Taxation is a big issue, and Chen Qing did not agree to it on the spur of the moment. However, the annual gap of 5 million yuan must be solved. Financial resources must be solved. If not solved, the finance will collapse.
Of course, you can increase the amount of money invested, but this is actually a kind of tax, a seigniorage tax. This has been done in all dynasties when the fiscal revenue cannot make ends meet. It is not even possible to increase the amount of copper mining, and one will be equal to five or ten.
Issuing large amounts of money dilutes the purchasing power of currency and directly deprives ordinary people of their wealth.
In fact, Sichuan and Shaanxi are also investing new money every year, and the amount of money invested every year is not small, 300,000 guan. At the same time, Chen Qing also used the minted new money to purchase a large amount of materials from the Jin Kingdom and the Song Dynasty.
This amount of new money cannot solve the annual fiscal gap of 5 million yuan.
Chen Qing also realized that it was imperative to collect taxes, otherwise he would not be able to support an army of 370,000 on the Sichuan Road alone.
But even if a tax is levied, a lot of research must be done and a large amount of data must be mastered, such as the current household registration, annual income, and grain output. What are the consequences of a 10% tax and what are the consequences of a 20% tax?
In addition, there are also different ways to collect taxes, whether it is to directly collect field taxes and household taxes, or to collect indirect taxes more euphemistically, such as increasing the price of salt from the current 70 Wen per catty to 80 Wen per catty, and adding more sugar and tea.
The shortfall of five million guan in wine tax and commercial tax can barely be made up.
Another great advantage of collecting indirect taxes is that the people are not resentful. For example, the sheep tax collected by Chen Qing from the nomads in the country is an indirect tax, while Xixia collects sheep taxes directly. Every year, 20% of the newborn lambs are paid, which makes the herdsmen extremely disgusted.
However, Chen Qing does not directly collect taxes. All newborn lambs belong to the herdsmen. However, the herdsmen need to sell sheep and sheep skins to the government every year at a price that is 10% lower than the market price. This 10% price is the sheep tax.
Everyone is not a fool, and the herdsmen also know that this is an indirect tax payment to the government, but they are also willing to do so. This is very convenient for them. First, they can sell at any time, and they do not need to go to the market twice a year in spring and autumn for more than ten days.
It costs a lot of money. Secondly, they can avoid being exploited by profiteers. More importantly, they feel comfortable psychologically. All the lambs are their own, and they just give a small profit when selling them. The herdsmen feel completely different.
Therefore, relatively speaking, Chen Qing is more inclined to levy indirect taxes, because levying direct taxes involves a political credibility issue. Chen Qing publicly promised that Xihe Road and Shaanxi Road will be tax-free for ten years. Now there are still four years until the expiry of Hedong Road.
It has not been promised, and the tax can be launched next year.
However, even if indirect taxes are levied, it will affect the affordability of the people, and you cannot collect them just because you want to.
At noon, Chen Qing and several of his men arrived at Jingzhao Southwest District. Jingzhao Southwest District is a gathering place for the lower class people. It is not that the government deliberately turned this area into a slum area. It is due to the characteristics of the buildings here.
At most, the houses only have small yards or even no yards. They are rows of houses with mud walls and tiles, so the rent is cheap. You can rent a house for 500 cash per month.
If you go to other districts, there are basically large courtyards. Even if several families share a house, each house will cost at least 1,500 yuan per month. The price difference is three times. Of course, the people at the bottom who are very price-sensitive are willing to live in the southwest.
District life.
The entire Southwest District covers only 10% of the area of Jingzhao, but is home to 40% of the population of Jingzhao. Of course, this is just a word play, and it is not that exaggerated in reality. There are shops, warehouses, government offices, military camps, and schools in other areas.
Scenic spots, etc., these are all uninhabitable places, occupying at least 40% of the area of Jingzhao City.
A soldier named Li Sheng smiled and said: "Your Highness, I have an uncle who lives here. His family is quite representative. Why don't you go to his house and sit down to understand the situation?"
Chen Qingxiao asked: "What's going on with your uncle?"
"My uncle's family escaped from Ruzhou last year. He was hit by an arrow in the leg and was not treated in time. He became disabled and became a lame. He could no longer survive in his hometown. The family first went to Shaanzhou to make a living. Within a few months
We recaptured Shaanzhou, and they came directly to Jingzhao."
"They are pretty lucky!" Chen Qing said with a smile.
"It's just good luck. If they hadn't happened to go to Shaanzhou, they wouldn't have been able to get through."
"Then, what's the situation now?" Chen Qing asked again.
"Then! He was lame and couldn't find a job, so our family lent him 30 guan of money. We said it was a loan, but we didn't expect them to pay it back. So they rented two houses, a front shop and a back room, and opened a business
A small grocery store. The family relies on the small grocery store to make a living. They have two children, a son and a daughter. The son is nine years old and the daughter is thirteen years old. The daughter has gone to work as a maid in a wealthy family. The son is looking after the store with his parents. At the beginning of the year, my uncle was killed by me.
My mother scolded her and sent her son to school."
“How much can I earn from opening a store in one month?”
"I don't know the details, but it's definitely not much. Just selling needles and threads, how much money can I make in a month?"
Chen Qing was somewhat interested. It was indeed quite typical, and it was relatively poor among the lower-class people. At least the farmers still had land, and the other lower-class people still had sound limbs.
Not long after, they came to a noisy slum area. Groups of children were playing on the street. On both sides were low mud-walled and tile-roofed houses. They used to be thatched houses, but in recent years they were gradually changed to tile-roofed houses.
There is a coal stove at the door of almost every household to burn briquettes. Briquettes are the biggest benefit that Chen Qing has given to urban residents in Sichuan and Shaanxi. Burning firewood is too expensive, but with very cheap briquettes, you can burn several pots in addition to cooking.
Everyone knows that drinking boiled water will not cause diarrhea. In the past, conditions did not allow it, but now it is possible to boil water. Even every ten days and a half, the whole family can boil a large bucket of water for a bath.
"Every time it rains, it's muddy here, making it difficult to walk, and the smell is overwhelming. Last year, the county government organized manpower to dig sewer ditches, paved them with stone slabs, and drained the sewage outside the city. Now it's much cleaner!"
Chen Qing nodded. The county magistrate of Chang'an is Wei Qing, Yang Yuanqing's brother-in-law. After taking office, he has done a lot of practical things and is very smart. For example, when digging drainage ditches in the southwest district, he organized local men to dig ditches voluntarily, and the county government only spent hundreds of dollars.
Guan Qian bought a batch of old slates and solved this big problem that had been bothering him for many years. The key is not how much experience you have, but whether you have the will to do it. You may not think of some things, but your subordinates will give you advice.
"Your Highness, this is it!" Li Sheng pointed to a small grocery store next to him.
Chen Qing looked around and found that the shop was really inconspicuous. It was still in an alley. If you weren't a local resident, you wouldn't know it. But then again, people from outside wouldn't come here to buy groceries. This means that the shop owner is smarter and doesn't spend more.
Money to rent street shops.
"Auntie, where is uncle?"
Li Sheng came in and said hello. A woman in her thirties looked over and said with a smile: "A Sheng is here!"
She turned around and shouted, "His father, Ah Sheng is here!"
A middle-aged man walked out from the small door next to him. He was limping, with a small nose and small eyes, and his face was full of wrinkles. He glanced at Li Sheng and said worriedly in his eyes: "A Sheng, are you okay?"
Li Sheng smiled and said: "Uncle, I'm not here to ask you for money. I'm just accompanying my general to learn about people's livelihood conditions."
Hearing that he was not here to ask for money, the man's face immediately filled with smiles, "Come in quickly! Come in!"
Li Sheng asked Chen Qing to walk into the small door. Inside was a small courtyard of more than ten square meters, with two rooms next to it. However, the courtyard was full of groceries and there was only a small corner for them to stand. Chen Qing still wanted to enter the house.
But I soon discovered that it was better to be in the yard. Not only was the room dark, it was also full of groceries, and there was no place to stand.
"My dear, boil some water!"
Li Sheng immediately said: "Uncle, don't boil the water, we have something to do and we have to leave right away!"
"I'm leaving now! Damn it, there's no need to boil water!"