How should the local government and the central government divide the tax, which raises another big question, how big is the cake to be shared?

There were careful officials who made a rough calculation and shook their heads again and again. The area controlled by Yinghua is counted in hundreds of counties, and after the government goes to the countryside, there will be nearly 10,000 officials. Counting the officials' salaries and the expenses of the public office, how could they get 2 million taels of silver, and when the Manchus ruled in Guangdong, the annual money and grain to the household department was only 780,000 taels of silver.

This official was a member of the former Guangdong Governor's Yamen, of course, he looked at the problem from a big picture, and without waiting for Li Shi to speak, Su Wencai refuted him. What about local miscellaneous? There are both formal and informal factions, and no matter who collects it, regardless of the industrial and commercial part, the people of Guangdong Province have to pay nearly three million taels of silver every year, which is not enough?

Li Shi himself has personal experience in this matter, for the people, the tax is still a small head, and the miscellaneous faction is the big one, and the miscellaneous faction still has the demands of officials. What's worse is that the positive tax demanded by the central government is difficult to match the actual situation, and it is a fixed tax for the local government. However, the miscellaneous factions collected by the local government can get close to the real situation layer by layer, and the layer that harms the people the most is actually a squire like Zhong Shangwei Lai Yipin, because they are most familiar with the real "tax source", and this is the result of hitchhiking all the way.

If we consider the regular tax and miscellaneous taxes as a big pie, the question is not only how to divide them, but also how to collect them, which is asked by the officials. Many miscellaneous factions were received from the pockets of the officials and squires, but the government did not receive them.

The fundamental purpose of allowing the local government to divide taxes between the local government and the central government is to dissolve the previous Confucian social structure and gradually promote limited local autonomy, which needs to be complemented by another measure, that is, local councils. But now is far from the time, and Li Shi's arrangement is to lay the foundation first, and guide the original autonomy of Confucian society to the local autonomy of modern countries. 【1】

"Each township and district citizen is allowed to set up his own public bureau, and the local propertied households themselves elect the members of the public bureau. After the apportionment is made into the mu, in addition to the regular tax levied on the acre, we will set specific names for other miscellaneous items, and distribute them to each county, township and district, and the members of the public bureau will agree on the details of them. ”

Li Xian lightly said the actual work of the spread into the mu, before saying that the government went to the countryside, the officials were one, it seems that the action is big, but the change is not as big as this one, this is the decision to subvert the past Confucian society.

Everyone was not too surprised at first, firstly, this process was hidden under the surface, and the original magistrate used the hands of the squires to collect taxes, and the essence of the process was the same, and secondly, this was the same as the previous method of the Cantonese Chamber of Commerce.

But after thinking about it carefully, the more I thought about it, the more unfathomable I felt, and even Su Wencai frowned and said, "Isn't this the collusion of Xu Minren against the government?" If you are connected in series and decide not to pay, how can you be good? ”

Li Shi shrugged his shoulders and didn't pay? Individuals don't pay, there is a public bureau, there is a government, this is not a problem. If the public bureau is determined not to pay, it will not set up a public office, will not give the people a household registration, regardless of their public security, and will not give them a judgment to enforce the law. Besides, it is a tradition of the Chinese people for thousands of years to pay the imperial grain, and the propertied households generally do not directly refuse to pay, but have to argue about how much to pay and what is the way to say the money paid.

This is easy to do, set up a county public bureau, let each township and district public bureau elect a few people, and form a group to bargain with the county government, so that the township and district public bureau can also be connected with the county-level administrative agencies, and there is no need for the government to collect taxes across the squire officials. With the public bureau, the people have a tool to speak and vote, although it is only for the money and food of the land, and it is only scattered in the townships and districts under the county, but it is a beginning, so that this public bureau will slowly grow in the future and become a real local council in the future.

"I'm afraid that this public bureau will become a tool for the evil gentry to harm the people......"

Some officials who are familiar with the situation of the people in the countryside are very worried, and in terms of the facts, most of these public bureaus are controlled by the squire, and when the time comes, will they be more justified than before when they squeeze the villagers?

"That's why the government wants to go to the countryside, and the officials are one. Only when the government is in the township can fairness and justice be maintained. Only those who are integrated with the officials and who are said to be immersed in the counties and townships, and who collude with the squire, can surface and be directly supervised by the local and central governments. At the same time, we must also formulate the regulations of the public bureau, and supervise the normal operation of the public bureau from the central to the local level, so as not to let it be controlled by the evil gentry. Members of the Public Bureau, after all, are the people, and other people, through the Public Bureau, is always a place to resist. ”

Li Xi explained that he still had nothing to say, and set up a public bureau, which is a platform for a multi-party game, and the total amount of the game between the political axe and the people. Then the political axe supervises to ensure fairness and justice, so that all levels of the people can play and share in the public bureau. As far as the Chinese tradition is concerned, the people are relative to the political axe, and the small people are relative to the squires, and they are always weak and dare not speak, but under a framework with clear rules, the weaker party can always find space to assert its rights.

In the eyes of other officials, the public bureau is a tool for the self-determination of the people to share taxes and fees, and if this tool can work properly, the local and central tax sharing system can be smoothly implemented.

"This dynasty has not yet fully restored the Qing court's control over the people, and according to the reports of the counties, it is estimated that this year's regular tax will be less than 30%, and the total amount of money and grain can be made up step by step with the help of the public bureau."

Li Xi talked about the practical role of the public bureau, that is, to consolidate the new dynasty's control over the localities.

Then the topic turns back to the right path, how do the local and central governments divide taxes?

The tax-sharing system involves a system problem, how many levels of finance should be set up? Considering the current reality, Li Xi decided to set up only the county and central levels first, and the prefectural level was only a coordinating body, and then consider the provincial level when the territory was larger.

And how to divide the tax between the central government and the county, Li Xian has a rough idea of this question, but he still needs specific figures for reference, and after accounting with the senate and household officials for a whole day, Li Xi finally decided that after the apportionment of the land into the mu, the regular tax and the fire consumption collected by the Qing court before, and the local miscellaneous factions are all included, and they are all owned by the county-level localities, and the estimated full amount is 2 million taels, which can roughly support the normal operation of the government below the county level.

"Nominally, it is attributed to the localities, but it is still allocated by the central government, and the surplus counties are used to make up for the deficiencies, and the total surplus is retained to make up for the arrears, and if it is still insufficient to make up the arrears, other taxes will be allocated to make up for the deficits according to the situation. In short, the intention of the field tax is to raise officials. ”

Li Shi's decision was to split the government into several parts, and in his vision, the land tax would only be used to support the magistrates and the central Shangshu Office, and stabilize the land-based rights tax system to a limited extent. Yinghua will be a country of industry and commerce, and agriculture will naturally not be abolished, but it will not be the core of future national politics.

The land tax is enjoyed by the local government and adjusted by the central government, and it is not completely separated. As for the development of the locality, it is not enough to just support the officials, so the local government also needs to have its own taxes. Originally, during the Manchu Qing Dynasty, there were deed taxes, municipal taxes, local customs duties, and registration taxes, etc., but now Li Shi has made a rough division of them, and customs duties, registration taxes and other taxes that hinder commercial circulation have been abolished. Small-scale industrial and commercial taxes such as deed tax and municipal tax are also given to the localities, and this part of the money is not much, even if the local industry and commerce develop, it will not be high, and it is not enough to do big things, but it can still do the affairs of a county, and the county-level chief official and the county public bureau will play how to use it in practice. For example, raising patrolmen, building roads and bridges, and so on. Originally, Li Xi also considered the division of ownership of unclaimed land between the local government and the central government, but this involves a fundamental land policy, and it is not good to act rashly now, so the land policy will first maintain the status quo and then adjust it.

"What about the national tax?"

Everyone was a little frightened, all the land taxes were used to support officials, so where did the money come from to support the Heavenly King's Mansion, the imperial court, and the army? That's a big head!

"I founded the country in Yinghua, when did I rely on the land tax and these small local taxes?"

Li Xi smiled, after the battle of Qingpu in February, his forces went from dark to bright, relying on his own industry and the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce, which is the big head. Now that the kingdom is established, there is a greater loave waiting for it.

Tariffs, not to mention the trade between Nanyang and Europe, now he Li Xi and the Manchu Qing are the two countries, and the future tariffs will receive hand cramps.

Industrial and commercial tax, the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce absorbs large-scale industrial and commercial taxes and fees, and now it is still at the level of superficial fixed protection fees, and it needs to be refined in the future, and it will be promoted to the surname of value-added tax and business tax, which is a bigger subject he has to face, and he will gain more.

As for the stamp duty, property tax, and personal income tax in the future, it is still a little far away, but as long as the industry and commerce develop, these are all tax sources.

After sorting out this pass, everyone has a number in their hearts. Taxes such as land tax, deed tax, and city tax were lost to the local government, but the local government was not completely autonomous, and it was the officials sent by the central government who decided how to use these taxes. Localities can only rely on the public bureau to express public opinion and negotiate with the government, so they are not afraid of the local government.

Strictly speaking, Li Xi's tax sharing system is still only a prototype, which is very different from the real tax sharing system in the future, but this is to adapt to the current environment, as long as this form is determined, and there is a new thing that can continue to develop in the public bureau, it will slowly move towards a real tax sharing system in the future.

Finally, another key question was raised: how to collect taxes?

Li Xian's arm was raised, and if he had difficulties, he would find a merchant and collect taxes, so he would leave it to the merchant to do it for him.

Everyone's mouths are circled in the shape of duck eggs, this is really going to turn the country of Yinghua into a country of merchants?

Of course, it is not such an exaggeration, Li Xi wants to promote the private financial system, so that the link of tax payment can be integrated into the business environment, and no matter how perfect and good the policy is, if the implementation link is still controlled by power, that is, at the government level, the result will be like Wang Anshi's change of law, and any good thing can become a bad thing.

When Li Shi made his decision, the officials were all having a headache, and from the beginning of the apportionment into the mu, Li Xi began to implement a complete set of administrative policies, involving too many aspects, and now we have to talk about the industrial and commercial policies of the new dynasty.

First, the core responsibility of these officials is to stabilize the traditional society based on fields and peasants, and secondly, in terms of industry and commerce, the guys of the Cantonese Chamber of Commerce can't help but force the palace, and he has not yet tore up a clear result with the Cantonese Chamber of Commerce.

Here he only talks about how to use the power of commerce to collect local taxes, mainly land taxes.

The specific taxation process is as follows: the agricultural department of the township and district office summarizes the land and mu bills, and submits it to the county household for summary accounting, and after the total amount is obtained, it is submitted to the household section of the Shangshu Department for review. The household section of the Shangshu Department is either approved, or increased or decreased according to the central deployment, and then sent back to the county household, and the county chief official and the county public bureau negotiate the increase or decrease of the total amount and implement it, and finally send the list of levies to the township and district public office.

The township and district public office notifies and adjusts the taxpayers under it, and the people submit their own votes to the Sanjiang Ticket Bank, or other ticket houses established after approval, in the branch offices set up in the township and district, and after obtaining the tax payment license, they will register the tax receipt with the Agricultural Correction Law of the Township District Office as a tax payment voucher for later verification or disputes.

The detailed process is roughly like this, and if there are any problems, they can be adjusted after the specific implementation. Hearing such an arrangement, Su Wencai was the first to jump up and shouted excitedly: "Virtue and politics!" Good governance! Benevolent! ”

Other officials also saluted Li Xian and congratulated him together, if this set of policies is implemented, Kangxi Lao'er's benevolent government is basically cow to flowers.

Li Shi had expected it and accepted it with a smile, of course, this is a great benevolent policy, because the tax collection has avoided two drawbacks in the past thousands of years. The first is that the squires and officials collect taxes personally, and miscellaneous extortion is in this link, without this link, the people will naturally have to breathe a sigh of relief.

The second point is also very critical, the imperial court collects taxes, which has always been squeezed layer by layer, such as the Lijia system, which is a round every ten years, and the full amount of the tax on the wheel must be guaranteed, and if it is insufficient, the family will be bankrupt and compensated. And now the establishment of the public bureau not only allows the people to negotiate with the government, but if there is really a shortcoming, the entire public bureau is also responsible, so as not to let the family go into ruin.

"This policy can be implemented, and the people's will will be ......"

Li Zhushou didn't know much about the tax system, so he listened quietly on the side, and finally sighed deeply when he heard it now.

"Let the ticket bank collect taxes, for this purpose, you have to set up branches in hundreds of places, and the artificial site is also transmitted with silver, how can you get hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, such an expense, even if it is the private property of the king, it is difficult to bear, right?"

Liu Xingchun thought of the reality and raised a very sharp question.

"The government wants to go to the countryside, and the ticket houses also want to go to the countryside, besides, I am also planning to open private ticket houses, if you want to open a private ticket office, one of the conditions is to set up branch offices in a number of places, and bear the responsibility of collecting taxes, and the cost of this policy will have to be shared by everyone."

Li Xian is confident, let go of the card of the private ticket house, he has been holding it in his hand for a long time, and this condition, I believe that many financial businessmen are willing to accept, even if he does not ask for it, he will open branches in a number of places. What the political axe wants to do is to divide some remote and remote places equally among these private ticket houses, so that they can eat both meat and bones.

"One ring is one ring, one ring is tighter, the talent of the king is really extraordinary!"

Li Zhushou saluted Li Xian, expressing his sincere admiration, but Li Xian smiled bitterly, this set of serial moves, he still felt that there were many loopholes, and they needed to be continuously improved in practice. In his previous life, the professional division of labor in society was unimaginable to people at this time, he just relied on the profession of a reporter, and he could grasp the general context of everything.

(To be continued)