Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 175 032 Soloviev, who has always been a werewolf

Speransky wanted to use the British tax law directly in one go, but it was obviously impossible to implement it in Russia's current situation.

Alexander himself was very interested. When he convened a meeting to discuss, he also boasted about his strange ideas.

The second plenary meeting of the "Secret Committee" was held in this way. Solovyov was very glad that he was not on duty that day. After all, Alexander's performance was that Count Pavel returned to his home on Nevsky Avenue. The content he spoke was very abstract.

And Solovyov came to the mansion this time at the invitation of the countess to participate in a cultural salon. After all, he was still a famous translator.

However, the major himself noticed that he was the youngest in this occasion. In addition to the ladies, there were also some noble lords with a higher level of culture. In terms of identity, status and age, he had to accompany them at the end.

"I can't sit like Cassandra, can I?"

"What's this story? It must not have come from Khitan."

"Okay, prepare a short sofa for the major to lean on. He believes that he is like a Titan and needs to keep his feet on the ground."

"Madam, you see I am not going to compete with Hercules, and what I just talked about is not a myth. It is about a successor."

However, considering that the name of the current tsar is Alexander, it is somewhat inappropriate to discuss Alexander III (the Great) of Macedonia and the successors. In other words, there is no literary inquisition in Russia.

"But Cassandra was a vicious man. He killed the emperor's mother, wife and son, and forcibly married Thessalonica. It is really hard to imagine that a loyal old minister like Antipater the Regent could give birth to such a vicious snake."

"But there are very few historical materials handed down from the period of the successors. What impressed me most was that Cassandra failed to complete his coming-of-age ceremony, so he sat for a long time when attending events."

Soloviev could still show off his knowledge, but he was not interested in going to university. Alexander's ambitious plan included school education.

When the guests went to dinner, only Count Pavel and his wife were here. They did not sit down and wanted to be intimate for a while.

"Misha, you should go to dinner too. I think this kind of thing."

"Yes, our reception is prepared for the guests, and you, the little major, should also go."

Soloviev stayed not to be a light bulb, but he was a little worried about other things.

"Well, we should have enough time for dinner."

"You young eagle, do you know this? I thought you didn't like girls, but you treated yourself as their sister!"

"Okay, I'll go eat too, I won't bother you, but I've thought of some tax issues."

From the known information, this couple is in love, nothing can shake their relationship, Count Pavel already has three lovely children, and there will be more children in the future.

Soloviev will play with the children, and he doesn't want to go to the banquet hall. The guests who came today are all friends of Count Pavel, including his brother-in-law, General Apraksin, the cavalry director of Moscow, the son of the Field Marshal. Their family is also very lively. It is said that Alexander intends to ask this general to serve as the military governor of Smolensk.

The girls brought here are not enough to be nannies. The children come from Moscow and still feel fresh in St. Petersburg.

Especially the large number of toys and books that Pavel prepared for his son Alexander. Although they are also available in Moscow, the things that can be seen in St. Petersburg are all the latest fashions.

"Mr. Major, our master and young master have told me that you are an expert in this area. The young masters and young ladies have many questions, and we can't answer them for a while."

"What to do?"

"You will know when you go there, Mr. Major."

The housekeeper of the Stroganov family is also somewhat educated. This family has always been very rich and attaches great importance to cultural education. Even the servants summoned from the countryside are required to be literate and teach the children to recognize grains and animals that can be seen in the Russian countryside, but they don't recognize so many seafood coming from the North Atlantic.

Solovyov ate a little hurriedly and ran to the children's room to play with the group of children.

Speaking of which, he is not yet 20 years old, and Pavel's son calls him "big brother".

"Boss, you are here again!"

Children are very curious about black and white animals, but to talk about the habits of these animals, it is indeed necessary to have professionals.

"Sashka, what trouble have you run into again?"

"Boss, you said that great auks and penguins look alike, but..."

"Ah, is that so? You want me to explain why they are not relatives?"

"Well, Natasha and Valodia asked. I just know that they are different, but they are both black and white."

"Ah"

Soloviev couldn't say that great auks don't charge Q coins, but penguins charge Q coins. This kind of joke would be more appropriate to tell 200 years later.

What's more, there is a great auk piggy bank on the small desk of little Count Alexander, and he also puts some copper coins into it.

"Then you have to see the difference between Mr. Thin and Mr. Fat. You can see it more clearly in the aquarium. Moscow is not by the sea, so there is no aquarium there."

Then he had to explain to General Apraksin's children how there were two animals that looked similar and how they came to be.

"Because of the similar environment, they grew up to look similar, are good at diving, and can't fly. They walk in such a clumsy way."

He was very good at amusing children. He had played the role of enlightenment teacher for Alexander's daughter and younger brothers and sisters.

Imitating the way penguins walk can also make children laugh.

"Okay, that's it. You should all listen to the nanny. Take a bath first, and then go to bed."

Finally, these little guys were coaxed. They were all taken to take a bath. Next.

When he saw Count and Countess Stroganov, they all changed their clothes and came out.

"How about it, can I tell you now?"

"Of course"

Count Pavel looked refreshed, and he was quite proud at the moment.

"I think there are many things that should be considered in local taxation. The emperor is taking it for granted."

"I know this. Your Majesty is always like this. His ideas are good, but he doesn't consider the reality. We have too many problems to solve."

"Local statistics should also be introduced in taxation. How much tax can be set in a year, and then see how much is collected in the end of the year. The problem of tax farmers is probably not small."

"I seldom go to the countryside. Misha, you have lived in the countryside since you were a child, and you also manage the village yourself. I would like to hear what you say."

"Our taxes are divided into direct taxes and indirect taxes. Among our direct taxes, the largest one is the head tax. This kind of tax is too heavy for the people. It is no wonder that when the late emperor was here, he would issue edicts many times to exempt the head tax. The burden here is too heavy."

"Yes, so the emperor is considering reforming the tax system and increasing the types of indirect taxes, but."

"These taxes, It will still be levied on ordinary people, and it should have no impact on the nobles. "

"Why do you think so?"

"I asked about the tax situation in the villages granted by Your Majesty, and in the villages that Your Majesty passed through when he was on tour from Gatchina, the people in their families, the livestock they owned, and the land they cultivated were all taxed. These are considered direct taxes that can be seen. In the past, during the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, direct taxes were still the main tax. Now, indirect taxes still have to be levied on ordinary people, and the amount that can be collected from the nobles is not that much. "

"I know, but few people are willing to pay more taxes, especially those nobles who value their property more. Not everyone is like that."

In terms of tax types, Count Pavel and his father are actually very clear that there are tens of thousands of serfs in their family. If the head tax and serf tax are settled according to the serfs, this is a considerable amount of tax.

Although for the count, these are all small money, they take the initiative to pay taxes, but other nobles may not want to do so.

"If everyone was a good man like Alexander Sergeyevich, the emperor wouldn't have to worry about the country's expenses all day long."

"Do you know what the country's tax revenue was like the year you were born?"

"I don't know much about this, after all, I'm not a tax collector."

"I got it from Speransky. He now has a suggestion, which is to readjust the tax system and tax farmers."

But the key point is a tax report in 1781. Petersburg alone can pay 3704667 rubles as a province. Most provinces can collect hundreds of thousands of rubles in taxes, while some places, such as the southern provinces, can only pay five-digit taxes, but the burden on these places is very heavy.

"It seems that many places are still not honest. Kiev can only collect this little money, so how many towns and villages are there around it?"

This should be considered that Ukraine's tax revenue has been preferential for a period of time, and they still get more benefits than Russia.

Seeing these places, everyone knows that they need to change, but there is also a lot of resistance. However, there are still ways to deal with business taxes and various aspects.

However, Solovyov thought that if it is just based on the will, the emperor will need to reply to the edict, but there are other ways to solve it.

"You want to do insurance and trust?"

"Yes."

"Then how do you arrange this trust?"

"The state will establish a trust company, and then charge management fees to the trustee, and also hire professional managers to evaluate the property of these nobles. Although the state's credit may be lost due to defaulting on debts, this credit can still be maintained domestically."

His strange words are mainly because although Russia's political credit is higher than that of European countries, its economic credit is extremely poor, and defaulting on debts is a daily routine, but for the domestic situation, as long as the company is approved by the emperor himself to manage the property, there are always some ways to collect the money.

"The more typical one is Alexei Orlov. He is so rich, but he only has one daughter, Anna. Although she is very rich, how should the property be arranged?"

"There are indeed problems in this regard. Sometimes you really have some strange ideas."

"No matter how this property is managed, on the one hand, the interests of the client must be guaranteed, and on the other hand, the money cannot be kept there, and it cannot be used to make money."

In Solovyov's explanation, Count Stroganov did recall one thing, that is, when he studied Roman Law in the past, there were many legal provisions for wills and property distribution.

If Paul was still alive at this time, he might ask the expert on legal provisions among the Tsar.

"Wait a minute, I will go to the bookshelf and take out Roman Law. If such provisions can be found, we will know what we should do."

There are still some benefits to being with people who read a lot. Companies established by the state as trustees can still play a role when the property reaches a certain scale. However, the property evaluation involved here is still those properties whose value can be accurately estimated, including deposits, bonds, securities, precious metals and real estate. It is more difficult to evaluate jewelry and artworks, but they can also be preserved.

"In addition, we need to strengthen supervision. Domestic banks and non-bank financial companies must be managed. There are many things involved, and we must be directly responsible to the cabinet and the emperor himself."

"You think well. This is to establish supervision from the system, and gradually collect some management fees from the nobles, while also ensuring that their property will not be transferred abroad. Misha, I shouldn't say something. Where did you get this trick from? Isn't it based on your family's past experience?"

"It's true. Among my grandfather's four brothers, Fedor, who was not given a title, was Prince Menshikov's steward. This kind of property transferred abroad was still quite large, and he passed through. As for the details, I don't know much, but I just heard my father talk about it a few times."

Count Pavel didn't expect that there would be unexpected gains here. If the property of some nobles can be detained in the country to avoid asset transfer, they can also be tied up, which is killing two birds with one stone.

Even after counting the entrusted assets of these people, if they dare to make any mistakes, it will be more convenient to confiscate their property.