In terms of finance, in addition to its branches in urban areas, Delong Bank has opened special counters in various credit union branches to prepare for the exchange of silver and copper coins, as well as for deposits and loans. In the stone vault of Delong Guangzhou Branch, wooden barrels and baskets for storing miscellaneous silver and copper coins are ready. In particular, a large number of bank bills have been prepared. After the Ministry of Finance and Economics prepared for the implementation of the new currency system, it began to fully implement inter-bank public account settlement to reduce the use of cash.
Liu Xiang ordered the police station and Zheng Shangjie to conduct a secret investigation through the Federation of Industry and Commerce into the inventory, sales and prices of daily necessities in Guangzhou, involving more than a dozen categories including textiles, meat, aquatic products, salt, tea, etc. At the same time, in order to ensure that market data can be analyzed in real time during the currency reform, we are also planning to build a regional data processing center in Guangzhou World to process the data collected every day. As the basis for the research and judgment of Guangzhou’s financial team.
Finally, there is the establishment of the Guangzhou Municipal Taxation Bureau. After Liu Xiang's unremitting efforts, Wudaokou finally sent him the director of the tax bureau.
In a senior-only suite in the "Inner World" of the big world, Senior Ai Zhixin looked at himself in the mirror. He had lean short hair, carefully maintained thin-framed titanium glasses, a Swiss watch on his wrist, and the highest-end accessories. The white Dutch fine linen shirt and light-colored khaki trousers bring out a "yuppie" flavor of the financial elite.
It's a pity that there are no real leather shoes. Although the special cloth shoes are good, they are a bit too artistic to wear. Ai Yuanlao thought with regret.
He looked at himself again, making sure everything was in order, and then turned around. Ai Yixin, the life secretary who was waiting at the side, immediately handed him a high imitation boss briefcase.
"Thank you." He took it. Although this bag fished out from Lando's fishing boat was only A-grade goods, its workmanship was exquisite and the materials used were exquisite. It was not inferior to genuine licensed goods. Very popular with Ai Yuanlao - Ai Yuanlao used to be a fashionable person who was known for his love of exquisite items when he worked at the IRS.
Ai Yixin gestured and asked him if he wanted to go out? This young life secretary has a good appearance and figure, but she is mute - fortunately, her loss of voice is acquired, and she is not deaf. It saves Ai Yuanlao the trouble of learning dumb language.
Of course, if it weren't for this physical defect, this maid who could be rated as A-level would not only be rated as D-level when she graduated. So much so that some venomous elders called him "the taker."
Just take it, Ai Yuanlao doesn't care about it. Although Ai Yixin can't speak and was illiterate when she first arrived at Lingao, she has a strong learning ability and was among the best in all academic achievements when she graduated. After a few years under him, through self-study and his guidance, he was already one of the most professionally capable among the naturalized cadres in Wudaokou. If she hadn't been Elder Ai's maid, he could have promoted her to an important leadership position. Now he can only be content with letting her serve as his personal secretary - not just a "life secretary."
Ai Yuanlao has been responsible for finance and taxation work in Wudaokou for a long time. In the Wudaokou system, finance and taxation work was not taken seriously at the beginning. This is also a helpless move. Neither Lingao County nor Qiongzhou Prefecture is a prosperous place. Agriculture is still backward, let alone industry and commerce. Therefore, the Senate's financial revenue has relied on "spoils of war" and "trade" for a long time. Later, the taxes that were gradually developed were mainly land taxes and fishery taxes. Although the customs has formulated taxes such as import and export taxes and parking taxes, many of them are exempt or reduced in order to encourage import and export trade, which is in vain.
It wasn't until Lingao's industry and commerce prospered that the tax department really became active, and the naturalized cadres in the tax department realized for the first time the "ten thousand taxes of the Senate" - tax collection. Even in the Ming Dynasty, The 17th century also lagged behind the international advanced level - the number of tax types and the complexity of tax rate calculations far exceeded their imagination and gave them a solid conceptual impact.
Now Ai Yuanlao has come to Guangzhou with the tax team he trained in Hainan, mainly in Lingao.
"There is no need to cook at night, I will eat in the bureau. You pack your luggage and move to the bureau dormitory early tomorrow morning." Ai Zhixin ordered, "The Municipal Government General Affairs Office will send sedans and laborers. You have to listen to them Make arrangements. Don’t go out alone, it’s not peaceful in Guangzhou right now.”
Ai Yixin nodded.
The place Ai Zhixin is going to is the Guangzhou Branch of the State Administration of Taxation - said to be the Guangzhou branch. In fact, this branch also handles tax work for the whole province of Guangdong. Generally speaking, wherever Fu Bojun can establish his rule, tax work will be carried out. Policies vary between Natural Core Areas, Appeasement Areas and Security Areas.
When it comes to power, the amount of authorization Ai Zhixin received is unprecedented. In addition to customs duties, all industrial and commercial taxes, agricultural taxes, fishery taxes... in Guangzhou and even Guangdong are all collected in his hands, and the monopoly work is also under his management. They have the power to “act expediently without violating the general direction” regarding tax types, tax rates and collection methods.
Naturally, he has gained such great power at a price, that is, he has to complete tax work in an extremely complex environment - this is not a light burden. Not only are things complicated, but the work must be completed despite an extreme shortage of personnel and institutions. At the same time, he also had to cooperate with Chen Ce's financial working group in issuing new coins. Tax collection is not only to increase fiscal revenue, but also an important means to stabilize the currency. Taxation effectively forces merchants to charge and use the new currency.
It was under such circumstances that Ai Zhixin was carried into the Salt Department on a sedan chair: now there are two signs hanging at the door: Guangzhou Branch of the State Administration of Taxation and Guangzhou Branch of the Monopoly Bureau of the Ministry of Finance. Among Wudaokou's fiscal revenue, the salt and tobacco monopoly is also an important revenue. Currently, the Monopoly Bureau has no elders in charge, and is also represented by the Taxation Bureau - in a broad sense, the monopoly is also a kind of tax.
He had become accustomed to the stench of stagnant water and sewers in the June sunshine along the way. Now when he got off the sedan, he felt the air was cool. The Yankesi Yamen is an old Yamen, with a history almost as long as the Ming Dynasty, and the most recent renovation was during the Jiajing Dynasty. The walls here are high, the house is deep, the courtyard is wide, and there are many century-old trees inside, which are lush and green.
Because Guangzhou had just experienced peace, there were National Army soldiers standing guard at all major entrances and exits. Ai Zhixin knew how complicated the situation he was facing was when he heard that there were samurai escorts from the Japanese Guards beside his sedan when he entered the city.
Staff from the Taxation Bureau and Monopoly Bureau were already at the Yimen to welcome us. There were naturally two groups of people on both sides of the corridor. On the left are the staff of naturalized citizens headed by Hu Xuefan, some of whom were transferred from Hainan, and some of whom used to be staff of the Wanshenghao Rental Inn under the Guangzhou Ministry of Urban Industry. These are the basic teams of Ai Zhixin's tax bureau. On the right are the old staff who were selected and retained after being transferred to the government, including the clerks in the yamen's house, the clerks, the grain clerks, the ambassadors from the river bank and the salt warehouse, the various clerks in the book office... all kinds of officials who have never entered the mainstream. , all the way down to the lowest-ranking "servant".
As the most senior civil servant in the tax bureau, Hu Xuefan welcomed the arrival of the new chief. Afterwards, an old official from the Salt Course Department led the way to the office.
The office is located in a relatively neat small courtyard - as the old official walked past the tall buildings, he realized that these houses were dilapidated. The walls were in disrepair and were covered with moss and mildew. The roofs were It was covered with wormwood, and some small trees grew out of it. He heard from old officials that some of the houses here were in disrepair and had long been locked up and not used. Some of the old salt warehouses have collapsed.
It's quite eerie here. Ai Zhixin thought.
The courtyard of the office and dormitory has been tidied up and decorated with furniture and various daily necessities. Ai Zhixin asked the accompanying clerk to open the file boxes he brought and organize them into shelves. I took the time to read through the compilation of financial and taxation work sent by the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Industry.
The fiscal and taxation situation in Guangzhou is relatively complicated. This is not only because the fiscal and taxation system of the Ming Dynasty itself was very chaotic, but also because the Senate itself has levied "reasonable burdens" and "fishery taxes" in Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta for many years, and also sold a large amount of private salt in Guangzhou. .
In the past, Ai Zhixin had studied the Ming Dynasty's fiscal and taxation policies in Lingao, but Qiongzhou Prefecture was too poor and backward, and the local yamen had very little concrete practice in taxation. Now looking at the tax information of Guangzhou Government, I can’t help but feel a little eye-opening.
The Ming Dynasty paid little attention to industrial and commercial taxes. Except for land taxes and salt taxes, other taxes were collectively called "various taxes." This motley collection of taxes is chaotic and complicated. Although there are clearly stated "ministerial regulations", each place does its own thing.
Among them, the most important tax for local governments is the commercial tax, which is similar in nature to the "lijin" in the Qing Dynasty. It's just that commercial taxes are fixed. Each state and county has a specific commercial tax amount. Some are surprisingly high, and some are ridiculously low. As for the basis on which this quota was originally established, no one knows.
The government sent subordinate officials to collect taxes on roads and ferries. The tax rate was very low, but the tax was collected over a wide range. Everything could be taxed, even a chicken or a basket of vegetables. The principle of double taxation is implemented. In other words, when a farmer takes vegetables to sell in the market, he has to pay several taxes as he passes through several tax cards on the way.
The subordinate staff and clerks sent to collect tax cards not only have no income, but also have to achieve additional tax revenue. Therefore, the commercial tax card has become a disguised tax package system, and it is inevitable that tax collectors and tax collectors will be corrupt and extort business people. The result is that there is great public dissatisfaction, but the taxes collected are negligible. A large amount of tax money is fed layer by layer and flows into private pockets. (~^~)
