right." He Yanxiu said, "And the poll tax is a heavy burden on families with many people. Many people have to sell their land to pay the poll tax, which means they lose their livelihoods. They have to rent land from landlords to farm, and the rent is heavy. After years of hard work, they still can't eat enough in the end."
"In order to pay less taxes, many farmers raise male children normally in the hope that they can become strong laborers, and abandon or drown female children. If this continues, the rich will become richer and the poor will become poorer. The ratio of men to women will also be unbalanced, which is not conducive to the reproduction of the court's population and leads to the weakening of national strength."
"So in my humble opinion, the poll tax must be abolished. As for the green seedling tax, I think that land is the foundation of the people, and the people are the foundation of the country. In order to make the people rich and strong, land is indispensable. It is okay not to collect taxes like the green seedling tax."
"You mean, we should abolish both?" Qin Yishu was a little uneasy. "If so, wouldn't the tax reduction be too great?"
Although he claimed to be a benevolent monarch, he also wanted to do things for the people of the world and achieve the effect of making the people rich and the country strong as He Yanxiu said.
But if the national treasury is empty after such a large amount of tax reduction or exemption, many water conservancy projects and border defense affairs will be difficult to carry out, which is not a good thing for the country.
"I have thought of other ways to deal with it." He Yanxiu said.
"Oh?" Qin Yishu became more interested. "Tell me about it?"
"Your Majesty," He Yanxiu said in a clear voice, "Your Majesty has granted marriage to me and Lady Ping'an. I am grateful, but since it is Your Majesty who has granted marriage, the rewards that are due are indispensable. What does Your Majesty intend to reward Lady Ping'an with?"
Qin Yishu: "..."
There is a swear word, but I don’t know whether I should say it or not.
Thinking about the tax collection method mentioned by He Yanxiu, Qin Yishu suppressed his anger and said, "Since it is a marriage, I will naturally reward Ping'an County Lady. I originally wanted Minghai to look at the things in the warehouse and choose a few things. Since you asked, I will open my mouth and reward you with two jade ruyi, 100 taels of gold, 50 pieces of silk and cloth of various colors, and some medicinal materials."
"In addition, I got a coral last year. It looks brilliant and very good. I will give it to Ping'an County Lord as a reward. Coral originally means peace and happiness. It can also be regarded as an extra blessing for your marriage with Ping'an County Lord."
"Your Majesty, I and Princess Ping'an thank you." He Yanxiu thanked him again.
"Go on!" Qin Yishu leaned on the back of the dragon throne.
"Yes." He Yanxiu cleared his throat and continued, "I think that the abolition of the population tax and the green seedling tax may seem to reduce the tax silver, but we can set a fixed amount of the corresponding tax silver that can be collected from each province each year and distribute it to the land tax. In this way, the tax silver will not be reduced, and the emperor will not be worried about the empty treasury."
"Abolishing the population tax and the seedling tax and increasing the land tax is like changing the name but not the substance. I'm afraid the people will not agree to it and will blame me, the emperor, for being cunning and sinister." Qin Yishu was a little worried.
"This is the point I want to make." He Yanxiu said, "The land tax was originally fixed at 20% of silver per mu of land. No matter how much land a family has, it is a one-size-fits-all policy. It is too heavy a burden for ordinary people, but it has no effect on many wealthy landlords. It will also increase the taxes of the tenants. I think it is better to change the way the land tax is collected."
"Based on the number of people in each household, we look at the number of acres of land each person in each household can own. If the per capita land is one acre, only 10% of the land tax will be collected. If it is more than three acres, 15% will be collected. If it is more than five acres, the tax can be higher, with a maximum of 50%."
"In this way, ordinary people can buy more land without worry, and those landlords who want to exploit others with their land will not only think of using their land to squeeze others to get rich. In the long run, it can avoid the situation where the land is concentrated in the hands of the rich and the people become more miserable."
"That's a good idea." Qin Yishu nodded repeatedly. "You should have people discuss it carefully, calculate the tax silver paid by each province, count the number of acres of farmland in each province, and decide on a method to collect the farmland tax."
"Yes." He Yanxiu agreed, "Yes, I have something more important to do."
"You say." Qin Yishu was in high spirits because He Yanxiu had come up with a very good tax reform plan, so his tone was much softer than before.
"As soon as the emperor has granted the marriage decree, I will start preparing for the wedding, including the betrothal gifts and other things. I am getting married at an advanced age, so many things cannot be neglected, especially the phoenix crown and bridal robe for Lady Ping'an. I attach great importance to this."
He Yanxiu said, "The phoenix crown is always decorated with a pearl, but I have searched the storehouse and the entire capital, but I have never found a suitable one."
The tax reform in this article draws on the method of allocating land tax, but it is not complete and there may be loopholes, so please don't worry about it... Oh, it's the end of the month, can I get more monthly tickets? I'm still a long way from the top 100. (End of this chapter)
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