Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2339 The Story of the Egg and the Basket

"Ambassador Scott, with regard to the investment status in England you mentioned, I have to say that taxation is a major obstacle." Paul Doria, already grizzled in the Yancheng Port Gaoshan Liushui Teahouse, talked eloquently: "War The taxes that were raised during the period have not been eliminated, and there is nothing worse for investors."

英格兰王国政府目前在征收的税种不少，而且名目繁多，如葡萄酒税、烟草税、麦芽税、双重吨位税、皮革税、纸张税、盐税、窗户税、玻璃器皿税等等好几十种。在1697年，人头税将近154万镑、麦芽税约65万镑（征税成本5万镑）、双重吨位税扣除成本后收到了大约37万镑、盐税（每蒲式耳课征20便士）17.5万镑、窗户税14万镑（征税成本9万镑）、饮料税15.38万镑、皮革税10万镑、纸张税6万镑（征税成本5万镑——这种税还不如不收……）、婚姻、出生和丧葬税54310镑、印花税44800镑，其他的诸如出租马车税之类的就不谈了，税收还是很繁重的。

Of course, these are all temporary taxes brought about by the war, many of which will be due in the next few years. For example, a total of 1696 pounds of taxes were due in 394907.In fact, it is reasonable to say that King William III has the right to terminate some taxes in advance. After all, the war is over now, and there is no need to wait until 1700 for a natural termination.But the king was unwilling, and he was unwilling to disclose to the Congress the customs accounts he held in his hands—not only import and export duties, but also special duties, such as the special import duties imposed on Portuguese red wine, etc. These are royal revenues, Not under the financial control of the state—Members of Congress are not good at tearing faces with the king on this matter. After all, the king’s reasons are also very good. Now the government owes the navy, army and ordnance department 170 million pounds and the annuity of 130 million pounds , The arrears of royal fees and living allowances of the prince and princess are 54 pounds, and the arrears of secret expenditures (intelligence expenses) are 15 pounds.

In addition, the government incurred a large amount of debt during the war.For example, a loan of 70 pounds secured by inheritance duty, temporary consumption tax and postal tax, a debt of 127 million pounds due to the issuance of malt tickets, a loan of 100 million pounds secured by lottery proceeds, an unsecured bank loan of 120 million pounds, etc. There are many kinds.At present, the debt of the British government is about 700 million pounds, which is almost worth two years of fiscal revenue.

The government will certainly not be able to repay such a huge debt, at least in the short term.One solution is for the wealthy members of Congress to forgive part of the debt, and the other is the old method of providing aid. In fact, it is the same as the first method, and it is just a left-handed and right-handed matter for congressmen.

Of course, it is definitely not acceptable to always digest debts internally.Especially the current situation in continental Europe is very delicate. In the future, wars will break out if the security is not complete. Both the royal family and the Congress must make active financial preparations.Therefore, finding ways to foreign countries has become a top priority.Therefore, in 1695, the British levied an additional tax on foreign investors, levying a tax of 9 pence per pound of investment, with a total income of 43.6 pounds, and the extension decree and common shares brought an income of 39.5 pounds. Very ruthless.

Italians have invested a lot in England in recent years, with a total of more than 1800 million bank lire.Although these amounts are far less than their investment on the east coast, to be honest, in Europe, there are really the most things, because they only invested less than 800 million bank lire in Amsterdam.England has become, in fact, the best safe-haven investment place in continental Europe, bar none.

After investing so much money, a lot of taxes were naturally collected, which made the Italians very upset.St. George's Firm once ridiculed that the British are crazy about money and that foreign investment is also taxed. I haven't heard of this for many years.If it weren't for the fact that the east coast is too far away and the culture is very different from Italy, they would not even be willing to drop a lire in England.But there is no way, investment must be dispersed, and eggs cannot be put in one basket.The Italians have been in business for more than 1000 years, so they naturally know this.Although England is a Protestant country, Italians still have a sense of belonging in the past because of their similar culture. Many people prefer to invest in England rather than the East Coast.Maybe the English are sure of this before they dare to levy taxes. Alas, it's really troublesome.

"Mr. Doria, please understand that the Kingdom of England has invested heavily in the navy and army in order to protect the interests of investors. God also saw this, so he allowed us to tax the investment. The situation in Europe is so tense now , it is very likely that an extremely tragic war will break out, and we have to be prepared for this, otherwise, once the war is defeated, under the conqueror's will, no one's investment can be guaranteed." Ambassador Paul Scott took it easy said.

He is very confident, even though he has seen the Italians investing heavily in the East Coast Railway and Highway, he still believes that England can obtain enough capital from Italy.Not everyone is willing to leave their hometown to live in a strange culture. People on the east coast are not good men and women, and people with European faces may not be able to eat a lot here.In comparison, the environment in England is much better. After all, everyone is the Lord's people.To put it bluntly, Ambassador Scott believes that the competition between the East Coast and England for foreign investment has nothing to do with anything else, and it is actually a civilized competition.Although the little guy George Montgomery is more pessimistic, he believes that England should not compete too much with the East Bank, but instead should open cooperation and maintain its leading position in the second group.But Ambassador Scott did not quite agree with this concept after all. He believed that England could still work hard, and the strength of the people on the east coast was not enough for them to control the whole of Europe.

With the vast Atlantic Ocean as a geographical barrier, how much power can the people on the east coast exert in Europe?Now that paddle steamers have been manufactured in England, propeller ships have no major problems except that the underwater sealing technology is not very reliable.Are the warships of the people on the east coast really much stronger than England?Although the people below have some reports about the power of the ironclad warships made on the east coast, Ambassador Scott is not completely convinced. He would rather think that it is just a test product with not fully mature technology, whether it can really cross the ocean Sailing and fighting are two things to say.England, in fact, still has a chance!

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While Paul Doria was chatting with the Englishman, Claudio Doria of a high-end hotel in Yancheng Port was also discussing other matters with his entourage.

"The Consul's meeting has made a decision to use gold to exchange for 500 million yuan of exchange certificates from the people on the east bank. According to the words of the people on the east coast, it is foreign exchange reserves. This money will be stored in a special account of the Qingdao Commercial Clearing Bank and used for In the future, we will purchase ordnance, pay for consultants, etc. Pisani has already visited the East Coast Army Department, and they asked us to abandon the original plan and form an armed force of ten divisions, each with 7500 people, plus some independent units, The total strength of the army is more than 8. Compared with the size of the French army of more than 30, it is naturally incomparable, but their main force will definitely not be in our direction. If they are exhausted, they will invest 4 to 5 people here. We The mission is to cooperate with the landed East Coast Army to firmly block the possible offensive of the French, and then mobilize some troops to go south to attack other predetermined targets." Claudio Doria rubbed his hands and said: " The Consul Council thinks this is reasonable. Naples and Sicily are our first targets, followed by Sardinia, Parma and other places. Corsica also needs to send troops to deter. So, in the next period of time, you need Stay here, negotiate with the people on the East Coast, purchase military supplies at the lowest possible discount, and ship them back as soon as possible."

"What about the Navy?" After a long silence, someone asked.The meaning is obvious, an army of 8 people will take up a lot of military expenditures, so less will be spent on the navy.You know, the navy is dominated by the Genoese *, and the army is dominated by the Venetians. Everyone's interests are different.

"No way. The Consul Council has communicated with the people on the east coast, but there is no result. The Venetians don't know what method they used, and the people on the east coast are now leaning towards them." Claudio Doria said slightly bitterly: " Navy - Except for the people on the east coast, we can only choose to ally with England. The Dutch are unreliable. They are likely to be destroyed by the French on land. It is unrealistic to count on their navy. It happens that the English are now It is not a bad thing to have a desire to enhance the presence in the Mediterranean Sea and have a close relationship with them. The muddier the water in the Mediterranean Sea, the better."

After Claudio said this, everyone couldn't say anything more.England is now more and more showing signs of rising, and the navy has achieved brilliant results in previous wars, fully proving its capabilities.Moreover, the industrial power is developed, the geographical location is superior, and most importantly, it is very close to Italy. It seems a good choice to show goodwill to the English and let them defend the coastline of Italy when the navy on the east coast is slow.

Eggs cannot be put in one basket.Even if Italy is unified with the help of the people on the east coast in the future, they are still destined to deal with the English, which is an unavoidable hurdle.Investing in England now and bringing the relationship closer will not be a bad thing in the long run.

Italy, after all, is still a European country!The source of most of their trade profits is also European countries, not the east coast!At present, the largest foreign investment share of the Italian states is on the east coast, but they cannot turn a blind eye to other European countries.In this way, it is impossible to do long-term business, and it is not conducive to Italy's true independence-if possible.

(End of this chapter)