Chapter 777 Palace Examination (4)
Sun Shan looked at the topic and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
To be honest, Sun Shan was not optimistic about the court's new tax system.
The intention is good, but execution is extremely difficult.
The biggest obstacle to the court's new tax policy came from the big landowners.
The so-called big landlords are actually high-ranking officials and gentry.
The court’s new tax policy is aimed at changing the lives of these people.
It is completely against human nature for one's own people to revolutionize themselves.
The larger the landlord, the more taxes he needs to pay. The larger the landlord, the more powerful he is, the greater the resistance to collecting taxes, and the greater the pressure on the tax-collecting officials.
For example, how to collect taxes from the land owned by royal relatives or local officials?
The magistrate of a county can collect taxes from the landlords in the county, but can he collect taxes from the second-rank officials in the county?
Even if a second-rank official has a tax exemption, the land of his family often exceeds the tax exemption range. So can taxes be levied on the land beyond this range?
Obviously, a seventh-rank county magistrate has no way to collect taxes from local gentry, unless there is a second-rank governor behind this seventh-rank county magistrate.
Another problem is the officials who collect taxes.
When a seventh-rank county magistrate goes to collect taxes, he will inevitably become corrupt when faced with money, and his subordinates will also be corrupt at every level.
As a result, farmers' taxes will not be reduced at all, and the court's taxes will not increase. There is no difference between the new policy and the old one.
Some landlords would even distribute the taxes they needed to pay among their tenant farmers.
For example, the previous ratio was 37, but after the new policy comes out, it may become 28.
The interests retained by the landlords remained unchanged, while the lives of the tenant farmers became increasingly difficult.
The court's new tax policy seems to be that those with less land pay less, and those with more land pay more. It seems that the common people are gaining an advantage, the landless farmers are gaining even more, and the landlords are at a disadvantage.
But if a landlord can suffer losses, he is not a landlord.
Farmers with little or no land always need to eat.
Living in a big city, you can also make a living by moving bricks at the dock like Shigou's family did.
But landless farmers like Guiger's elder brother who lost their land due to gambling had no choice but to farm for the landlords to make a living.
In the end, the tax based on the land area would only be passed on to Guiger's elder brother instead of being borne by the landlord himself.
After the implementation of the tax system, some farmers could not bear the exploitation and taxation at all levels, so they chose to give up their farmland and become vagrants who did not have to pay taxes.
These landless hooligans did not have to pay taxes and had no use value, so the imperial court generally did not care about them or provide them with resettlement.
If these gangsters gradually come together, they will become an immeasurable force.
Sun Shan knew that most of the followers of the White Lotus Sect were farmers who had lost their land, and that their uprising would deal a fatal blow to social stability.
Sun Shan understood the historical practice of "taxation on land", and summarized it as follows:
The court got more taxes and won mahjong.
The officials, gentry and big landlords passed the taxes on to the peasants below. They didn't win, but they didn't lose either.
In the end, only the lower-class self-employed farmers or tenant farmers lost everything.
The majority of the people in Daqian were often self-employed farmers and tenant farmers.
Sun Shan was very sure that the new tax policy implemented by the previous emperor would fail.
If we want to achieve long-term cure and maintain order, the key is to improve productivity.
If the imperial court's policy is rated ten points, it is already very remarkable if the local authorities can implement it at five points. The local authorities may even implement it at a minus five points, thus distorting the policy.
It is a great pity that the information is not developed enough and the people are not informed quickly enough.
Sun Shan was pessimistic about this new policy.
However, at present, the new tax system is better than the previous one, so Sun Shan still wrote down his approval answer.
Sun Shan first expressed his appreciation for the late emperor's new policies, and then wrote down the reasons for his approval.
For example, it can reduce the burden on farmers. After the land tax is distributed according to the acreage, farmers do not have to pay labor service, which reduces the economic burden of farmers who have no land or a small amount of land, allowing them to engage in other production and thus produce greater value.
He also said that the new policy could increase the population.
In Daqian, population is the measure of a place's prosperity.
The selection of upper, middle and lower counties is not based on the size of the area, but on the population. The increase in the population of a place proves that the officials of this place are doing a good job of governance. Population is the primary productive force, and everything depends on population.
Finally, he praised the new tax system for simplifying the tax collection process by eliminating the need for multiple levels of processing, which would reduce corruption to a limited extent and fill the national treasury.
Sun Shan linked ancient and modern times and cited some examples to support his views on the New Deal.
After writing about the advantages of the new policy, I will then briefly write about the disadvantages of the new policy.
If Sun Shan wanted to write about the shortcomings truthfully, he could write more than 10,000 words.
But to be on the safe side, he decided to do the test against his conscience.
When Sun Shan wrote about the shortcomings, he only wrote about the shortcomings that had been exposed and did not dare to write in depth.
For example, after the new policy is implemented, we need to pay attention to local differences and cannot implement it in a one-size-fits-all manner. We need to have specific policies for specific places.
Provide some flexible policies for implementers.
For example, the implementation of new policies should not be rushed. It is best to do it step by step, quietly and gradually promote it from point to surface.
In order to avoid taboos and to ensure that he could settle down safely and get a job, Sun Shan decided to adopt a "mediocre strategy" and write some superficial answers that were visibly visible to the naked eye.
Sun Shan did not dare to speak freely and criticize the new policy without any scruples.
And write down what you think - "the new policy is doomed to fail" and other "big words".
Sun Shan came here to take the exam, not to be a "censor".
Sun Shan adhered to the principle of "action is worse than words". He wanted to realize his ambitions and seek benefits for the people. He first made himself an official, and then let practice speak for itself after gaining status.
It’s better to do it than say it!
Rather than talking first and then practicing.
Looking at the vermilion gate of the palace, Sun Shan was sure that the hierarchy was strict and he could not speak freely.
In order to ensure that he could "bring honor to his family", Sun Shan chose to go ashore first and then do things.
Sun Shan sighed and continued writing.
After writing about the pros and cons of the new policy and how he would implement it, Sun Shan finally wrote down his suggestions.
The new tax policy was implemented to reduce the burden on farmers and allow the court to collect more taxes, making society more stable and Daqian enjoy long-term peace.
Sun Shan proposed the suggestion of "making the cake bigger".
I implore Your Majesty to invest more resources in developing agriculture and increasing the output and variety of food.
If you can harvest a few more buckets of rice from an acre of land, or even dozens or hundreds of buckets of rice.
Farmers can get more food, and the court can receive more grain taxes. In this way, both the court and the people can have unprecedented development, and truly realize the goal of "good for you, good for me, and good for everyone".
In order to make it easier for examiners to understand, Sun Shan also gave an example.
For example, if a family has more than a dozen people on a piece of land, and they only build one floor according to tradition, it will be crowded.
On a fixed foundation, two, three, or even ten floors can be built.
This will make everyone live more comfortably and reduce conflicts.
The late emperor’s new policy was to allow the court to collect more taxes and reduce the burden on the people.
We can implement the new policy while changing our mindset so that existing fields can produce more food, just like building more rooms on a fixed foundation.
I implore Your Majesty to invest more in farmland irrigation so that we can have a better harvest of grain.
In this way, the court can collect more grain, the people can have enough to eat, and everyone will benefit.