The shopkeeper hurriedly came forward to greet him, and while laughing, he took a bunch of broken silver and stuffed it into the hand of the leading Zaoli.
"Master, it's not that I don't want to pay it, but the tax of thirty taels a month is too much. The small shop has a small profit, so I really can't afford it!"
Zhu Yunxuan glanced sideways.
Although the business of this tea shed is good, they only charge one penny for a bowl of tea, and the total income at the end of the day is only a thousand penny at most.
The price of goods at this time was about one thousand taels of silver.
In other words, all gross income must be used to pay taxes.
If the cost is included, the store will have to pay for it.
"If you can't pay, then don't open it!" Zaoli casually took the broken silver from the store into his arms, but had no intention of letting him go.
"It's natural to open a shop and collect taxes." Zaoli cupped his hands and said: "His Royal Highness Taisun is kind and opened the tax certificate and allowed you to do business. Only then can you come here to open a tea shed. Why, are you still thinking about refusing to pay taxes?"
The shopkeeper smiled bitterly and said, "It's natural to pay taxes, but for thirty taels of silver..."
"Stop talking nonsense." Zaoli interrupted him without waiting for him to finish.
"The tax is set by the higher ups. We brothers can't do anything about it. You don't need to complain."
Zaoli said fiercely: "You can't pay the tax of thirty taels of silver before sunset. Don't blame the brothers for turning their backs on me."
"This... this..." The store owner was so anxious that he didn't know what to do.
Zaoli ignored him, turned around and left.
At this moment, the man in green stood up and shouted: "Wait a minute."
Zaoli turned around and asked, "What's the matter with you?"
The man in green clothes bowed his hands in salute and said: "This place is just a simple tea shed. The tax of thirty taels of silver a month is too high."
"His Royal Highness Taisun has opened up business qualifications. Anyone can do business as long as they apply for a tax certificate. The purpose is to enable people all over the world to make a living, not to levy excessive taxes."
"But I don't know who set this tax? I still need to appeal to the higher authorities to explain the reason and reduce the excessive tax."
Zaoli sneered: "Who are you?"
The man in green clothes said: "I am Yang Shiqi, a student from Yuanzhou, Jiangxi Province. I came to Beijing to apply for the position of editor. I am here today to see the prosperity of Jinling."
Yang Shiqi?
Zhu Yunzhen couldn't help but take another look at the man in green, and saw that he was handsome, elegant and comely.
There is a calm and calm demeanor in every gesture.
Is he really Yang Shiqi, the leader of the Three Yangs?
I didn't expect to meet him here by chance.
Historically, Yang Shiqi had outstanding talents. He served as the chief minister for more than 20 years and was known for his prudent and prudent behavior.
However, he spared no effort to suppress his political opponents, and in his later years he rampaged across the countryside, committing violence and killing people. Later generations' evaluation of him can be described as a mixture of praise and blame.
However, to be able to survive many emperors without falling, and to stay in the post of chief minister for more than 20 years, his talent must be good.
At this time, Yang Shiqi had not yet entered the officialdom. He was just an ordinary student, but he was somewhat old-fashioned.
Zhu Yunzhen thought calmly, and also wanted to observe how he dealt with things, so he motioned to Jiang Yu not to interfere.
"I wonder what kind of big shot he is. It turns out that he is just a student from out of town, and he dares to take charge of the taxation of the wharf." Zaoli said coldly: "How much tax to collect is decided by the tax collector in charge of this place."
"There was no enmity between Mr. Tax Cao and the store owner in the past, and there is no enmity these days. The tax is set out of public interest, so why is there such a thing as excessive taxation?"
"You student, if you dare to talk nonsense again, I will take you to prison and stay there for a few days to reflect on it."
The shop owner muttered to the side: "If you are being public, why does the tea shed next door only collect 30 pence a month in tax?"
Although his voice was not loud, everyone in the tea shed was listening quietly at this time, and there was no noise anymore, so it was still clear to the ears.
Zhu Yunxian was moved.
Although the business of the tea stall next door is not as good as his, it is similar in size and scale of operation.
One family receives thirty cents, and the other receives thirty taels of silver. The difference is a thousand times, which is too unfair.
"If someone pays thirty cents, he is in a good mood. Otherwise, even if he doesn't pay a cent, what can you do?" Zaoli said, "Do you know whose business is the tea shed next door?"
"I might as well tell you today that the teahouse next door is run by the son of a servant of the Prince Consort's Mansion."
"Master Zhou, the steward of the Prince Consort's Mansion, specifically told the inspector to take care of him."
"Master Tax Cao didn't set the tax for his family in the first place, but he was willing to pay thirty cash."
"After all, His Highness Taisun has set a rule that when doing business, you must obtain a tax certificate and pay taxes. If you don't pay a penny, it will not look good on your face."
"What is your status and you still want to pay the same taxes as others?"
"I can also tell you that there are hundreds of stores in this area, and only a few dozen of them really need to pay taxes."
"The rest are just like those next door to you, just a token amount."
"Master Tax Cao has no choice but to set a tax of thirty taels for you."
"The higher ups are in charge of the total tax amount, but they don't care how many duty-free shops there are."
"They don't have to pay, so why don't you pay more?"
"Otherwise, how can Master Tax Cao complete his task of collecting taxes?"
"Who told you to have no backer?"
"If you can hang the tea shed in the name of a relative of the emperor, then you can pay thirty coins a month like them."
After hearing this, the guests in the tea shed all suddenly realized.
Many people whispered to each other quietly.
"It turns out it was driven by a servant of the Prince Consort's family. No wonder he paid so little."
"That's how business is done these days."
"The tea in this store tastes better than elsewhere, and the price is affordable, but I'm afraid it won't open in the future."
"Without power and power, you shouldn't be doing business in the first place."
…
Zhu Yunzhen also understood.
In the final analysis, the tax authorities set by the higher authorities are "tax packages".
That is, a total amount of tax is determined for an area.
This is also the most common approach.
This is not only true for collecting commercial taxes, but also for collecting local land and local taxes. This is basically the same method.
The tax farming system was implemented, and the squires with high status and power would collect whatever taxes were collected in a certain township or village.
The government basically doesn't ask about how to collect it, and only recognizes the total number.
As long as the task of collecting taxes can be completed, the squire will be left in charge.
Many gentry took the opportunity to gain power and oppress the powerless people.
However, due to concerns about the reputation of the local area, they are not allowed to bully them too much, so most places still maintain a delicate balance.
Otherwise, this system would not be able to operate for thousands of years.
Dynasties change and the country changes hands, but it always remains the same.
In fact, the tax farming system was still used in the technologically advanced and civilized societies of later generations.
Tax specialists will allocate tax tasks. For example, 100 million yuan in taxes must be collected this year.
Complete the task and everything will be fine.
Of course, the management of a civilized society is much more standardized and one does not dare to levy taxes casually.
Although there are tasks, the main purpose is to supervise the work and prevent the tax commissioner from being lazy and inactive.
If you really fail to complete it, you will write a review and lose the qualification to evaluate the outstanding and advanced.
If someone violates the law in order to complete the task, the punishment will be much more serious.
Therefore, even if they can't finish it, they don't dare to mess around.
Only exercise a little flexibility within the scope of the law.
But this era is different.
If the tax collector fails to complete the task of collecting taxes, he will be punished at the least.
It’s not surprising that they do some outrageous things in order to complete their mission.
Yang Shiqi was surprised and said: "The commercial tax set by the imperial court does not say that the servants of the Prince Consort's family can be exempted from taxes and reduced taxes."
"Since there are no regulations, it follows that no matter whether they are relatives of the emperor, high-ranking ministers or high-ranking officials, or those whose family members are engaged in business, they are all taxed, and there is no special exemption."
"Why do you think they don't pay taxes and want powerless people to pay taxes on their behalf?"
Zaoli cursed loudly: "You nerd is so stupid. Since ancient times, the emperor's relatives, ministers and high officials have not paid taxes. Only ordinary people need to pay taxes. Do I need to say more?"
"Even scholars who have passed the examination can also enjoy tax-free privileges. This is true for land tax and corvee, and the same is true for commercial tax."
"Not long ago, there was a tax inspector who was as stupid as you. He actually stopped the carriage of the Prince Consort's family and asked him to collect taxes like common people doing business. He was beaten by the steward Zhou Ye and couldn't get out of bed for several days. "
"He is a serious patrol officer and an official of the imperial court. At least he can still save his life. You are a commoner and a foreigner. Even if you were beaten to death and thrown into the Yangtze River, you wouldn't be able to splash a few waves."
After Zaoli finished speaking, he glared at Yang Shiqi again and said: "Today I am busy going to other stores to collect taxes, and I don't want to bother you. If not, I will definitely put you in jail and lock you up for a few days, so that you can recognize me." It’s awesome.”
He spoke very arrogantly, as if he had done this kind of arbitrary detention before.
After saying that, he turned around and left without saying a word.
"Remember, I couldn't come up with thirty taels of silver at sunset, so I smashed the tea shed."
Zaoli left, and Yang Shiqi sat down and said angrily: "This is unreasonable. He is just a little Zaoli, but he can be so overbearing. It is really hateful."
"Don't underestimate him." The shopkeeper came over and said, "I just wanted to thank this young man for his generous words. Although he was unable to reduce the shop tax, his sincerity is commendable. I thank you."
Yang Shiqi sighed: "I talked a lot of nonsense, but it didn't help. What's the use?"
The store owner smiled bitterly: "We ordinary people are like this. We are bullied wherever we go."
"I thought that since His Highness Taisun opened the door for business, we could take advantage of it and live a good life for a few days, but I didn't expect that it still wouldn't work."
"Let alone doing big business, even opening a tea shed is not something that we powerless people can participate in."
"That's it, that's it. After everyone has finished drinking tea, I will close the stall and go home."
A customer next to him continued: "Shopkeeper, you don't have to be too angry or sad. From the look of you, you should be from a farmer's family. If you can't continue to work in the tea shed, you will just go back to continue running the fields, or go to work as a long-term laborer in a wealthy family to make a living." "
"If you ask me, the real misfortunes are those small merchants."
Zhu Yunzhen's heart moved and he winked at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Wei understood the idea and immediately asked: "What do you mean by this?"
The guest said: "His Royal Highness Taisun has opened up the business qualifications. Now anyone can apply for a tax certificate to do business, but at the same time, business tax will also be levied."
"Most large merchants rely on relatives of the emperor, ministers and high-ranking officials. Although they apply for tax certificates, they only pay a little bit."
"But the total amount of taxes for the imperial court is going to be increased. The top tax is being reduced one level at a time. So what can the bottom level do?"
"If you can't collect it from the powerful, you can only collect it from the powerless small merchants."
"They are all miserable now, and many of them can't live any longer."
"They are people who have been doing business for generations and don't know how to make a living. If they can't do business, I'm afraid they will end up on the streets, begging for a living. It's pitiful and deplorable."
Zhu Yunzhen was stunned when he heard this, and a sentence flashed in his mind.
"There are policies and measures to counter!"
If he hadn't come to the dock for a private visit, he would have never known that his good business policy would turn out like this during the implementation.
They may also think that their reforms are effective and their merits are immeasurable.
As expected, there is no right to speak without investigation.
"Hateful!" Yang Shiqi was dissatisfied and placed a heavy palm on the table.
"If one day I can serve as an official in the imperial court, I will definitely reform the administration of officials and correct the long-standing shortcomings."
Zhu Yunzhen was a little curious, smiled slightly, and winked at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yingxiao asked: "Is it possible that the young master has some strategies for governing the country in his mind? Why don't you tell me about it?"
Lying on the hospital bed typing, it's so painful!
(End of chapter)
