Gregory Baker, sitting quietly in the corner of the conference room, listening to the senior managers.

He has been in Genoa for almost two years as a mid-level employee of the Tax Package Company to the south, initially assigned to a small town northeast of Poitu as a supervisor, and after today's meeting, he will be one of the senior directors of the Tax Company in Poitou because of his excellent work.

This not only means an increase in his personal status, but also a significant increase in his salary, and a lot of oil and grey income that is not reflected in the bills, plus his own savings, he should be able to buy a small estate in a few years.

In the Europa Empire, the tax company was a special existence.

The empire issued some taxes to tax-chartered companies in the form of contracts, that is, the state ceded the collection to individuals. Every five years, a contract is concluded in which the parties agree on an amount of which the tax company is responsible for the collection of the relevant taxes, and each year the tax payable to the Imperial Treasury is deducted, and the rest is the income of the tax company itself.

Of course, this practice had some tangible benefits for the state and the emperor, as the state could receive a fixed income on a regular basis, which would not be reduced by natural and man-made disasters, and would not have to spend energy on smuggling and tax resistance, which was quite important for the imperial power, which was always in a state of financial hunger, not to mention the fact that it was not easy to establish a clean and efficient state tax agency.

At the top of the tax-inclusive company is an interest group composed of a group of wealthy businessmen and financiers, who are called general contractors, or partners, and are also jokingly called "financiers" - people who exist specifically to solve the country's finances.

There are 60 such total tax contractors in the country, and under them are the tax contractors distributed in various provinces, and the number is more, and these tax contractors are senior managers, in addition to generous salaries, and enjoy the right to dividends after completing the tax collection tasks issued by the tax company.

The taxes involved in the tax-inclusive companies mainly include essential goods such as salt, wine and grain, in addition to commodities such as tobacco, leather, coal and metal deposits, as well as some luxury goods, as well as customs duties. In 1820, for example, the 750 million Louis taxes collected by the empire included 250 million paid by the tax company, accounting for about 30% of the total taxes.

To this end, the tax company is a behemoth with more than 25,000 employees, of which more than 20,000 are tax police, who have the power to check smuggling and arrest tax protesters at gunpoint. In the process of enforcing the law, they often ignore the power of local governments and use tough methods.

The existence of the tax company seems to be able to divert the anger of the people against the heavy tax burden, so that the tax collectors are accused by the people of being parasites, bloodthirsty and enemies of the people.

However, this monster is the product of the deformed tax system of the empire, and if it were not for the deformed tax system, if there were no tariff differences and circulation barriers between provinces and countries, there would not be so much smuggling and tax resistance.

And Carlos II himself was one of the general contractors at one time. Because it is an advance payment system, whoever has money can invest, and after the tax is levied, dividends are distributed - in fact, the state is forced to borrow. Obviously, the emperor's private treasury was relatively rich, and it was only later that Carlos II had to withdraw due to strong opposition from scholars and the public.

Gregory Beck's dream was to become one of the partners of the tax company.

Today's meeting is about taxing tea cultivation.

With the popularity of tea, as early as the end of last year, there was a proposal to tax tea and impose a heavy tax on tea as a luxury.

The huge hole in the imperial treasury made the bigwigs of the Holy City eager to tax a weed.

Unable to throttle spending, they had to rack their brains to open source, find new taxes, and even propose to add new titles, such as reinstating the title of "knight", which you can get as long as you pay money, which of course was opposed by the nobles.

The room was filled with smoke, and the meeting was presided over by Mr. Skorn, one of the partners of the Imperial Tax Package Company, the top manager of the Tax Package Company in Genoa.

"Since Viscount Connelly discovered the wonderful use of tea, because it is profitable, almost all the mountains of Poitou are cultivated with tea, and this situation is expected to be more next year, and the mountains south of the Ott mountain have been speculated to sky-high prices this year, and the barren mountains and hills there have not been cared for before. In other parts of Genoa, it is now difficult to find suitable land for growing tea.

This year, the province conservatively estimates that there will be 2,000 hectares, that is, 30,000 acres of tea planting, if calculated according to the situation of multiple picks a year, 100 to 150 kilograms per mu can be picked. Of course, this is only theoretical data, because many tea plantations have just started planting and will not see the harvest until next year. ”

When Cohen heard the report from his subordinates, he nodded happily and said, "If it is only calculated according to 30,000 mu, at least 30 million kilograms of tea will be picked, which is a ...... By the way, what is the average selling price now?"

"The average is about 30 gold louis per kilogram, and here we mean the selling price of tea plantations, which doubles the retail price in the market. As for the top, such as the first batch of spring tea in the Viscount Connelly Tea Garden this year, the total output is less than 100 kilograms, and the sky-high price of 800 gold louis per kilogram is as high as that, but Viscount Connelly even refuses to sell it, he only uses it as a gift to friends. "Some people think it's a very clever sales strategy, and in Genoa, if you don't get this top-quality spring tea, it's not a great deal." ”

But there are also those who disagree:

"According to my observations, the average selling price this year has fallen by at least 20% compared to last year, and it is expected to decline in the future, after all, many landlords now grow tea in large quantities. I expect it to drop to 15 louis in the next five years, and it's not impossible, tea has a tendency to become a popular drink, and the price is lower, which is actually a good thing, because it will allow more people to try the drink, thus making tea cultivation a real industry. Even 15 louis can be called a luxury. Now the value of 1 acre of tea plantation is equivalent to the annual income of more than 70% of families in the empire. ”

"The price is untenable, but for the foreseeable future, it will become a must-have for thousands of households. And the tea tax was bound to become an important tax in the empire. ”

"Viscount Connelly owns 5,000 acres of tea plantations, of which 1,000 acres are mature tea plantations, which have brought him considerable income. This year there will be 2,000 acres of income, next year there will be 3,000 acres, and the year after next all the tea gardens he owns will bring income. I've also heard that he bought quite a few mountain tracts near Fort Patna.

Then, according to the 5,000 acres of tea plantations he now owns, according to the most conservative estimates, his tea plantations will bring him as much as 7,500,000 gold louis in 1834, and yet he will not pay a single shilling in taxes, which is definitely a great loss of imperial tax revenue, and it is unforgivable. ”

However, this is not possible, and the cost aside, climate change and pests and diseases are not to be discussed, and once it is widely cultivated in various parts of the south and even south of the Longjiang River, the price of tea will plummet.

The year after that, that is, in 1834, it would be good to make a net profit of 300 gold louis per mu of tea plantations, and of course, Xiao Si could enjoy the excess profits for a few years before all the landlords sold tea on a large scale.

This income allows Sean to do a lot of things that cost a lot of money.

Gregory Beck, who was sitting in the corner, found that the meeting had suddenly fallen into a strange cold scene.

The aristocracy did not pay land taxes, and tea, as a novelty, was neither grain nor fruit, and none of the existing statutes stipulated that Sean had to pay taxes for it.

So, it's a window period.

But apparently the big names of the Holy City noticed, not to mention the members of the tax company in Poitou.

If tea is included in the business scope of the tax-inclusive companies, it will obviously improve their performance immediately, and if we take a longer view, once tea is popularized in the twelve southern provinces, this industry will provide the empire with nearly one or two million or more taxes, which is not a small amount.

But as mentioned earlier, this is a window period, and if tea is taxed now, it will be considered a hostility and humiliation by Viscount Connally.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little cold, Cohen raised a document in his hand and said in a loud voice:

"I have received permission from His Excellency the Chancellor of the Exchequer, His Excellency Neval, to temporarily impose a special tax on the tea plantations of Poitou, which shall come into force next year, January 1, 1832. ”

The listeners were in an uproar.

"Mr. Gregory Baker?" Cohen named.

"I'm here, Mr. Cohen!" Gregory Baker quickly stood up.

"From today onwards, you are the senior director and tea tax commissioner of the Genoa branch of the tax company, and you are in charge of this matter. "This will be the number one priority for our branch in the future, and if we do this well, not only you, but anyone we are qualified to sit here will be rewarded as they deserve." ”

The crowd applauded, and the new tax, which was estimated to be considerable, was a gift from God.

They deliberately avoided that Genoa belonged to the Estates-General, and that what taxes to pay and how much to pay were not something that could be done by the Chancellor of the Exchequer with a single order.

Only the new commissioner, Baker, felt a little tricky and unhappy, perhaps the bigwigs had deliberately entrusted this errand destined to offend people to themselves, who had no roots in Genoa.

Usually those errands with abundant oil and water, work and leisure, and I haven't seen anyone who is willing to be behind!

But his status is humble, and Baker has no capital and qualifications to resist.

Treacherous!

But Baker was not a bully, for example, he wouldn't tell these people that he and Viscount Connelly had known each other for a long time.

It is inevitable that there will be a tax on the cultivation of tea. Presumably the viscount could have understood, right? Baker comforted himself.

In his heart, Baker wanted to do this, after all, he was a man with ideals, and he also wanted to be like Chief Cohen who called the shots while enjoying generous dividends and bonuses.

But how could that viscount be something that his own little tea tax commissioner could contend with?

The viscount may not be able or unwilling to fight against the powerful tax company, but pinching himself to death is like pinching a mosquito to death.

Perhaps thinking of many dark things, the joy of Baker's new promotion has long since disappeared.

The relationship between the tax collector and the levied is naturally antagonistic.

Commissioner Baker, who was sitting in the carriage, frowned, and suddenly ordered the Emperor:

"Go to the University of Poitou!"