I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 474: Collecting taxes on the Tsar
Like Peter, George was not concerned about how the Japanese would survive the winter.

Who cares about who these days? Just mind your own business. George can't even care about the poor people in Russia, let alone the Japanese.

Stolypin is indeed capable of what ordinary people cannot. He just sold 1000 million hectares of the Tsar's land some time ago, and now he is eyeing Amur.

The Russo-Japanese War made the whole world know the true strength of Amur, and St. Petersburg naturally knew it better.

There are eight governor-general regions in the Russian Empire, and the Amur governor-general is the most special one. When Witte was the finance minister, he had the final say on how much tax Amur had to pay. The tax officer stationed in Amur from St. Petersburg was the easiest tax officer in the empire.

The tax officers of other governor-general districts kept a close eye on the accounts of the governor-general and chased the governor for money every day.

Amur's accounts are very clear, there is no concealment, and the taxes that should be paid are paid on time. It can be called a model governorate.

Stolypin was dissatisfied, believing that Amur's taxes were seriously inconsistent with Amur's actual level.

Last year, the Russian Empire's fiscal revenue was 35 billion rubles. Although it seems like a lot, it also spent more. The interest on foreign debt alone was as high as 1.5 million rubles.

Although the Russian Empire did not pay compensation for the Russo-Japanese War, the losses caused by the Russo-Japanese War to the Russian Empire were approximately 55 billion rubles.

"It doesn't matter, if he wants to check the accounts, let him check--"

Last year Amur paid only 8500 million rubles in taxes.

Stolypin was not satisfied with this situation.

George is not afraid of investigation. The Siberian Bank has so many accountants who are not free of charge.

What makes Stolypin dissatisfied is that Amul’s revenue last year from just one cosmetic product exceeded 1.9 million rubles.

George expressed his support for Biharowski's work and asked Biharowski to contact Mikhail.

Amul has a high income, but there are also many places to spend money.

Mikhail felt that Stolypin, the prime minister, would not last long.

Stolypin was right to be unselfish, but he had found the wrong person. If Stolypin had started with the accounts of the Admiralty, George might have praised Stolypin as a man.

In order to make up for the losses caused by the Russo-Japanese War, Stolypin had to increase taxation.

Nor did St. Petersburg ask for money to rebuild Arthur's Fortress.

Amur's economy is indeed very developed, but if you just look at the accounts, you can't find any problems.

"I would say that we paid too much, which is why St. Petersburg felt that we were easy to bully. We should follow the example of other governor generals and delay what we should and owe what we should."

Even the medals awarded after the war were made with Amul's own money and did not seek reimbursement from St. Petersburg.

Amur's new chief tax officer, Biharovsky, had served in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Finance and was very experienced. He came to visit George as soon as he arrived in Amur.

Of all the provinces and governorates in Russia, Amur has the best financial situation. Not only does it have no foreign debt, but it also has a slight balance. This is simply a miracle in the Russian Empire.

Not to mention the cost of disarmament.

George turned defeat into victory in the second phase of the Russo-Japanese War without asking for a penny from St. Petersburg.

Mikhail came to Yuriev Palace that evening.

Mikhail was heartbroken. If he was asked to do the accounting, Amul would not only not have to pay money to St. Petersburg, but St. Petersburg would also give Amul subsidies.

Stolypin believes that this number should be increased at least five times to basically meet the economic level of Amur.

Just a few days ago, Admiral Dubasov, who had just been appointed commander of the Moscow Military District by Nicholas, was assassinated.

Dubasov was lucky. He was not killed, but only slightly injured.

Not only did Dubasov fail to hold the assassin accountable, but he also wrote to Nicholas pleading for mercy on the assassin's behalf, saying that the assassin was just a child who had gone astray.

Nikolay expressed appreciation for Dubasov's behavior, but at the same time rejected Dubasov's request. In his reply to Dubasov, Nicholas said: Executing certain people who have gone astray is the best way to avoid a lot of bloodshed.

During the Russo-Japanese War, workers rioted in Moscow and the Guards went to suppress it, resulting in nearly 1.2 deaths.

The place where George spends the most money now is in East India, mainly on infrastructure construction.

“Complain less and do more.”

George is not going to give away any points.

But if Stolypin wants to get more taxes from Amur, that's not realistic.

8500 million a year is enough.

Next year we can increase it appropriately, such as 8700——

Don't think it's too little, George's family's annual salary is only so much.

Judging from the accounts alone, Biharowski did not find any problems.

It's not like there's no problem at all.

Many companies in Amur are privately owned by George. The transactions between companies are not reflected in the accounts and are settled by the Siberian Bank.

Bikharovsky wanted to go to the Siberian Bank to check the accounts, but was rejected by the Siberian Bank.

Bikharovsky wanted to complain to St. Petersburg, but was stopped by his deputy Lisakovitch.

"We'd better not do that, otherwise we won't be able to move forward in Amur."

Lisakovich reminded Bikharovsky that Amur was not St. Petersburg.

Russia is the Russia of all Russians, especially the Russia of the Tsars and Grand Dukes.

Compared with other grand dukes, George pays a lot of taxes every year.

Of course George has to pay taxes.

The Tsar sold 1000 million hectares of land some time ago. Did he pay the tax?

If George pays taxes on everything, no matter how small it is, then do other Grand Dukes have to do the same?
"If we do nothing, what else does the Empire want from us?"

Biharovski insists that quality is the key factor for him to be valued by Stolypin.

"St. Petersburg knows everything about the situation in Amur. Why didn't the Tsar give the order?"

Lisakovich knew Amur's situation better than Biharovsky did.

Amur has not only tax collectors but also secret police.

Amur's secret police headquarters is right next to the Vladivostok police station. The staff on both sides know each other and often have meals and drinks together.

The Vladivostok secret police has its own communication system and can directly contact St. Petersburg without going through Vladivostok officials.

Although it is not a system and Lisakovitch does not know the contents of the secret police report, Lisakovitch believes that the economic situation of Vladivostok is under the control of St. Petersburg.

Because the Tsar himself was a shareholder of many Vladivostok companies.

The tax paid by Amul may indeed be a little less.

But Amur's dividends to the Tsar were not large at all.

Therefore, unless necessary, do not break this tacit understanding between Vladivostok and St. Petersburg, which is more beneficial to the stability of the empire.

(End of this chapter)