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Emperor Deqing was very aware of the sensitivity and complexity of commercial tax issues.
The current situation of commercial taxation in the Ming Dynasty can be said to be full of disadvantages, but everyone-except the imperial court-obtained a lot of benefits from these disadvantages: after local government offices privately set up tax collection stations, they could obtain additional activity funds; the imperial court Most of the officials secretly bought shares in the smuggling shipping companies and received large dividends every year; the lowest-level officials also obtained a lot of gray income through this, and their lives were quite nourishing; even the common people also benefited from business taxes. The epidemic of smuggling caused by the ills has brought many benefits. After all, the price of smuggled goods is lower...
In this way, no one is willing to change the current situation of commercial taxation. Even if everyone knows that the court's money and food turnover has always been difficult, and the rectification of commercial taxation is the best solution, no one is willing to try to change it.
For most people, "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism" is certainly a precious virtue, but its prerequisite is that one's own interests are not compromised.
Therefore, anyone who wants to change the status quo of business taxation will arouse countless hostility and fierce backlash.
Because of this, although Emperor Deqing also maintained a supportive attitude towards the rectification of business and taxation, Emperor Deqing did not show his true thoughts at the beginning, but repeatedly forced Zhao Junchen to express his opinions.
Even if this is to transfer the resentment of the officials to Zhao Junchen, it is also to use Zhao Junchen's performance to test the reactions and bottom line of the officials. Of course, it would be better if Zhao Junchen, in addition to expressing his opinions, could actually explain the necessity and feasibility of commercial tax rectification, leaving those officials who hold opposing positions speechless.
Therefore, at the right time, Emperor Deqing was also willing to secretly cooperate with Zhao Junchen and help Zhao Junchen express his point of view.
So, after Zhao Junchen explained the meaning of "pilot", he got ahead of the officials' rebuttal. Emperor Deqing spoke again: "This suggestion is not bad, but where are you going to conduct the trial? What is the specific method you have in mind?"
Zhao Junchen had been preparing for Emperor Deqing's inquiry for a long time. He immediately replied: "Your Majesty, the target of my pilot project is not a certain place, but a shipping company!"
"Sailboat?" Emperor Deqing was slightly startled and asked.
Zhao Junchen nodded. Then he further explained: "My plan is for the imperial court to first select a shipping company as a pilot target, and give this shipping company tax-free privileges, so that this shipping company will be free from the troubles of taxes from various places for a period of time, and it will be used as the imperial court's commercial tax losses. In return for compensation and tax-free privileges, the shipping company needs to pay a portion of its profits and dividends to the court every year... In this way, as long as the shipping company can make a profit, the court's commercial tax can be fully guaranteed, and only the commercial tax is levied. The method has just changed a little bit.”
After a pause, Zhao Junchen continued: "If I follow my idea. There are three benefits of such a plan: First, after the shipping company receives the preferential policies from the court, it will no longer have to use tax evasion and smuggling to make profits. Once promoted, it will also Private smuggling activities can be suppressed to the greatest extent, the court's commercial tax revenue can also be guaranteed, and the plan to rectify commercial taxes can also achieve concrete results; secondly, after shipping companies avoid taxes from various places, transportation costs are low, and they can It ensures that private prices will not fluctuate too much. It also circumvents the obstruction of local government offices, which can ensure the stability of the situation between the government and the opposition. Third, during the pilot period, compare the commercial taxes paid by this shipping company in previous years and the reactions of the government and opposition parties. . The imperial court can also specifically evaluate the feasibility of this plan."
In this way, Zhao Junchen told the plan that he had conceived for many days.
Zhao Junchen's proposal was whimsical, even a little bizarre, so after hearing Zhao Junchen's description, all the officials were a little unable to react. I just felt that Zhao Junchen's proposal was really deviant, but because of this, the officials didn't know how to refute it.
Taking advantage of the surprised officials, Zhao Junchen did not remain silent, but explained in detail, such as the purpose and significance of the plan, the shipyard's operating model and dividend ratio, and the court's views on the company. The ship line’s monitoring methods, the advantages of this plan and the things that need attention, etc. are just a few.
After Zhao Junchen explained his idea in detail, nearly half an hour had passed.
In order to convince Emperor Deqing and the officials, Zhao Junchen had almost no reservations about his idea of rectifying business taxes.
But it was only "almost". In fact, Zhao Junchen concealed a very important fact, that is, the scale of this pilot shipyard! ——In Zhao Junchen’s plan, the scale of this shipping company will be extremely large. Not only will dozens of powerful shipping companies be merged into one place, but the ships, funds, and manpower of the smuggling shipping companies that will be seized by the court in the future will be , and everyone will invest in this shipping company. In other words, once this shipping company is established, coupled with the preferential policies of the court, it will soon form a dominant situation, and it will soon be able to completely monopolize Beijing and Hangzhou. Shipping business in the canal and Yangtze waterway.
Of course, Zhao Junchen would not elaborate on these situations, otherwise he would scare all the officials.
In addition, Zhao Junchen's concealment can also paralyze officials, preventing them from correctly recognizing the threat of this plan and minimizing opposition.
On the other side, after Zhao Junchen explained all his ideas in detail, when the officials finally reacted, they found that although Zhao Junchen's plan was a bit absurd, Zhao Junchen had indeed considered it thoroughly and in detail. The officials found that apart from criticizing Zhao Junchen's method as absurd, they could not find any flaws or shortcomings in this method in a short period of time!
As a result, there was a brief silence in the Huangji Hall. Within about a cup of tea, no one spoke, whether it was Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao, Zhu Heyu, or the officials. Silently digesting the information Zhao Junchen told.
After all, Zhao Junchen's idea was too novel, and it would take some time for everyone to accept it.
Then, after detailed consideration, many officials discovered that Zhao Junchen's plan was indeed feasible. If the changes were made according to Zhao Junchen's plan, the imperial court's commercial tax revenue could not only increase significantly, but also maximize the stability of the government and the opposition. Stable - but the only thing that has not changed is that the interests of the officials will be violated, but this reason cannot be stated clearly, let alone used to oppose Zhao Junchen's plan.
Fortunately, because of Zhao Junchen's misleading and concealment, all officials believed that Zhao Junchen's plan was not large-scale at the beginning, and it was just a matter of "selecting a shipping company" for piloting.
Even after discovering this, many officials were slightly moved, thinking that they had found a way to destroy Zhao Junchen's plan - as long as the shipbuilding company suffered losses during the pilot period, the shipbuilding company would not be able to pay dividends to the court. The imperial court's commercial tax revenue not only cannot be increased, but will also decrease. This means that Zhao Junchen's plan failed, so Zhao Junchen's idea cannot be promoted...
In just a moment, many officials secretly decided that if Zhao Junchen's idea did not get the permission of the imperial court, that would be fine. But if the imperial court adopted Zhao Junchen's pilot suggestion, then they would immediately unite to support Zhao Junchen's pilot project. The boat trip secretly stumbled!
Then, the eyes of all the officials focused on Shen Changmao, the chief minister of the cabinet.
Because Shen Changmao clearly opposes the rectification of business and taxation, many officials already regard him as a spokesman for their interests, so all officials hope that Shen Changmao can express his attitude first!
Under the attention of everyone, Shen Changmao pondered for a moment, and then slowly walked out of the queue.
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ps: I encountered some issues and the update was late. I’m really sorry.
Well, the second update today.
…(To be continued.)
