There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 96 New Tax Law

Old Man Nie didn't know how he got back to Niejia Village. No, it should be called Shanqian Village now. Niejia Village is already a thing of the past.

The former Shanqian Village was Mr. Nie’s backyard. The land all belonged to Mr. Nie, and the people were all his tenants.

But now, Master Nie was defeated by the Han army, and the land was distributed to the tenant farmers like them by the land distribution officials, and the amount was quite large, 3 mu per person. Assuming there are 5 people in the family, that means 15 mu per family.

This is already a lot. During the Qing Dynasty, a household with 15 mu of land could barely have enough to eat and would not starve to death.

Now, all kinds of harsh policies and taxes have been abolished by the Han army, the land has been re-surveyed, and there is no more levying of taxes. Only regular taxes are collected, which are all considered to be great benevolent policies.

Only a portion of the tax grain that Old Man Nie brought over was counted as taxes. At the same time, the clerk also asked him whether Uncle Nie San, the village chief of Shanqian Village, had levied taxes privately. After his youngest son Nie Yao told him no, the other party did not ask any more questions.

The remaining grain that was not counted as tax was not taken greedily by the clerk. He gave some away himself, but people did not want it. Instead, they helped to exchange it for money and goods to prevent him from having to take it back a long way.

The place where money and goods were exchanged belonged to the official rice shop set up in the town, because the landlords in the countryside had been eliminated, and Nie Yu knew that the General's Mansion wanted to control the towns and villages. In addition to setting up a relatively complete grassroots official system, it also had to control the sale of money and grain.

We cannot allow landlords to act with impunity and manipulate the prices of food among the people.

This official rice shop is the grain store established by the general in the early days. An official money house to replace the bank is also being planned.

There is no need to worry about any problems, because Nie Yu can cheat, but I can't, so I can't just follow the path of my predecessors.

At the entrance of Shanqian Village, Old Man Nie and his two sons were surrounded by villagers who had rushed over after hearing the news.

"Hey, Old Third, why are you back so soon? I thought you were going to rest in town for a day!"

"Yeah! These carts are empty. Did the town collect the grain?"

"That's what I told you! The official's words may sound nice, but don't even think about paying less tax. Fortunately, the land belongs to us."

"It's hard to say! This land used to belong to Master Nie's family. Now these new Han military officers will be so kind as to give it to us?"

"..."

The villagers of Shanqian Village were chattering about the new tax system that the Han army had just established this year.

"Okay, stop arguing and let the third family talk."

The village chief, Uncle Nie San, who arrived last, did not disperse the onlookers. Instead, he looked at the empty cart pushed back by Old Man Nie, and then looked at the dazed Old Man Nie, and continued.

"Old Third Family, what's going on? Did the officials really take the grain?"

Uncle Nie was calm in his heart. He thought that it was no big deal for the official to collect taxes.

The land distribution official was willing to give the newly arrived Han military officers land and also forgave the debts owed to the landlord Mr. Nie's family.

Now they are just collecting taxes as before, and there is nothing wrong with that. They are being very kind!

"Uncle San, they confiscated it!"

"Well, we'll collect it. This grain should have been handed over anyway... Wait, what did you say? Confiscated?"

Uncle Nie was a little surprised for a moment, thinking he had misheard.

The officials confiscated the grain, so where did the grain on the grain carts go? It couldn’t have been stolen, right?
Just as the villagers were all lost in their thoughts, Uncle Nie clapped his hands, interrupting their thoughts and asking seriously, "What's going on with the Third Brother's family?"

Old Man Nie said, "Uncle San, what the official said before was true. This year's tax is only the land tax, and all other taxes and levies are waived. I said I wanted to pay, but the official said no, and he was worried that it would be troublesome for me to transport the grain back, so he helped me exchange the extra grain for silver." "Here, that's all."

As he said this, he took out the serial numbered silver coins from his pocket. They were in very new condition and made of sufficient copper. They were not private or fake coins, and the price seemed fair.

They looked at the grain cart that Old Man Nie pushed out. After deducting the taxes to be paid, the money he earned was quite a lot.

"It's actually true!"

"The Han army master is so kind and righteous!"

"It's more than just kindness and righteousness. First he gave us land, then he forgave our debts, and now we can even pay less tax, hehe!"

"Stop smiling like an idiot. Why don't you hurry back to transport the food and bring the remaining food from home into town? I think the third family's food is selling well, so we can make a little more money and have a good year."

The villagers gathered quickly and dispersed even faster. They all went back to prepare this year's tax grain, fearing that if they paid it too late, the Han army commander would go back on his word.

The people are indeed simple and honest. If you provide them with tangible benefits, give them land, and relieve them from the burden of heavy taxes and harsh policies, then they will sincerely support you.

Because the Han army masters are kind and righteous!
The benevolent and righteous Han army masters were still discussing the latest land tax law at this moment.

Although the Han army's territory is small now, with only two prefectures and one state, as the saying goes, "a sparrow may be small, but its internal organs will gradually grow fully."

"General, the new tax law you proposed is brilliant, but isn't it a bit too hasty?" Feng Xiuyong said tactfully.

It is indeed very euphemistic. The new tax law proposed by Nie Yu cannot be said to be new. It can only be said that it is even worse than the one forced by Emperor Yongzheng, which is the land-based tax system.

This new tax law has two points:
One is the land value tax.

The second is the land appreciation tax.

This may not be easy to understand, but to put it simply, it is just like the excessive progressive tax system that the United States has on the surface.

This was not Nie Yu's original idea, but something that was developed more than a hundred years later, in the early years of the Republic of China. It was only obstructed by landlords and bureaucrats, and the revolution was not thorough, so it was not truly implemented.

then……

The Republic of China continued to use local surcharges inherited from the late Qing Dynasty, which made the people even more disgusted. How disgusting were these local surcharges?

Take Wuchang County as an example. In the early years of the Republic of China, the county had additional responsibilities such as education, self-government, police, public security, elections, party affairs, security, rural cleanup, provincial and county-level security donations, political police, dike workers, infant care, and support.

Miscellaneous donations include rice, grain, superstitions, local tobacco, cooking, kilns, presses, tea, cotton, linen, silk, flowers, salt, eggs, cattle, horses, mules, fish, pigs, sheep, boats, barges, bamboo and wood, vehicles, banquets, calendars, gentry, shops, public welfare, etc., and also collect donations for pestles.

The total amount of taxes is almost longer than the life of ordinary people.

Nie Yu naturally could not inherit the tax laws of the Qing Dynasty, so this set of excess progressive taxes implemented in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China became necessary.

This excess progressive tax system can be summarized in eight words: "taxation according to rates, exemptions and reductions according to law". It fully relies on the people under its rule to assess their composition and determine tax rates based on their composition.

Nie Yu didn't need to think about the specific method, and just copied the homework:
每斗田产量平均定为120斤，租田者减半，再按成份分成九等（中农、贫农各分上、中、下三等，富农一等，地主分大、小两等），税率分5%、6.5%、8.5%、17%、18%、19%、42%、45%、50%共九级。

Tenant farmers were paid the same amount of land as one dou for every three dou of land they owned. Han soldiers killed in action were compensated for their deaths by subtracting one dou of land from their family size. Ordinary military dependents were compensated for their families by subtracting half a dou of land from their family size. The elderly, the weak, and the orphans were cared for as appropriate.

The new tax law has little impact on ordinary people, and there are even some exemptions. But it will be disastrous for wealthy landlords who own a lot of land.

(End of this chapter)