Ru Taisu, the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, stood up first and held his hands in front of him.
"Your Majesty, regarding shipping taxes, the Song and Yuan Dynasties can be used as our reference. Our goods can directly use the tax laws of the previous dynasty."
“During the Song Dynasty, points were drawn for all goods entering and leaving the port.”
"They divided the goods into thick and thin, and then the government divided them according to a certain proportion and sent them to Kyoto to replenish the national treasury."
“The draw ratio stipulated in the Yuan Dynasty was: one out of ten for fine-colored goods (precious goods), and one out of fifteen for coarse-colored goods (general goods).”
"Later it was changed to 2 out of 10 for fine goods, and 2 out of 15 for coarse goods. In addition, a shipping tax of 1 out of 30 was required."
This means that in the past, the city shipping tax was collected in kind, but now it is very likely that the Ming Dynasty will have to collect it in kind to be reasonable.
Lao Zhu frowned, somewhat dissatisfied with this statement.
What he wants is real money, and the goods cannot be sold immediately.
"Can't we collect goods from merchants in the Ming Dynasty, while they only collect money from foreigners?"
It was too troublesome to sell back and forth, but he still hoped to get it right in one step.
The money goes directly into the treasury. How much trouble will this save?
"Your Majesty." Ru Taisu didn't dare to be verbose and directly pointed out the shortcomings of cashiers: "Businessmen are dishonest and it is easy to falsely report prices."
"This way we can avoid the court's taxes, so it's better to extract the goods."
Coins can be counterfeited, but goods cannot be counterfeited. The goods at the port are as much as they are. No matter how smart they are, they can't do anything about it.
"Why should they set the price?" At this time, Gu Chen couldn't help but say: "The price should be set by us. If they want to sell things to the Ming Dynasty, they must follow the rules of our Ming Dynasty."
These words were a bit overbearing, but because of Lao Zhu's appetite, Lao Zhu's brows relaxed instantly and he looked at Gu Chen with admiration.
"Expand and tell me."
Gu Chen was not polite, he stood up directly and expressed his thoughts.
"We are not afraid of them reporting false claims because we can set up an appraisal department at the port to specifically appraise the value of foreign goods."
"For example, what raw materials are his things made of, what are their uses, how much do they cost, and how much can they sell for in our Ming Dynasty."
"As much as we identify, they have to sell it to us. If they think the price is too low, they will go home directly."
"Taking a step back, even if we ask them to set a price, we can also let the foreigners report their desired selling price after entering the port."
"Collect taxes based on their price, and then give them stamps stamped with the Ming Dynasty customs seal, and ask them not to sell them for more than a few percent of the stamp price."
"Tell us that merchants in the Ming Dynasty must buy at this price. If you buy their things at high prices, you will be suspected of tax evasion, and you will have to go to jail."
"The sales price of merchants in the Ming Dynasty cannot increase beyond certain regulations. The court also needs to show the ticket price and sell according to the ticket price."
"We will set up a supervision department to monitor the prices of various commodities."
"As long as the price exceeds the price set by the court, it will be treated as tax evasion."
"We just need to think through the details, make arrangements properly, and measure taxes based on price. What's wrong with that?"
"Also, we have to set up a foreign currency exchange bureau, which stipulates that all transactions within the Ming Dynasty must be done with Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, and we only collect treasure banknotes when collecting taxes."
"So they have to go to the Foreign Currency Department to exchange my Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes before they can do business on my Ming Dynasty territory."
Although there are definitely still loopholes, silver has actually flowed into the Ming Dynasty.
"Guang Xi, please stop saying a few words." Zhan Hui didn't want him to show off, so he quickly stopped him and said, "You are not from the Ministry of Revenue, how can you speak freely?"
"Your Majesty, since there are previous examples, we will follow the previous examples. There will be no big mistake if we follow the previous examples."
"But according to Guang Xi's situation, we have to plan carefully, set the price ourselves, and set up a company to supervise the transaction price. This is really too laborious."
"There are not many people in the imperial court to handle affairs. How can we recruit so many officials? Therefore, I agree with what Ru Shangshu said. It is easy to draw according to goods and does not require a lot of trouble."
Regardless of whether what Gu Chen said was right or not, he just wanted to go against others.
"Why is there no one?" Gu Chen said anxiously: "There are so many talented people and scholars who hate that they were born at the wrong time and their talents were not recognized. Why are they not allowed to do this?"
"Your Majesty, not only do I think we should collect taxes from foreigners, but we Ming merchants who sell goods to foreigners should also collect taxes."
"You think, Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes are only circulated in Ming Dynasty, but Ming merchants sell goods to foreigners, and foreigners must pay gold and silver to buy them."
"In this case, why can't both sides collect a tax?"
"What they earn outside is gold and silver, so we will collect gold and silver for taxes. What they earn inside is gold and silver, so we will collect gold and silver for taxes."
The goods are heavy and difficult to transport. Where can I conveniently collect gold and silver directly?
"Also, the taxation department cannot be under the jurisdiction of the local chief envoy."
"All taxes must be under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs to prevent local officials from joining forces with merchants to interfere with the government's property and infringe upon it."
Historically, after the Longqing Switch, Ming Dynasty's business prospered.
Those businessmen and officials were extremely rich, but the national treasury had gradually decreased since Zhang Juzheng's death, and finally the Ming Dynasty was impoverished.
Why?
Because commercial taxes have drawbacks, and because taxes are in the hands of local governments and not in the hands of the court, the court is poor.
"Then prepare accordingly."
Lao Zhu thought for a while and felt that what Gu Chen said was reliable, so he gave the order directly.
"Establish a Supervision Department at Yuequan Port to specifically inspect transaction prices, and then set up a Ship Appraisal Department and a Banknote Exchange Department."
"The Taxation Department is affiliated to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Each department only has the right to supervise, and has no right to intervene or dictate, let alone the right to use the tax bank."
“Each department must clarify its responsibilities, perform its duties, and not overstep its authority.”
"The imperial court has established a Department of Commercial Supervision, and all thirteen provinces have to set up branches to supervise the transaction prices of various goods. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel must prepare for examinations and select officials."
"As for the specific official rank, wait until you go down to discuss it, and then submit a detailed letter and we will talk about it then."
Anyway, the grades of these positions are not too high, so Lao Zhu’s requirements are not high either.
As long as you perform your duties faithfully and don't commit adultery, corruption or bribery, that's all.
"Now the cashier has agreed to collect the goods. Let's talk about how much we should charge. Ru Shangshu, how much do you think we should charge?"
This is the most important thing and the key to determining the court's income.
"Um...I thought..." Ru Taisu hesitated for a moment, but still said softly: "I thought that fine goods would be charged a tax of 10%, coarse goods would be charged a tax of 15%, and as for ship tax, it would be better to still charge a tax of 30%. "
In the late Yuan Dynasty, taxes were collected regardless of people's life and death, and the taxes collected from the common people were collected directly a hundred years later, so he believed that it was best not to consider the taxes set later.
"Too little." Gu Chen interrupted again at this time: "Not only is the tax less, but the distribution is too rough. What kind of fine goods are included in the fine goods?"
"What kind of rough goods are included in the rough goods? Is it too general if I don't explain clearly?"
"Your Majesty, I believe that the Ministry of Household Affairs should draw up detailed classifications, and then draw up taxes according to the classifications, and the maximum tax of one in ten is really too small."
"How precious are the tea, silk, porcelain, spices and other goods from our court?"
"Those foreigners are eager to sell it. How much they sell it for back home is beyond our control."
"Therefore, I think that at least there should be at least three tax on ten, four tax on ten."
"And when merchants sell to foreigners, they have to collect the same tax as merchants from the Ming Dynasty. If foreigners buy our things and leave, we have to collect another tax from them."
