Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

In addition to changing the business tax, Zhu Youjian's major adjustment to commercial taxes was to implement a single tax system.

The commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty was 30%, which was not high, but many businessmen still complained. What was the reason?

In addition to the fact that some merchants are unwilling to pay taxes, it is because merchants move around and may have to pay taxes here and there, resulting in repeated collection of business taxes.

The 2% share of tariffs in the fiscal budget is also derived from this:

Every time you pass a customs checkpoint, you will be taxed.

Powerful businessmen can use various means to evade taxes, or only pay one thirty percent of the commercial tax.

Small businessmen are in trouble as they may be taxed repeatedly several times, and their actual tax burden may far exceed the nominal rate of 30%.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian repeatedly emphasized that self-employed businesses with a turnover of less than 100 yuan should be exempt from tax. The collection of business tax is managed according to the jurisdiction:

"Business tax should be reported to the place of registration, and taxes for the previous year should be reported from February to August each year, and an appointment should be made with the tax agency."

"If the deadline is exceeded, the tax authorities will issue a warning and impose a late payment fee. If the previous year's declaration is not completed in the current year, it will be treated as tax evasion."

“Tax officials are not allowed to harass businesses or interfere with their operations in normal times.”

"Taifu Temple has figured out a plan for how to calculate taxes for head offices, branches, and companies whose turnover is mainly outside the city."

Dong Yingju, the Minister of the Imperial Household, heard the words and accepted the order. Then he heard the emperor say:
"The inland customs will be abolished, and from now on, taxes will only be levied on goods entering and leaving the border."

"In the future, tariffs will mainly be customs duties and border tariffs."

“No more customs duties will be levied on domestic circulation.”

"The Ming Dynasty is about to unify its markets with its vassal states, but it cannot afford to keep its own markets ununified."

Most of the ministers agreed with this tax reduction.

When Emperor Wanli increased tariffs and levied taxes, he was criticized by them a lot.

Now that the emperor wants to abolish the taxation offices in the interior, how could they possibly object?

But Dong Yingju, the Minister of the Imperial Household, was in a dilemma and said:

"Although the tariff is a small percentage, it still amounts to more than 200,000. If the tariffs in various places are abolished, the total tax amount will be lower."

"And the customs and border taxes, shouldn't they be completely under the control of the Taifu Temple?"

The General Administration of Customs is currently jointly managed by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of the Navy, and one tenth of it is given to the Internal Treasury.

Zhu Youjian did not want to change this situation, so he asked:
"Without the cooperation of the navy and the coast guard, how much customs tax can the Ministry of Revenue collect?"

"The same goes for border tariffs. How can we collect them without the cooperation of the border guards?"

Dong Yingju was speechless now, and Zhu Youjian continued:

“The General Administration of Taxation can set up a special border customs office to be responsible for collecting border customs duties together with the Border Defense Department.”

"You can negotiate the specific distribution. Border tariffs must be strictly collected and smuggling must be strictly investigated to cooperate with border defense policies. All of it must be used for border defense and border construction to prevent some people from ignoring border safety for the sake of tax collection."

Dong Yingju could not object to this, but he was helpless in his heart. He knew that Taifu Temple would become a worker for the Border Defense Department. No matter how much it was nominally allocated, it would eventually be allocated to the border areas.

This immediately made him lose the motivation to compete with the Border Defense Department, and he planned to imitate the tax distribution of the General Administration of Customs.

Zhu Youjian was considering the issue of double taxation and believed that under the current conditions, it would be difficult to completely avoid double taxation, otherwise a large amount of tax evasion would occur.

In order to reduce the burden on the common people, he continued to order:

"Goods carried by individuals on a pole or rickshaw, weighing ten dan or one thousand jin and valued at less than one hundred yuan, especially food such as grain, vegetables, and fish, shall not be taxed."

"Each city should also reserve special stalls for these people, and the stall fees should be as low as possible."

"Enterprises and individuals that have been overtaxed or taxed repeatedly can keep their tax receipts and apply for a tax refund when they file their tax returns."

"The Taifu Temple should set aside a portion of the tax revenue to refund the portion that was collected repeatedly."

This undoubtedly increased the workload of the Taifu Temple. Although many ministers agreed, Dong Yingju, the Minister of the Taifu Temple, asked:

"Industrial and commercial taxes are shared with local governments. If the imperial court rebates them, should local governments also rebate them?"

"If they all withdraw, things will become too complicated, and both the court and the localities will have to add many more officials."

Zhu Youjian frowned, also feeling that it was a difficult situation. Because now was an era that relied entirely on manpower, the existing officials in the Taifu Temple were simply not enough to support such a complicated tax refund.

Bi Ziyan suggested:
"It is better not to refund the tax but to issue a tax invoice. The double-taxed tax can be used to offset the tax in the next year."

"This way, the court doesn't have to set aside funds specifically for tax refunds, so there will be more money to spend."

Some people agree with this approach, while others question it:

"What if this tax invoice is forged? Wouldn't that mean tax evasion?"

"If someone uses a tax receipt to deduct it, won't the tax revenue of a certain place or year be greatly affected? How will the official's performance be calculated?"

"What if some officials deliberately levy taxes repeatedly, setting traps for those who come after them?"

This obviously involves many issues. Zhu Youjian listened to their discussion and concluded:
"The tax deduction invoice should be handled with caution. It is best to have the Taifu Temple and the local government issue it together to reduce the possibility of forgery."

"Or they could be paid with treasury bills as proof that the court owes them money. The payment could be made when the treasury has money, and the treasury bills could be used to offset taxes."

"As for the issue of official assessment, tax deductions can be listed separately and relevant statistics can be strengthened. Those with high rates of double taxation and abnormal deduction data must be strictly reviewed and held accountable."

This undoubtedly increased the workload, but the term "treasury bonds" made Dong Yingju's eyes light up and he said:

“Are Treasury bills Treasury bonds?”

"Like the bonds issued by the Dongping Marquisate?"

Zhu Youjian said:
“Similar to government bonds, but with lower interest rates or even no interest.”

“They are allowed to circulate on the stock exchange, with the validity period marked on the bonds and redemption completed within a specified period.”

"If you need money urgently, you can also get a mortgage loan from the bank."

This is obviously more practical than directly issuing tax deduction invoices. It can allow people who are in urgent need of money to get the money, and the treasury will have more time to make adjustments. Dong Yingju said:
"I think issuing treasury bonds is more feasible, but it requires verification by the Taifu Temple and the local authorities."

"It takes several months to go back and forth from the capital, so it's impossible to deal with this kind of thing in a timely manner."

"I think we should set up a branch Taifu Temple in various places, just like the Taifu Temple and Weiwei Temple." Upon hearing this, Zhai Fengchong, the Minister of Sinong Temple, also made a request, believing that the warehousing and transportation affairs in various places were heavy, and a branch Sinong Temple should be established.

Obviously, after the Taifu Temple and Weiwei Temple established local institutions to expand their power, the Taifu Temple and Sinong Temple were unwilling to lag behind and planned to expand their power as well.

Zhu Youjian also planned to strengthen his control over the local areas and set up a branch office to check and balance the local government offices. He calculated the situation of the nine temples and said to his ministers:
"The nine temples are responsible for specialized affairs. These matters are highly professional and should be managed vertically in principle."

"The Imperial Household Department originally had branch Imperial Household Departments and Imperial Horse Departments in various places, and the Imperial Uniform Guard also had people in the local areas, so the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Guard Department took the lead in establishing local agencies to directly manage the affairs under their jurisdiction."

"The Taichang Temple, Guanglu Temple, Honglu Temple, and Zongzheng Temple, which are supervised by the Ministry of Rites, don't have much to do right now. They can be temporarily handled by local ritual and legal institutions."

"The remaining Taifu Temple, Sinong Temple, and Shaofu Temple are all related to finance. Can you discuss how to set up an administrative office?"

It is true that Taifu Temple and Sinong Temple are related to finance, but it is a bit strange to say that Shaofu Temple is related to finance.

However, when the officials thought about the fact that the imperial court's industrial and mining enterprises were now under the management of the Shaofu Temple, they vaguely guessed the emperor's thoughts. Han Yu said:

"Your Majesty, do you want to bring all the corporate shares collected by the court under the management of the Shaofu Temple?"

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly and said:
"The court needs an institution to centrally manage assets, obtain profits and increase fiscal revenue."

"My opinion is to establish a State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission modeled after the Imperial Assets Commission, with the full name being the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission."

"This committee is under the name of the Shaofu Temple. While they supervise state-owned enterprises, they are also supervised by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Industry."

“After the establishment of the future Congress, the National Assembly will also be added.”

“Each of them shall appoint three members to form the SASAC Collective Council.”

The ministers disagreed with this. Han Yu said:

"Your Majesty, if the imperial court manages the industry, isn't that competing with the people for profits?"

"I think it would be better to sell these assets to solve the problem of state expenditure."

Zhu Youjian frowned when he heard this. He didn't expect that as soon as he proposed the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, someone would call for competing with the people for profits and demand that the government withdraw and the people advance.

This made him extremely unhappy, and he stared at Han Yu and asked:

"Who are the people that Han Xueshi is talking about?"

"If we talk about the representatives of the people, the future Congress is more worthy of the title, right?"

“Why not put the entire SASAC in Congress?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the Second Department of Household and Industrial Workers became unhappy. They did not want the power that they were originally able to share to be taken away from them.

Minister of Revenue Bi Ziyan said:

“Congress had not yet been established, and it did not necessarily have people who were good at running businesses.”

"I think the SASAC should still be placed in the Shaofu Temple, with the Ministry of Households and Industry and the National Assembly jointly supervising and managing it."

Other financial officials also seconded the motion.

Under the emperor's gaze, Han Yu did not continue to speak. Apparently, he realized that the emperor's mind could not be changed, and he did not dare to resist.

But in his heart, he really disagreed with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and even had a lot of opinions about the Imperial Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, believing that they were competing with the people for profits.

However, Zhu Youjian also had a lot of opinions about him, because he did not expect Han Yu to be so deeply influenced by big businessmen and to speak out against industrial and commercial taxes several times.

If he was just an ordinary university scholar, it would be fine. The key is that Han Yu is now the Prime Minister and is in charge of the Finance and Economics Committee. If he secretly resists or even deliberately sabotages, all the things discussed today will be difficult to implement.

This forced Zhu Youjian to consider whether he should adjust Han Yu's division of labor or even remove him from his position.

However, Han Yu has been the Prime Minister for less than a year, and only one-third of his three-year term has passed. Zhu Youjian really does not want to change the Prime Minister at this time, which would cause unrest in the court and the country.

Even the adjustment of the division of labor must be done carefully to avoid disputes in the court.

He has always been very wary of factional struggles, and he suppressed disputes in the court because he was afraid that the struggles would continue.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian has been hesitant about whether to adjust Han Yu, who came from the Donglin Party. Now what he wants to do is to weaken Han Yu and directly ignore his opinions.

This made him feel fortunate that the cabinet had always been positioned as an auxiliary agency. After he ascended the throne, he divided the cabinet power, so even the prime minister could be bypassed.

Thinking about this matter, Zhu Youjian had no hesitation in setting up the SASAC and said seriously:

"All state-owned enterprises owned by the imperial court and local governments, all royal enterprises owned by the inner court, and state-owned enterprises and public enterprises in vassal states are all publicly owned."

"Their revenue can reduce taxes levied on the public, which benefits all people. Especially industries such as road communications, which are responsible for providing public services."

“So the existence of state-owned enterprises is not to compete with the people for profits, but to benefit the entire people.”

"The SASAC must be established, and will be temporarily placed in the Shaofu Temple. Local governments will set up a Shaofu Temple to uniformly supervise and manage state-owned enterprises in their respective areas."

"In addition to court officials, this institution can also recruit managers from the public and enjoy dividends according to the level of seniority."

"Let's see if we can manage it first, and then make a decision after the Congress is officially established in the future."

Zhu Youjian had high hopes for this and hoped that the Shaofu Temple would explore ways to manage enterprises, so as to further promote public ownership and achieve a world of great harmony in the future.

However, the existence of state-owned enterprises will inevitably form competition with private enterprises. Many people continue to request the abolition of the SASAC under the banner of "competing with the people for profits."

Even many parliamentarians were like this, which made the SASAC's start extremely difficult.

Zhu Youjian had anticipated this, but he had made up his mind to overcome all difficulties and establish the SASAC, allowing state-owned enterprises to take a leading or even dominant position and increase the power of the court.

So he first allocated a few private plots to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission:

"In the public service sector that affects the national economy and people's livelihood, public enterprises must gain a dominant position."

"For example, the official uniforms, food, salt, urban real estate, roads, ports, communications and other industries related to food, clothing, housing and transportation; the energy industry and tap water industry for heating and cooking; the medical, health, financial and insurance industries related to life and health; the cultural and educational industries for cultivating the next generation, etc., must all be based on public ownership."

"Even as in the defense equipment industry, a strict access system is implemented to strictly supervise practitioners."

"Natural resources belong to the whole people. The development of factories and mines and the exploitation of forests should also be mainly carried out by state-owned enterprises. After mining, the damage to the natural environment must be repaired to leave green mountains and clear waters for future generations."

"The Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Finance should come up with relevant plans to strengthen supervision of these public service industries, requiring the provision of public services first and profits second. They should also restrict excessive profiteering and designate them as low-profit industries that restrict competition."

Many of these industries were new, which reduced officials' resistance. However, some officials whose families worked in grain, salt, factories and mines were very dissatisfied with this.

Shang Zhouzuo, the Minister of Industry, was honest and dedicated to his work. He agreed with this method of increasing fiscal revenue without increasing taxes on the common people. He accepted the emperor's order and planned to work with the Shaofu Temple to establish the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and develop state-owned enterprises. (End of this chapter)