Lord Harland

The advancement of textile technology has affected the supply of meat in Harland's territory, causing some people to become rich through hunting and breeding.

Richard wouldn't pay too much attention to such small things. He was not the kind of stingy lord who forbade his subjects from hunting and cutting down trees, and wanted to grab all the coins.

After entering April, Rogge found Richard and decided to talk to him about taxes.

Generally speaking, the Harland Territory temporarily implements a light tax policy, and the land tax of free citizens is only about 30%.

Although it is far less than the thirty-one tax of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, the Harland territory does not charge Ding tax, does not require free people to perform corvee, and there are no messy miscellaneous taxes. The actual living standard has exceeded that of the people of the Han Dynasty during Emperor Wen's period.

The free citizens of Harland Territory are already better off than the citizens of the royal capital.

Because the taxes were set at a low level and the tax types were very simple, only 3,500 gold coins of land tax revenue could be collected from the 14,000 free people every year.

Relative to the expenses of the territory, this amount of money is far from enough.

The main income of the Harland territory is not taxation, but commercial income from various monopolized commodities. Together with the income from the exploitation of indentured servants, these two incomes are the bulk of the territory's finances.

Rogge was the civil affairs officer of the Harland Territory. He carefully studied the expenditure of the territory and felt that the taxation policy of the territory could not continue like this, so he came to talk to Richard, hoping to persuade the lord to formulate new taxes.

According to the laws of the Grant Kingdom, noble lords do not need to pay taxes to the kingdom, but they have the obligation to organize an army and fight for the kingdom.

Although they do not pay taxes to the king, they do need to pay tithes to the Church of the Seven Gods.

It's okay if you don't hand over, but there will be no Church of Seven Gods priests stationed in the territory, and the army will also have no Church priests to cooperate in combat.

Without the priest's treatment, the combat effectiveness of the lord's army is greatly reduced. In conflicts with other nobles, they are often not opponents.

Moreover, if you don’t pay the tithe, you will be blacklisted by the church. When you have an injury or illness that requires treatment, the pastor will not provide help.

Therefore, the vast majority of lords paid tithes.

The situation in northern Xinjiang is special, and war breaks out every three to five years.

Because of the years of war and the pressure of raising an army, most of the lords had a heavy financial burden and were really unable to pay taxes to the Church of the Seven Gods.

But in the war between humans and orcs, the Church of the Seven Gods must still provide help.

Orcs don't believe in the Seven Gods.

If a large area of ​​territory is annexed by orcs, the power of faith will be greatly weakened. Not only will the church's income and influence be reduced, but it will also affect the recovery of the gods' injuries.

After the Seven Gods fell into a deep sleep, the operation of the Kingdom of God and the artifacts depended entirely on the power of faith.

Resisting the invasion of the Orc Empire is another responsibility that the Church of the Seven Gods must bear.

Therefore, in all war zones where the orcs are fighting, the church reduces the tithe.

Even the powerful Dukes of Edward and Jonathan do not need to pay tithes to the church.

In the Grant Kingdom, the noble lords had great authority. They could not only train the army and formulate laws, but also formulate taxes.

For this reason, neighboring territories often have different tax rates.

A qualified lord needs to formulate a tax policy that is consistent with the development of the territory.

Rogge was Richard's uncle. He spoke much more casually than ordinary officials. When he found Richard, he said straight to the point: "I think we should expand tax sources and levy new types of taxes."

"Do you have any idea?"

"There are now more than 14,000 free people in the territory. Last year's tax was 3,500 gold coins, averaging three silver coins per free citizen. Compared to other lords, the tax burden is relatively light.

If the tax system is not changed and the population is not increased, in a few years when all the indentured slaves will become free citizens, the tax collection in the territory will only be about 15,000 gold coins.

Fifteen thousand gold coins, compared to the territory's population of more than 60,000, taxation is at a low level.

The territory's current income relies heavily on various new products, which is dangerous and unstable.

I heard that Viscount Cisse has started brewing white wine, and a small amount of white wine is on the market.

Once serious problems arise in the sales of liquor and steel, it will be difficult to balance the territory's revenue and expenditure. "

Rogge's words touched Richard's heart. In fact, starting from this year, Richard had the idea of ​​​​tax reform.

In January of this year, the Viscount of Cisse accidentally learned about the method of brewing liquor by sending spies. In March, the Viscount of Cisse had begun selling liquor to compete with the liquor produced by the Haaland family.

Although Richard has formulated strict confidentiality rules, the process of brewing distilled liquor is too simple. Northern Xinjiang already has mature fermentation technology. Liquor can be produced by adding a distillation process. It is easy to restore the process by asking a little bit about the details. .

The leakage of the liquor brewing process has become inevitable. Richard thought he could keep it secret for ten years and monopolize the liquor income, but unexpectedly something went wrong in the third year.

The income from liquor is a very important profit in the Harland territory. The annual income of more than 10,000 gold coins is enough for Richard to provoke a war among the lords.

But the Grant Kingdom is still a stable kingdom now, and the Viscounty of Richard and the Viscounty of Cisse are in two provinces.

Even if Richard wanted to attack Viscount Cisse, he would have to pass through the lands of seven or eight lords along the way. It would be very difficult to launch a lord war.

Since they are not neighboring lords, it is difficult to violently destroy the Viscount of Cisse, so Richard can only face the competition of liquor.

Because I just started making liquor, my craftsmanship is not as mature as Harland’s.

The liquor brewed by Viscount Cisse has a mediocre taste, and it is not yet able to compete with Hallandland Baijiu for the market on a large scale. The monopoly market for liquor can still last for another year or two.

In one or two years, Richard will choose to sell at a reduced price, reducing the profits of the wine industry and sinking the market.

As a result, the profits of the wine business may fall significantly.

The territory invented hemostatic ointment and captured flame spiders. The new industry can bring in an income of 4,000 gold coins every year.

Once the profits of alcoholic beverages fall on a large scale, it may not be able to make up for this shortfall.

“How are you going to collect taxes?”

"Since the lord has promised the free people to collect 30% of the land tax, we will not think of ways to deal with the land tax, but to add new taxes. I think the property tax is the most suitable.

There are currently about 3,400 freemen households in the territory. Each household is charged a gold coin for the property tax, and the tax is equal to the land tax. When all indentured servants become free citizens, property tax plus land tax will be enough for us to maintain a balance of revenue and expenditure in the territory. "

After listening to Rogge's thoughts, Richard shook his head and said: "One gold coin won't do it, the burden is still too heavy. Besides, there are still some free people who are still paying off their mortgages. If the tax is so heavy, it will drive people to death."

I think property tax can be levied, and it can be levied at ten copper coins per house.

The standard yard we built was charged one silver coin for a total of three houses, which was neither light nor heavy for a family.

Although property taxes cannot make up for the shortfall, we can use other methods to increase finances, such as salt and iron franchises. In addition, customs duties and business taxes can also be levied. Any store opened on the street will levy a gold coin business tax on each store, and the customs duty will be 10% of the value of the goods. "

After listening to Richard's advice, Rogge calculated carefully and said: "If you calculate it this way, you can only increase the tax collection by six to seven hundred gold coins this year. It is still a drop in the bucket."

"Just wait a moment, taxes will gradually improve."