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"duty free?!"
After hearing Zhao Junchen's answer, Lin Yunpu looked a little shocked and asked subconsciously. 【Read full text】
"Yes, tax-free!" Zhao Junchen nodded and further explained: "Once this shipping company is established, all kinds of goods carried by the cargo ships under this shipping company's name will be tax-free on a wide scale!"
After receiving Zhao Junchen's confirmation, Lin Yunpu looked slightly excited. He changed his previous restrained and calm attitude and asked hurriedly: "I hope you can explain in detail, how big will the tax-free scope of this shipping company be once it is established? What kind of taxes can be reduced or exempted? Goods tax? Shipping money? Gate tax? Points? Donations? Or the toll tax of various government offices? What kind of goods can be exempted from tax? "
The chaos of the taxation situation in the Ming Dynasty is fully reflected in Lin Yunpu's words. There are so many various taxes and donations along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal!
Among them, the so-called "goods tax" is commonly known as "commercial tax". In the Ming Dynasty, the commercial taxes in large cities were collected by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the commercial taxes in small and medium-sized cities were borne by the provinces - a small part of which was turned over to the national treasury, and the majority was reserved for local expenditures - in addition, the commercial taxes in the Ming Dynasty were levied in each dynasty. It is considered extremely low among all generations, just one draw in thirty▲.
As for "ship money", it is the toll tax on cargo ships, which is generally collected based on the voyage. This tax is also not high. The amount of money required for a one-hundred-stone cargo ship from Nanjing to Beijing is only sixty-seven taels of silver. It is also collected by the Ministry of Household Affairs.
There is also the "door stall tax", which is the goods stacking license tax, which is paid every three months. The local chamber of commerce collects it independently and then transfers it to the local government. Because this tax is the responsibility of the local chamber of commerce, management is relatively loose. The amount of tax will naturally not be very large.
The above three types of taxes are all normal. Not only is the number not large, but the proportion is not high, which will not cause too much pressure on businessmen.
It can be said that if there were only these three taxes, then the merchants of the Ming Dynasty would not go out of their way to smuggle goods in order to avoid taxes.
In fact, for Ming Dynasty merchants, several other taxes were their source of pressure.
For example, the "draw points", also known as the "special commodity tax", were originally collected by the Ministry of Industry. Special taxes are imposed on construction materials such as wood, bamboo, copper, iron, and coal. The tax rate is not high and the scope of the tax is not large. It will not have a big impact on businessmen.
However, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, local yamen secretly expanded the scope of "drawing points" tax collection. Which goods needed to be taxed and how much tax money needed to be paid were all independently determined by local tax officials, which was not only very arbitrary. Moreover, the phenomenon of duplication of taxes in different places is also very serious.
Another example is the "road tax", which is mostly levied on passing caravans at private checkpoints set up by local yamen and imperial eunuchs. Although the "road tax" is not high, it is because there are too many similar tax stations. There are often two or three taxation checkpoints between two adjacent cities. When a small amount adds up to a large amount, the burden on the merchants is naturally extremely heavy.
also. Government offices at the central and local levels often impose unwarranted taxes on businesses. It is also known as "donation", such as the "relief of water expenses" for water transportation, the "payment silver" for the army, etc. Not only were there many patterns, but they were also quite frequent, which made Ming Dynasty merchants extremely disturbed and annoyed.
It is even more common for officials in various places to secretly demand, withhold, fine, collect, and force donations when collecting taxes. When officials ask for excessive amounts, they will even tax merchants' self-prepared grain and grass. Taxes were imposed on the carriages and horses pulling goods, as well as on the clothes on the body. This shows how bad the taxation situation in the Ming Dynasty was!
All in all, although the Ming Dynasty pursued the policy of "low taxes to support the people" from beginning to end, the policy had to be implemented by people. Since the amount of taxation was linked to the income of local officials, the actual situation was that taxation was a serious problem. , Excessive taxation, merchants and common people are complaining! Frequently, goods worth a hundred taels of silver need to pay a tax of two to three hundred taels of silver when transported from the south of the Yangtze River to the capital. Not only is it unprofitable for merchants, but it also increases the cost of living for ordinary people. As a result, merchants in Huizhou and Zhejiang Being keen on smuggling is also a helpless move.
It is precisely because of this that after Lin Yunpu heard the word "tax-free", he changed his original intention and suddenly became interested in Zhao Junchen's proposal.
In Lin Yunpu's view, if the preferential policies provided by Zhao Junchen are large enough and the tax-free scope is wide enough, then the shipping company proposed by Zhao Junchen will be completely profitable for Hui and Zhejiang merchants.
In fact, the tax-free scope envisaged by Zhao Junchen is much larger than Lin Yunpu's imagination.
After hearing Lin Yunpu's inquiry, Zhao Junchen smiled softly and replied slowly: "Except for the most basic goods tax, ship money and door stall tax, all other complicated taxes are completely exempted! In addition, following the example of our country, In the initial stage, if you are transporting people’s basic living supplies and farming equipment, even the most basic goods tax will be exempted!”
After a pause, Zhao Junchen continued to add: "According to my assumption, after the establishment of this shipping company, because of the imperial court's shares... Well, if nothing unexpected happens, His Majesty's internal treasury will also take shares... So the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal All kinds of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes along the way, whether it is points, toll taxes, or various donations, are all exempted. After seeing the background of this boat company, ordinary officials will never dare to embarrass themselves in private and deduct credit cards. Punishment!
I have calculated before that if merchants ship goods through this shipping company, they can reduce the cost by at least 70%, which is even lower than the cost of smuggling! Therefore, once this shipping company is established, it can easily monopolize the shipping business of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal! ...Boss Lin, Boss Bai, and Boss Dai, you three are all shrewd businessmen, so you naturally understand how profitable a monopoly can be! If we monopolize a prosperous waterway like the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, how huge the profits will be! "
Zhao Junchen's words were full of deception, but Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu and Dai Fengfu were not easily confused. Instead, they all remained silent, just calculating secretly in their hearts.
Then they had to admit it. Zhao Junchen did not deceive them. Once this shipping company was established, The profits contained are really amazing!
Businessmen are keen on smuggling, but they are forced to do so. After all, there were too many taxes and duties in the Ming Dynasty, and merchants had no choice but to resort to smuggling in order not to lose money.
However, the cost of smuggling is also very high. Not only do you need to bear risks, but you also need to organize more manpower and material resources, and you also need to bribe officials, clerks, patrol camps, etc. along the way. If the local officials are replaced by new ones, then smuggling will Merchants have to buy again, and these costs add up. By no means a small amount!
But if Zhao Junchen's proposal is followed, once the shipping company is established, the goods it carries will only need to pay three basic taxes: goods tax, ship money, and door stall tax. For businessmen, the cost will naturally be Much lowered! According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, these three taxes are not high, at least not higher than the cost of smuggling!
Therefore, it is conceivable that once this boat company is established, In order to reduce costs, businessmen from all over the country will definitely abandon smuggling and choose this shipping company to transport goods, so this shipping company wants to monopolize the shipping business of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It's not difficult at all!
Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu, and Dai Fengfu are smugglers themselves, and they know the shipping conditions of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal very well. Naturally, we understand how amazing the profits will be once the shipping business of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal is monopolized!
Even the wealthy Huizhe merchant gang. It is impossible to remain indifferent in the face of such business opportunities!
Although, once this boat company was established. It will affect their original smuggling business; although the cargo ships, manpower, funds, etc. of this shipping company need to be prepared independently by the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants; although the court only provides some preferential policies, it requires 40% of the shares for free. ...However, facing the bright future of this boat company, everything is worth it!
Therefore, for the Huizhou-Zhejiang merchant gang, Zhao Junchen's proposal is not only surprising, but also tempting!
However, there are so many tempting things in this world, but few of them can eventually come true.
Therefore, after a moment of silence, Lin Yunpu asked cautiously: "Your Excellency, your idea is really amazing, and we admire it. However, it is not difficult for the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchant gangs to jointly establish a shipping company with the imperial court, whether it is There is no shortage of cargo ships, manpower or money now. However, the tax-free discount of this shipping company is the top priority! Once your idea is realized, my lord, it will inevitably harm the interests of many people, so your proposal , will inevitably attract opposition from many people... Under such circumstances, how can you ensure that you can implement this proposal? If you, my lord, cannot obtain a tax-free policy for the shipping company, I am afraid that our joy will be in vain. .”
Zhao Junchen smiled again and said: "How to implement this proposal is my business. I naturally have my own methods. If I am not sure, I will not talk to you about this... I just want to ask you now, if I can get a tax-free discount for the shipping company, but your Huizhou-Zhejiang merchant gang is willing to provide people, ships, and money to establish this shipping company in a joint venture with the imperial court?"
Lin Yunpu was silent for another moment, and then replied cautiously: "If you just follow my thoughts, your idea is completely feasible, and I am also willing to devote myself to your plan and contribute something to the court. However, this is just my opinion. After I go back, I will need to consult other people for their opinions... However, if nothing else happens, most people in the Huizhe Merchant Gang will support your project. proposed.”
"In this case, you should go back and discuss it first. After His Majesty's southern tour is over, you will naturally get relevant news from the court, and I will send someone to contact you then."
As he spoke, Zhao Junchen's expression became slightly colder, signaling that the conversation was over.
It's not that Zhao Junchen is unwilling to continue talking in depth, but that when the conversation has reached this point, both parties need some practical actions.
Obviously, Lin Yunpu also understood this, so he did not continue to pester. After bowing to Zhao Junchen, he led Bai Mingyu and Dai Fengfu away.
However, when the three of them turned around, Zhao Junchen suddenly spoke again: "Speaking of which, Hui merchants and Shanxi merchants are both famous business gangs in our dynasty. However, in recent years, the imperial court has always been extremely kind to Shanxi merchants. You Hui merchants are much more strict, with a sense of prevention and suppression. Boss Lin, has he ever thought about why the imperial court favors one over the other? Without him, Shanxi merchants have a closer relationship with the imperial court, and their interests have long been combined, but Hui merchants have He made money through smuggling and private salt. Not only did he not have much connection with the imperial court, but it also affected the imperial court's tax situation. There was also a precedent for the Donglin Party to interfere in politics. In this case, it is not difficult to understand the imperial court's favoritism. This Once upon a time, my proposal is a great opportunity for you, the Huizhou-Zhejiang Business Group, to reverse this situation. I hope you will carefully consider the pros and cons, take a long-term view, and do not miss the opportunity."
After hearing Zhao Junchen's hint, Lin Yunpu paused slightly, and then said: "My lord, I will explain your profound meaning to others in detail, so please rest assured."
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...(To be continued...)
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