Zhu Yunwen did not expect that this boss was quite enlightened. Paying taxes to the court was indeed the duty of every citizen and was the proper thing to do.
Zhu Yunwen then smiled and said:
"That's true, but from your tone just now, it seems there are more than one or two taxes to pay. Could you tell me in detail? What taxes do you usually pay?"
The boss smiled and said:
"I have to pay the normal population tax, right? Besides that, I have to pay commercial tax for doing business. In addition to commercial tax, I also have to pay a certain store tax for running this shop."
In addition, I have to pay a certain amount of tax when I buy goods on a regular basis. I also have a few acres of farmland, and I have to pay land tax on those fields as well.
Of course, these are all taxes that should be paid. Now that people's living standards have improved and they have more money, this amount of tax is not a problem at all.
Even if the imperial court increases taxes further, it can still afford it.
Zhu Yunwen frowned and looked at the shopkeeper, saying:
"You just said that in addition to the population tax and commercial tax, you also have to pay shop tax, purchase tax, and land tax, etc."
The boss nodded and said:
"That's right, is there anything strange about it? Isn't this normal? Besides, if the army needs to expand its recruitment or if there is a collective task that requires conscripting laborers, we still have to pay a labor tax, otherwise we have to work."
Zhu Yunwen glanced at Zhao Qingzhu beside him.
Zhao Qingzhu also looked puzzled, and then she said to the shop owner:
"But didn't the imperial court exempt many taxes for the entire Ming Dynasty some time ago? Why are you still saying that we have to pay these taxes? Hasn't this been implemented in your area yet?"
Hearing this, the shop owner smiled and shook his head, saying:
"A lot of taxes were exempted? That's impossible. It's always been the imperial court's right to collect taxes. Over the years and through countless dynasties, I've never heard of any dynasty exempting much tax."
Even if there were, it would be because the imperial court had some major event, and His Majesty the Emperor wanted to exempt a portion of taxes, or exempt a portion of taxes for a certain region.
"This is completely out of the blue. I haven't heard of any good news from the court, so why would they suddenly exempt some taxes? This is impossible."
Zhu Yunwen noticed that the shop owner didn't seem to believe what others were saying.
"So you mean you're still paying taxes during this period, such as land tax, shop tax, and corvée tax?"
The shop owner nodded and said:
"That's right. Didn't they just come to collect summer taxes a few days ago? They've all paid what they were supposed to."
Zhu Yunwen frowned and said again:
"So, you're still paying the business tax for opening this shop according to the original standards?"
The shop owner was somewhat bewildered by Zhu Yunwen's question and nodded, saying:
"What else could it be? Hasn't it always been this standard? No, young man, what exactly do you want to know? How can you not even understand these taxes?"
Zhu Yunwen took a deep breath and then said to the shop owner:
"I came from the capital. Some time ago, His Majesty the Emperor in the capital ordered the abolition of all complicated taxes nationwide, leaving only the poll tax and commercial tax, and the commercial tax could be reduced by half."
In short, the Ming Dynasty now only has these two taxes left. So all those other miscellaneous taxes you mentioned should have been abolished long ago.
How could it be that you were taxed just a few days ago? Don't your officials know about the court's new policy? That's impossible.
This policy was issued by the imperial court, and it will definitely be received by all parts of the country. It's impossible for any region to be unaware of such a rule.
Now it was the boss's turn to be incredulous. He just smiled and shook his head, saying:
"Young man, don't make fun of me. How could the imperial court suddenly abolish so many taxes? That's all money."
Everyone knows that the Ming Dynasty was poor. Now that the people are prosperous, it's already a favor that they don't ask us to pay more taxes, so how could they possibly exempt us from taxes altogether?
You shouldn't talk nonsense like that.
Zhu Yuntong was speechless for a moment. This was clearly an undeniable fact, yet the boss still didn't believe it.
On the contrary, they felt that the taxes the imperial court was currently levying on them were too little and unrealistic.
This left Zhu Yunwen momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond.
At that moment, inside the shop, other people were also buying things, and the shop owner said to them:
"Gentlemen, this young man comes from elsewhere. He says that His Majesty the Emperor has exempted many taxes and halved the commercial tax. I said that was impossible, but he is still arguing with me here."
Everyone else in the shop laughed when they heard this.
Some people even looked at Zhu Yunwen as if he were an idiot.
Then he saw a well-dressed, wealthy gentleman who said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Young man, the imperial court has already been quite good to the people. I don't expect any further reductions or exemptions of various taxes. I've been a merchant for many years and I've never heard of a 50% reduction in commercial taxes."
Don't spread such unfounded rumors you've heard from who-knows-where. It will damage the court's reputation, and you might get a scolding from the authorities.
Others also spoke up, clearly indicating to Zhu Yunwen that the local people had not abolished various taxes, and that commercial taxes had not been halved.
They continued to pay taxes as always.
Those taxes that the imperial court had abolished and that were no longer required to be paid were still being paid.
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