Late Tang Dynasty: I

Chapter 62
Li Ye implemented a progressive tax system per acre, just like the modern personal income tax. The higher the income, the higher the tax rate.

Wealthy families and dignitaries like to annex land, right? It’s okay, the court doesn’t prohibit it, you can have as much land as you like.

The court doesn't care how much land you have, but you have to pay taxes to the court.The more land you have, the higher the tax rate, until it is so large that it is not enough for you to use all the output in the land to pay taxes, and you have to pay back.

If there are five males in a household, then within 500 mu, the tax can be taxed at the normal rate of ten. If it exceeds [-] mu, then sorry, the tax will be tripled.If it exceeds [-] mu, the tax will be tripled, but it will be three times the entire output.

In a normal year, such a tax law would be almost impossible to implement.

Although the emperor is respected, there is only one person, and those who hold the power in the world are these aristocratic families, and the court is controlled by these people.

During the Taiping period, if the emperor dared to go against the aristocratic family like this, someone would rise up in minutes.

Even Taizong Li Shimin was extremely cautious about this, and would not dare to turn against the family easily.

But now when Li Ye succeeds to the throne, the aristocratic family has long since lost the grand occasion when the country was founded.

Wu Zhou slaughtered it again, eunuch Li Fuguo slaughtered it again, and Huang Chao slaughtered it again a few years ago.

The remaining breath is basically gone.

The next day, Li Ye called all the prime ministers to discuss the matter, and put the draft of land tax reform in front of all the prime ministers.

Everyone was silent.

The prime ministers all knew why, the greed of the wealthy family made the emperor hate him.

Kong Weiju don't try to struggle, because the law of the ancestors cannot be easily changed.

Li Ye didn't speak, and looked at Zhang Jun. Old Zhang asked a more practical question: "Your Majesty, according to the law system of the Tang Dynasty, officials are awarded land according to their grades. Is this land subject to taxation?"

Li Ye said: "Those who work in the land do not need to pay taxes for the salary of officials, and they can grow their own crops. If tenants pay one out of ten to the landlord, they can pay in kind or in currency, and they don't have to pay anything else.

In the future, officials may or may not receive a job field. If they do not receive a job field, the imperial court will issue real objects or currency according to the number of acres according to the grade. "

Li Ye couldn't control how the landlords collected the rent, but the officials of the Tang Dynasty belonged to the imperial court, and the output was given to officials as part of their salary, so the imperial court could naturally manage it.

Moreover, these positions will still be taken back after the officials leave office.

Li Ye put before the Prime Minister the evidence of being a bigwig and aristocrat who committed crimes and took land arbitrarily, including their own family.

Kong Wei, the descendant of the great sage Kong, was disgraceful this time. The land he corrupted amounted to more than [-] mu, and Zhang Jun also had more than [-] mu of unknown origin. Sun Kui, who had just entered the prime minister's team, was better. But there are also hundreds of acres that are not clear.

"The details of the land tax are roughly like this. Compared with the two tax laws, there are only a few more items. Today, Zaifu is discussing. Who agrees? Who opposes?"

There was silence in the arena. These people understand very well. His Majesty the Emperor put their criminal evidence in front of them, and he has not been angry. He just wants to tell them that they must be acquainted. If they dare to object, then His Majesty the Emperor will take care of you. Do the math.

Li Ye smiled, since everyone has no objection, let's draft an edict.

The prime ministers had a bitter face, drafting edicts, proofreading them, and using seals.

"This edict is temporarily implemented in the 24 counties of Chang'an (including Huayin and other counties in Chang'an in Xinbing, Huazhou). One year later, if there are no major mistakes and omissions, it will be implemented in the places that will be governed in the future."

For specific implementation, the prime ministers must be assigned to various ministries. In Li Ye's view, the execution ability of court officials is naturally one of the criteria for evaluating officials. The responsibilities and obligations of officials must be clearly defined, but now he As the emperor, he still has no control over specific administrations below the sixth rank, and the construction of the system cannot be achieved overnight, it takes time, and it also requires the improvement of officials' awareness.

The prime ministers walked out of Yanying Hall sighing one by one.

Kong Wei was very wronged in his heart. He really didn't know that there were so many lands in his family.Of course, the children of the family, one by one, used his name outside to do some criminal activities, and Kong Wei couldn't escape the relationship.

His Majesty the Emperor closed this door for them. In the future, the rich and powerful families will not even think about making troubles on the land.

Of course, in the future, the emperor will open another door for them. As long as they are brave enough, they can do whatever they want...

……

The tense atmosphere in the center of the Tang Dynasty has continued. Not long after the promulgation of the new tax law, the families of several prime ministers have never lost people. Officials with insufficient grades cannot see the emperor. The tax law, in less than two years, the family will go bankrupt.

The land wanted to be returned to the government, but the governments and counties refused to accept it at all. The roster of land and acres had been copied by the emperor, and the words were passed down from above. The land cannot be taxed.

His Majesty the Emperor didn't even give Kong Wei and Zhang Jun any face, but after Sun Kui found His Majesty the Emperor, the Emperor let go.

The emperor said: The land can be assigned to the imperial court, but if there are conditions, the salaries of officials will have to be reduced.

The salary of officials in the Tang Dynasty was second only to that of the Song Dynasty. The annual salary of the prime minister of the dynasty was 2000 guan, and 1000 shi of rice was distributed every year.Every year on festivals such as Shangyuan and Winter Solstice, 38 bolts of silk cloth and gold and silverware are distributed.

It’s rich, and there are nine plates of regular food every day, rice, noodles, salt, mutton, ginger vinegar, the imperial court will pack it for you, and that’s not counting. Lunch is free, and the specifications must be high.

Datang spent [-] guan a year on free working meals for prime ministers and officials.

In addition, the imperial court has to buy winter and summer clothes for the prime minister every year, the relatives of the officials can face hard labor, and the prime minister’s family has weddings and funerals, and the imperial court has to follow the members.

Li Ye was also surprised. At this time in the Tang Dynasty, there was no increase in anything, but the salaries of Beijing officials had increased a lot.The whole Beijing officials, converted into money, the Tang Dynasty will spend 200 million guan to support these people. This is still a situation where there are a large number of vacancies for officials. If so much money is used to raise soldiers, the court can raise [-] troops.

Rushing to raise the salaries of Beijing officials will definitely provoke a big backlash. This is the right time.

Li Ye naturally considers how much the price will be reduced, and the salary can maintain the official's relatively decent life without being extravagant.

When Sun Kui received the emperor's order, he just laughed it off.

His Majesty the Emperor's knife was gentle, cutting off [-]%, most of which was due to the reduction of benefits, but it was not painful.

(End of this chapter)