On the morning of March 15, the 11th year of Ankang, the Wenhua Hall of the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty.

The number of people who came to participate in the morning pilgrimage today has tripled.

After the establishment of Jiuqing and the reform of the Great Domain, the number of personnel in the early dynasty of the central court of the Ming Dynasty was reduced again.

The officials who usually participated in the early dynasties were basically the ministers of Jiuqing and a few scholars.

Only in certain special circumstances will the secretary of the department in charge of certain specific affairs, or the minister of military aircraft, be called.

Today's early dynasty, in addition to the Jiuqing and university scholars who usually participated, a bunch of Shangshu were also called.

In addition to these people, the main leaders of the royal family foundation and the government-run foundation also came.

Then there were members of the royal family, as well as representatives of the main nobility in Beijing.

The representatives of the nobility are, to some extent, representatives of the military.

The bachelor on duty announced the start of the early dynasty, and Zhu Jianfeng, the representative of the Ming royal family, stood up directly:

"Your Majesty, Brother Jian, Brother Jian Feng thinks that His Majesty Emperor Guangwu has revised Emperor Taizu Gao's precepts for Emperor Ming and established a new system of demotion and feudal feuds for kings and nobles, which has played a role in taxation.

"My brother and aunt call it the title tax.

"Those whose descendants have passed the assessment can be awarded the title of their father without being demoted, which is equivalent to obtaining results through hard work and making up for the title tax that should be paid through demotion.

"At the same time, the title itself is the most important asset possessed by kings and nobles.

"Therefore, the younger brother believes that the royal families of the Ming Dynasty and all the nobles who have titles should not pay any form of taxes when inheriting the titles and the assets of their fathers."

When Zhu Jianfeng said this, he once again surrendered his hand to the emperor, meaning that this is all he wants to express for the time being.

This requirement is also very simple, the downgrade is the title tax, and after paying the title tax, the inheritance tax should not be paid in the first place.

There is no mention of income tax on gifts between immediate family members.

Therefore, the scope of the interests he defends is very clear, that is, the royal family of the Ming Dynasty and all the nobles.

The conditions demanded are also very cautious, only refusing the inheritance tax, and nothing else.

put on a posture that he didn't want to mix.

After Zhu Jianyan listened, there was no expression on his face, and he seemed to ask very casually:

"Ninth brother, is this the opinion of the Zongren Academy?"

Zhu Jianfeng wanted to say "yes" directly, but unfortunately he couldn't say that now.

The Zongrenyuan after the Renmu Dynasty was not the Zongrenfu before the Renmu Dynasty, but a new institution established by Emperor Sejo.

All princes who have completed their education on the throne and passed the complete training in governance will be crowned princes.

Except for one of them, who was made emperor, everyone else would enter the Zongjin Temple after the new emperor succeeded to the throne.

The prince of the collateral line who can inherit the prince also has completed the same education and training, and will also join the Zongjin Academy.

Therefore, all the members of the Zongren Yuan are the Prince of Daming.

In addition to the current emperor's princes, all the other princes of the Ming Dynasty are also members of the Zongren Academy.

The president of the Zongjin Temple was concurrently held by the Emperor Taishang.

The Sojinin had the right to challenge the imperial court's policies and orders and to request an explanation from the appropriate executive body.

Its nature is similar to that of the supervisory board of later companies, or the early upper house of the Tessie countries.

Zhu Jianfeng is the current vice president of the Zongren Academy.

The revision of the tax law this time was directly proposed by the Emperor Taishang, the president of the Zongren Academy, so Zhu Jianfeng could not take the lead in opposing it.

At the very least, it cannot be opposed in the name of the entire sect.

So Zhu Jianfeng thought about it for a moment and responded directly:

"My father is far away in Jiangnan, so this is not what Zongrenyuan meant.

"But this is the common opinion of all the princes of the Sect Courtyard who are currently on duty."

Zhu Jianyan bowed slightly:

"Brother understands ......"

After saying this, Zhu Jianyan looked at Situ, Lu Yinpu, who was in charge of the world's finances.

Lu Yinpu is very embarrassed now.

Lu Yinpu's identity in the Ming court is very special, he is of course the emperor's person first.

But he is also a member of the Great Food Prince's line.

According to the rules set by Emperor Sejo, courtiers who had served beside the princes who had been trained in governance were not to be transferred from the local government to the central ministries until the emperor had chosen an heir from among all the princes.

But Zhu Jingyuan is a special case.

When Zhu Jingyuan was in the administration training, in addition to the positions he held in accordance with traditional practice, he also had a "governor."

And the scope of this governor is very large.

So far, except for the northern part of the Ming Dynasty, they have all been "governors" by him.

If any of the officials within the scope of Governor Zhu Jingyuan could not be promoted to the central court, then there would be no one in the court.

Therefore, the subordinate officials of Governor Zhu Jingyuan are naturally not restricted by convention.

Lu Yinpu served as a political envoy in North Mozhou.

Not only has the local area been directly supervised by Zhu Jingyuan in the north, but it is even the closest to the Great Food Country.

Therefore, Lu Yinpu, together with similar officials, is regarded as a member of such a circle as Prince Dashi.

However, Lu Yinpu himself knows very well that Prince Da Shi has supervised too many places, and he has not established any direct political relationship with Prince Da Shi at all.

Only subordinates who have worked directly beside Prince Daishoku as in the past can be regarded as Prince Daishi's people.

These people have not yet been promoted to the ministries of the Central Government Administration in accordance with the traditional rules.

In fact, he was only a courtier of the current emperor, and he was very lucky to catch up with Jiuqing and the courtiers of the Great Domain Reform.

Therefore, he was promoted to the official position of Jiuqing before he retired.

Theoretically, he had to unconditionally support the emperor's decision-making.

However, whether it is inheritance tax or immediate family gift tax, it will harm the interests of one's own family.

If he still has a choice, Lu Yinpu does not want to express his views on this issue.

But his current position is Situ, in charge of finance, including taxation.

Others can be silent, but oneself cannot be silent in any way.

Lu Yinpu, as a professional bureaucrat who reached a high position in Jiuqing, quickly made his final decision even in such an extremely tangled situation.

You must be on the side of the emperor.

This is a choice that must be made, and those losses are also losses that must be suffered.

Otherwise, there will be no future for yourself and your family.

Not only will the current emperor no longer reuse himself and his descendants, but neither will the subsequent emperors.

The senior bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty in this era have already understood that the Ming Emperor is a very independent individual politically, and at the same time, he will support each other and inherit the concept of the system.

If he refuses to cooperate with the current emperor on the issue of governance, in the government affairs for which he is responsible, the successor emperor will not give himself and his family a good face.

If you take the initiative to cooperate, you should be able to get appropriate compensation afterwards.

What I can pursue now is to find ways to show my role so that I can get the best possible compensation afterwards.

Lu Yinpu took a deep breath, stood up and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the downgrading of the titles of kings and nobles is two things that they don't want to do with taxes.

"The knighthood corresponds to the honor conferred by His Majesty, and it is a proof of making important contributions to the Ming Dynasty.

"In order to prevent future generations from sitting on the empty mountain, and more importantly, to prevent unworthy descendants from insulting the prestige of their ancestors, it is required that the descendants of the lord must pass the comprehensive assessment set by the imperial court.

"The difficulty of the corresponding comprehensive assessment of the knight is far from the level of raising the title by one level.

"Income tax on gifted assets is aimed at the transfer of ownership of existing assets.

"The logic of collecting income tax on donated assets is the recognition and protection of His Majesty the Ming Emperor and the Ming court, so that the owner of the asset can legally and safely give and obtain the asset.

"So a knighthood is a title, an asset is an asset, and a tax is a tax.

"Regardless of whether there is a title or not, whether there is a downgrade when the title is inherited, when the assets owned by him are transferred, he needs the approval of His Majesty and the imperial court.

"The unwillingness to pay this part of the tax means that the corresponding assets are not recognized by His Majesty and the imperial court.

"Of course, it is not protected in any way!

Therefore, as the Situ of the Ming court, the minister believed that any form of transfer of property ownership should be taxed by the people.

"The tax rate should be progressive, and the larger the amount of assets, the higher the tax rate.

"The threshold can be set at 100 silver bills, and the tax threshold can be set at 5 percent.

"The tax rate on the portion exceeding 10,000 silver bills should be 50 percent."

When Lu Yinpu's words came out, the eyes of most of the people at the scene widened.

Even the emperor himself was a little surprised.

Zhu Jianyan knew that as long as Lu Yinpu's brain was not dizzy, he knew that he had to cooperate with him at this time.

I just didn't expect him to do it so crisply and thoroughly.

This is thorough, not that he has overdone it, not that he has opened his mouth widely.

In many cases, the lion's opening is actually opposition, in the name of support.

Lu Yinpu's suggestion is, to a certain extent, within a reasonable range, to raise the bar as high as possible.

One hundred silver banknotes are equivalent to ten thousand pieces of later generations, and ten thousand silver bills are equivalent to one million.

The maximum income tax cap of 50% is also a typical operation in later generations.

If Lu Yinpu were to oppose it in the name of approval, he would probably support not setting a threshold.

As long as there is a gift of silver money, it must be taxed, and at the same time, the maximum tax rate is raised to more than eighty percent.

That's just pure troublemaking.

Of course, including inheritance in this way, the maximum income tax of 50% is also unacceptable to everyone.

Most of the people at the scene turned their attention to Zhu Jianfeng.

This Lu Yinpu is against the king, you should stand up and refute it immediately, right?

The imperial court collects inheritance tax and income tax for immediate family members, which is obviously harmful to the interests of a prince like you.

But although Zhu Jianfeng frowned and made a straight face, he did not speak.

Zhu Jianfeng's mind is also very simple, his emperor father and emperor brother must really collect this tax.

The emperor's direct request, as well as Lu Yinpu's plan now, can be regarded as a sky-high asking price.

But at the same time, the entire wealthy class of the Ming Dynasty will definitely oppose the payment of this tax.

They will certainly not accept the current solution, and they will certainly seek to keep the bar as low as possible.

The two sides will definitely have to tugg for a while and finally compromise on a plan that both sides are barely acceptable.

As the prince of Jinzhi, as the son of the Emperor Taishang and the younger brother of the emperor, his current identity is very sensitive.

If he stands with the courtiers below, he is likely to be targeted by the Emperor Taishang and the emperor together.

The key is that even if he is targeted by the Emperor and the Emperor, it is impossible for ordinary courtiers to accept him.

A prince like himself who is close to the branch cannot fully integrate into the group of courtiers.

This is also the reason why Zhu Jianfeng was the first to stand up at the beginning.

The first thing he stood up to was to make a request as a member of the Zongren Academy, rather than to go along with the courtiers below.

Now although Lu Yinpu is opposing himself, the key is to express the emperor's intentions.

When he opposes Lu Yinpu, he is opposing the emperor.

He can directly fight for benefits from the emperor, and can oppose the emperor's orders on other occasions.

But now it is absolutely impossible to stand in the group of courtiers.

So after Zhu Jianfeng said his attitude at the beginning, he changed to the mentality of watching the show.

Don't even think about me being a spearhead for you anymore.

The scene was frozen for a while in such a strange atmosphere.

After continuous observation and discussion with the people around them in a low voice, the other courtiers slowly realized that Zhu Jianfeng, the prince, would not stand up and speak.

So, Wang Tingzhen, the tomb of the Ming Dynasty, Jiuqing, who had been at odds with Lu Yinpu since a few years ago, stood up:

"Your Majesty, this guy Lu Yinpu is completely talking about it, and he doesn't consider the actual situation at all.

"If the family business that earned 10,000 silver bills was handed over to half of the imperial court when it was passed on to the children and grandchildren, who would be willing to work hard to earn money?

"The minister thinks that no matter what, inheriting the family business of his ancestors should not pay taxes."

Lu Yinpu also sprayed back directly without hesitation:

"Your Majesty, Wang Tingzhen is just talking about it, and he has two sets of standards when treating others and himself.

When discussing restrictions on workers' working hours, he said that people could not be prevented from working for more wealth.

Now, when the question of inheriting the family business is discussed, he supports the children of wealthy families to live on the inheritance of their ancestors.

"Such a person who is inconsistent with the outside should not stay in my Ming court, and he is not qualified to become the important minister of the Ming Dynasty.

"The minister thinks that the children of wealthy families should not want the inheritance of their ancestors, but also strive for themselves.

"The rich family of the Ming Dynasty also became a rich family in my Ming world.

"Their wealth can only be preserved and used after being recognized by the Ming Emperor and the imperial court.

"They should hand over some of their assets to the Ming court, which will be used to maintain the operation of the Ming court and help the people in those poor areas.

"If they want to leave all their assets to their children and grandchildren, and not pay taxes.

"His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the imperial court do not need to recognize this asset.

Therefore, the minister now proposes that anyone who refuses to pay income tax within the Ming Dynasty, as well as any tax evasion, should be directly divided by the penalty of confiscation of all assets.

"Including Wang Tingzhen's family, if his son wants to get the inheritance when he dies, but refuses to pay taxes, all his family property should be confiscated!"

This time, Lu Yinpu's words are a bit of a deliberate exaggeration.

Tax evasion means that the assets are not recognized by the imperial court, and the corresponding punishment is to directly raid the house.

But this time, his target was not the emperor's inquiry, but against Wang Tingzhen.

is an exaggerated statement to explain that Wang Tingzhen's reasons are simply untenable.

According to the tax logic established by His Majesty Emperor Shizu, it is indeed more reasonable for Lu Yinpu to say.

An individual's assets can only be protected if they are recognized by the emperor and the imperial court.

The condition for obtaining protection is that a part of it is given as a tax and handed over to the imperial court.

Every change in the ownership of assets must be approved by the imperial court so that the transaction can be protected and recognized.

So all transactions, all property changes, are theoretically subject to tax.

It's just that the taxes on inheritance and gifts from immediate family members were blocked by the main officials with the ethics of the Ming Dynasty.

Now the wall built by ethics and morality has been poked into a big hole by the Gusu Qianzhuang incident.

Then there is no way to stop the imperial court from collecting taxes in this area.

So purely on this logic, there is no way for everyone to continue to oppose the payment of this tax.

If it is in the face of ordinary people, or even people of the same level, they can still make trouble unreasonably, they can't argue logically, and they can't do anything if they don't admit that others will take advantage of themselves.

But when facing the emperor, it can't be, whoever is unreasonable should not be this official.

Most of the people on the scene also became sad when they heard this.

Talking to the people around him in a low voice, how should this matter end in the future.

Wang Tingzhen took two breaths hard, and didn't go to spray with Lu Yinpu, but turned directly to the emperor and said:

"Your Majesty, the purpose of this revision of the law is to close the existing tax loopholes.

"The means of tax evasion by the merchants discovered this time involved tax-exempt gifts between multiple people with different relationships.

"Gifts between father and son, gifts between husband and wife, and reverse gifts between father and daughter.

"We just had to cut off one of the parts and we could have prevented that from happening.

"Gifts between father and son cannot be avoided, but gifts between husband and wife can be avoided, and reverse gifts between father and daughter can also be avoided.

"It makes no sense to distinguish between a married man and a woman who are married about the ownership of their property.

"A married woman cannot transfer her husband's assets to her father.

"We only need to prohibit fathers from transferring assets directly to their daughters-in-law, and prohibit married women from transferring assets to their parents, to avoid this tax loophole.

"We don't need to tax all changes in ownership of assets between relatives."

If you can't argue logically, you can only go back and find a solution.

It's just that this method is really not very reasonable.

Lu Yinpu was already on the emperor's side anyway, and without hesitation, he asked directly again:

"There is no point in the ownership of assets between husband and wife? What about divorce?

"Haven't you found out that the Emperor Taishang has discovered that there are businessmen who transfer assets through marriage and divorce?

"For many people, the righteousness of human ethics no longer exists.

"As long as there is a way to avoid taxes, they will find a way to drill, and now they will find new ones without them.

"The real cure is to collect taxes.

"Taxing any form of change in ownership of assets closes any loopholes that may exist.

"The point is, morality and ethics no longer exist, so why should there be tax exemptions?"

Lu Yinpu still grasps the foundation, and the asset gift between relatives is tax-free, and the starting point is traditional morality and ethics.

These people don't take traditional morality and ethics seriously, so why do they need to be tax-free?

(End of chapter)