"Qiaoqiao, how about we come up with a way to earn money for your father?" Sir Gruson quipped at Joey.

Joey nodded excitedly.

"Jojo, let's talk together and see what we think the same as no!" Sir Gruson proposed, "1, 2, 3, start!" ”

"Taxes!" "Collect taxes!" Joey and Sir Gruson looked at each other;

"Public debt!" "Debt!" Joey and Sir Gruson looked at each other again;

"Attract investment!" "Look for the Jews!" Joey and Sir Gruson looked at each other and smiled.

"Look for cheap resources!" "Colonies of the Germans!" Joey and Sir Gruson laughed together at the end.

"Wait, I know what you mean by these words, but how do you use them?" The crown prince asked, looking at the two men.

"Fritz, what I mean by tax collection is that the tax system of the empire must be perfected, and the premise of improving the tax system is to first clarify what should be taxed and what cannot be taxed. We can't just levy taxes from the towns below, such as the absurd measure of the tax collector in the city of Aue to collect a chess entertainment tax from the chess club, and the types of taxes can't be endless, like the chimney tax, the stove tax, the fireplace tax, the window tax, the door and window tax, etc., do you know that the poor people nowadays don't dare to open windows on the walls of their houses in the summer and build a fireplace in the cold room in the winter because of these taxes? ”

"Secondly, taxation must be fair, and tax fairness means that all people must be taxed equally," said Sir Gruson, looking at the Crown Prince slowly, "My suggestion is that the nobility and the royal family should also be treated equally with ordinary people before taxes, and not enjoy special tax privileges as they do now." ”

After thinking about it, the crown prince said in a straight voice, "Herman, I don't dare to guarantee whether my father will accept the idea of paying taxes equally, but I promise that from the day I ascend the throne, all the people of the Hohenzollern family will pay the same taxes as the Germans." ”

Sir Grusen nodded, and continued, "Finally, the formulation of tax policy must be in the hands of the Imperial Government, and not the Princes, Principalities, and Free States, as is the case now, where the Princes and Principalities must be controlled by themselves, and the finances and taxes must be in the hands of the Government. And the tax and fiscal rights must include the right to mint money, and the Imperial Mark can only be issued by the Empire, not every kingdom and principality with financial resources, as is the case now, can mint and issue currency by itself. ”

Sir Gruson finished speaking, and looked at Joey, motioning for him to add his thoughts.

"I fully agree with Uncle Herman that the types of taxes must be clear and simplified, the taxes must be fair and just, and the tax policy must be set by the state." Joey said.

"In the specific kind." Joy thought about his life in his past life related to paying taxes, and then said, "I suggest that the types of taxes in Germany can be divided into the following categories. ”

"First, personal income tax for the wealthy or high-income earners. After a threshold is set, this tax should be progressive, i.e., the higher the income, the higher the tax. However, considering that high-income earners are generally the elite of the empire, if they blindly pay high taxes, they may run to neighboring countries with low taxes to avoid taxes, so it is necessary to allow wealthy couples to accumulate their income together, divide it equally between them, and then pay taxes separately. ”

"As we all know, women in German families do not go out to work, so that they can reduce or exempt the wealthy class from taxes in disguise. Another benefit is that it also encourages the elite to get married as soon as possible in Germany. In addition, families with children are given a child tax exemption allowance. This allowance provides for a tax-exempt amount per child per year, which not only provides an appropriate tax reduction for families with children, but also encourages parents of all classes to have more children. ”

"Second, corporate income tax, which is uniformly levied on the company's income ....."

"Thirdly, the capital gains tax, which is levied on profits derived from capital investment or speculation and share dividends from joint-stock companies.....

"Fourthly, the religious tax, which the Church receives from the faithful, must also pay the tax...."

"Fifth, business tax, the tax that should be paid if you engage in business activities......"

"Sixth, land tax, a tax levied on the value of the land or the value of the buildings on the land....."

"Seventh, land acquisition tax, the tax that needs to be paid in the case of the purchase or transfer of land....."

"Eighth, sales tax, people should pay taxes when they buy goods, such as daily necessities, services, transportation, and even books and newspapers......"

"Ninth, inheritance tax, the tax that people should pay in inheriting the inheritance tax of their parents....."

"Tenth, import and export commodity tax, the tariff that needs to be paid when importing and exporting goods....."

In one breath, Joey told all the types and contents of the ten taxes that he knew in later generations.

Sir Gruson glanced at the somewhat stunned Crown Prince and couldn't help laughing, "Joey is indeed from the Hohenzollern family, and he was born to know how to collect taxes on the people in his realm, how to collect taxes, and what taxes to collect. Hahaha! But let's take a look at the taxes that Joey mentioned and see if they are suitable for the current situation in Germany. ”

"Qiaoqiao, your idea of personal income tax is very good, set a tax threshold, well, from the current point of view, this threshold should be set as high as possible, personal income tax should be changed to rich income tax is better, and the accumulation system is also a good idea. In addition, it is also a good idea to consider reducing it through marriage and childbirth. Except for changing the name, I completely agree. ”

Sir Gruson then turned to the Crown Prince and said, "Fritz, if you propose this rich tax, it will be a great opportunity for you to accumulate your personal political capital. As the socialists often say, the rich and the poor are two classes, and when you impose a separate and appropriate tax on the rich, it will make the poor at large feel strongly about you. When you implement the new economic plan, the contradictions in social change will not be easily exacerbated, and the rich man's tax that Joy mentioned is a good way to compromise between classes. Sir Gruson praised.

"Regarding corporate income tax, can you explain it again?" Sir Gruson asked.

Once again, Joey explained in detail what he knew about VAT.

Sir Gruson listened to this, and after a long silence, he said, "VAT sounds good, but it's not a good opportunity at the moment. If, after the complete industrialization of Germany, the economy has been thoroughly commodified, I would strongly recommend the implementation of this tax. But now, I still prefer to tax by sector and product variety, because there are not many types of products that can be produced in Germany at present, and it is perfectly possible to do this in detail. Only when the economy is highly developed and there are too many types of goods and products to be subdivided, the tax you mentioned will be very useful. ”

"The capital gains tax is also a good tax, but considering that Germany now needs a large amount of capital investment, I propose to postpone the capital gains tax until the empire's economy is running well. I'm sure it's going to be a gold mine. Sir Grusen said to the Crown Prince.

"Religious tax, tax on churches, Joey, you Protestant Reformation ideas are even further away than I thought! Churches do not produce but enjoy the gifts of the people, and it is also appropriate to levy a religious tax, but all religions should be treated equally, and an equal tax rate should be used. In addition, I think that in order to avoid intensifying unnecessary religious antagonism, we can make some compromises, such as this tax can be called a religious promotion tax. The taxes collected must still be used for religion, such as the repair and funding of churches in remote areas. I think churches and congregants will be willing to pay this tax. ”

Sir Gruson smiled, "As long as this tax stays in the hands of the government and circulates it, it is always a good tax." ”

"The business tax is being collected in the Empire at the moment, but Joey's words gave me a revelation. Should this money be distributed to each province or to each town hall and town, and the money collected should be transferred to the local government. Fritz, you must know that what politics needs after all is a mutual compromise, and on the one hand, we are taking back power, and on the other hand, we have to compromise with the principalities and autonomous states, and assign the collection of business tax to them, and I think it can be used as an important bargaining chip for mutual compromise. But the tax rate, in any case, is up to the imperial government to determine! Sir Grusen concluded.

"The land tax, which has been levied in this empire, has also been levied, but there is one point, and Joey's idea is very good, that is, within a certain land area, land dedicated to the construction of people's houses is exempt from taxes. It would be even more perfect if we added a limit on the size of the dwelling. Fritz This means that you can use this tax to win the hearts of the middle class, and everyone in the middle class wants to own their own house, no matter how small! Grusen said affirmatively to the crown prince.

"Also on the land acquisition tax, Joey's idea that you said that the land value is less than 50 reich gold marks, you can consider tax exemption for buyers and sellers, which does take care of the middle and low income people. But this policy must also prevent people from taking advantage of the loophole and dividing large plots of land into small plots for sale, so this tax exemption can only be limited to one person once in a lifetime. Sir Gruson added to Joey's idea of a land purchase tax.

"Sales tax, this tax seems to be leviable, for goods such as food that is related to survival, they are less taxed or even exempt, and for those luxury goods are more taxed and higher, I completely agree with the idea that the tax on luxury goods is higher and higher. Things like perfumes, silk underwear, lipsticks, jewelry, I think even the highest taxes should be. We do have to make a strict list of luxuries, as Joey said. ”

Sir Gruson said solemnly, "Fritz, if you had this list of luxuries and levied high taxes, you would have won the votes of the religious fundamentalists in the Reichstag, who had wanted to do so for a long time. ”

"But, Fritz, if this tax is passed, you will become the enemy of all the beauty-loving women of the Empire...., I can't wait to see the face of the wiki, hahaha!" Sir Gruson burst out laughing undisciplinedly.

"Herman, don't forget that you also have a wife and a daughter." The crown prince retorted angrily.

"Uhhh

"Okay, let's move on to the inheritance tax." Sir Grusen patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, "It's an old tax, too, but Joey's idea of continuing the German industrial tradition is interesting. If we want future generations to continue the German industrial tradition, we really need to put some effort into inheritance. ”

As Joy said, if the children and grandchildren are willing to inherit the factory or even the handicraft workshop of their fathers, and are willing to continue to engage in and continue the production work of their parents, then they can be given the preferential treatment of inheritance tax exemption in inheritance. But when they give up the inheritance of their ancestral factories and crafts, when they transfer, sell, or even go bankrupt, the state has to reclaim the inheritance tax, and there are several generations to collect it. ”

"Taxes on imports and exports, can Joey explain more? To be honest, Germany's foreign trade treaty has a long history, and it has always been the implementation of independent tariffs, and the most favored nation condition between countries has always been the most favored nation condition, so I have never been very interested in this tax. Sir Gruson asked.

"Uncle Hermann, as you said, Germany's long-standing trade treaties have been about acquiescing in MFN status with foreign countries. Frankly, I personally believe that there should be no strict separation between foreign economic policy and foreign politics, and in my view, long-term economic relations between countries are more reliable than relying on personal prestige and political alliances, and economic relations between countries should be at the heart of foreign policy. As an important tool for influencing foreign economic relations, import and export tariffs must be well established and properly controlled. Joy said.

"Take the grain thing, for example. What if Germany one day has enough food to eat and it is cheap enough, but in a hungry grain-exporting country like Russia, they don't care how low the price of grain is, just to earn pounds or marks? Joy asked Sir Gruson, "Would an appropriate increase in tariffs protect German agriculture from undue and malicious competition?" ”

"Or to give another example, if we have a product, for example, a certain weapon that is selling well in the world, but one of our potential adversaries wants to buy it from us, and we decide to export this weapon because of various diplomatic relations, in addition to the price increase, if we set a relatively high tariff for this kind of weapon, and the arms manufacturers get a profit and the state gets customs revenue, is this also a way to slow down the potential adversary to build up its strength?" Joey gave another example.

"Also, we provoked this tariff war between Germany and Russia, but in case, one day someone else takes the initiative to provoke a trade war against Germany, will we also use tariffs to respond to their provocation?" Joey asked again.

Sir Gruson pondered for a moment, nodded in agreement with Joey's idea, and then said, "I agree that there should be a tax, but I have always been against taking the initiative to provoke a tariff war, and there will be no final winner in fighting each other over trade." ”

"Uncle Herman, I agree with you that there is no final winner in a trade war. However, I feel that foreign economic relations can be used as a supplement to diplomacy to make up for the shortcomings of imperial diplomacy. Joy said.

"Hehe, little Qiaoqiao, you're a little naïve. You must know that what I talked to your father about today is the dismantling of the Valley Iron Alliance, do you know who organized the Valley Iron Alliance? It was organized by our Prime Minister. In addition, the Prime Minister has always believed that foreign economy is foreign economy, and diplomacy is diplomacy. If foreign economic relations are regarded as part of foreign affairs, the Prime Minister will not agree to let your father, the Minister of Economic Affairs, manage foreign economic affairs. Grusen said with a smile.

"However, my father, as the Minister of Economic Affairs under the Prime Minister, still needs the approval of the Prime Minister for economic policy, and what we are talking about today must be reported to the Prime Minister, and the tariff must be discussed. Besides, I feel that the Prime Minister's policy has always been centered on German interests, and as long as he understands where Germany's interests lie, I think I can move him. ”

Sir Gruson listened to Joy's words, and his heart moved, and he said to the Crown Prince, "Fritz, do you remember, that before '72, Bismarck was more liberal than your liberals, and he was against collecting a finney from the tariff. ”

The crown prince nodded, agreeing with his old friend.

"There is some truth in what Joey said, and I think you can find an opportunity to talk to the Prime Minister about today's economic policy. Of course, even if the Prime Minister disagrees, I will help you to enlist the support of the majority in Parliament and try to pass the new economic bill that we are talking about today. Grusen said firmly.

"I'll look for an opportunity to meet with the prime minister. But you two only talked about taxes, and I get that. But taxation is a long-term process, and it is not possible to gather all the funds for this new economic plan. I still ask the two of you to explain the follow-up ways to make money, so that I have a better chance of convincing the prime minister. The crown prince spread his hands and urged.

Sir Gruson laughed out loud and then went on to talk about borrowing, "In the course of running a business, I have often encountered the problem of not having start-up capital for some new projects, but as long as the new project has very good return prospects, I will issue corporate bonds among friends or in society on the basis of promising a certain interest for a fixed period of time as a return. If you can turn a private placement like mine into a national issuance, then you will definitely be able to raise start-up capital. ”

"Herman, is this method you said will work? I've only seen companies issue corporate bonds, and I've never heard of the government using this method! The crown prince said suspiciously.

"Dad, Uncle Herman means public debt, and the Americans, or the U.S. government, probably did it in 1812, when the New York City government issued public bonds for the construction of urban infrastructure, and this public debt laid the foundation for New York to become a metropolis. Then, in 1817, the New York government issued bonds for the Erie Canal, which was completed in just five years. The U.S. urbanization infrastructure from 1837 to 1843 and from 1873 onwards relied on urban infrastructure bonds issued by the U.S. government. Joey said one by one.

"Americans are the originators of government bonds, and in the past, the infrastructure of American cities has been completed by government bonds, and of course, the US government's public bonds have been indiscriminate and defaulted in the process. But it doesn't matter, I have memorized Section 15B of the U.S. government's Securities Act, and when issuing bonds in Germany, I believe that I can take precautions to avoid these mistakes. Joey thought to himself.

The crown prince thought for a moment, "So, we can learn from the methods of the Americans and issue basic public bonds for urban construction, right?" As for the way to issue public bonds, can we ask the Americans to help us design it? ”

Sir Grusen nodded.

Joy added, "The issuance of public bonds must be legally prepared, after all, our laws are different from those of Americans." ”

The Crown Prince nodded yes to Sir Grusen.

"After you say that, I want to attract investment from the Jews, and I probably understand. Involve Jewish businessmen in the construction and operation of the city, on the one hand, to bring start-up capital to the urbanization, and on the other hand, to bring commercial prosperity to the city, you mean? The crown prince asked.

"Yes!" Sir Gruson and Joey spoke in unison.

"But rely on the law to curb the speculative nature of the Jews, and not to let them speculate on urban investment and real estate. Jews can make money, but they can't make huge profits, otherwise it will hurt the middle and low income people in Germany. Joey continued.

Sir Gruson and the Crown Prince looked at each other and smiled, knowing that what Joey had said, after all, Jewish nature was like that.

Crown Prince Frederick glanced at the two of them, "We need to seize more African colonies and get more cheap resources for our industrial development, which is also an important part of our plan?!" ”

"Yes!"

"It's the most important part!"