Rebirth of the Ming Dynasty: Sixth Generation of Glory, I don't want it

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While Zhang Xin was busy running the shop, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Di were also busy with business-related matters.

"I used to work day and night, and lie on the ice and snow on the battlefield. They said I was warmongering. Now I stay here quietly and don't go anywhere. They say I am a scumbag and compete with the people for profit. In the end, they have said everything! As an emperor, I can't do anything!"

Zhu Di's roar echoed throughout the study.

"Dad, calm down!"

Zhu Gaochi just perfunctorily said something and continued to talk to Xia Yuanji, "The Maritime Customs is collecting heavy taxes?"

"The navy can't cultivate land, so how can we support them? We can't just let them go fishing. Naturally, we have to collect taxes."

Xia Yuanji was also accustomed to Zhu Di's occasional incoherence and answered Zhu Gaochi seriously.

"I always feel like something is wrong."

Zhu Gaochi touched his nose and shook his head.

"Your Majesty, why don't we take a stroll in the Imperial Garden?"

Zheng He was also in the palace today. Seeing Zhu Di getting upset, Zhu Gaochi pretended not to see it and could only make a suggestion.

"Don't go!"

Zhu Di couldn't swallow this humiliation.

"Sanbao, make my dad a cup of tea. Dad, just listen to me. Okay, sooner or later we will get our place back."

Zhu Gaochi turned around and comforted Zhu Di.

"Humph!"

Zhu Gaochi responded with a cold snort.

"Master Xia, let's continue."

Zhu Gaochi stopped and waited for a while. Seeing that Zhu Di did not continue roaring, he turned to Xia Yuanji.

"Yes, Your Highness. What I mean is that our citizens should not be taxed when they go out to sea, or only be taxed a little bit, and then be taxed heavily when they return. Merchant ships of other countries should be taxed heavily whether they enter or leave the port. Moreover, I think that this commercial tax should be raised."

The detailed rules for the Maritime Customs to go out to sea were roughly drafted and actually implemented.

Now, regarding taxation, Xia Yuanji feels that it is not quite reasonable.

Not only maritime taxes, but also the current domestic commercial taxes and agricultural taxes are unreasonable.

He had been worried for a long time about the problems left over from the Hongwu Dynasty.

"Let's do it one by one!"

Zhu Gaochi was very patient.

"Then I will first talk about the three taxes that the maritime customs office collects."

Xia Yuanji was just as unhurried as Zhu Gaochi, and quickly explained to Zhu Gaochi the composition of the maritime tax.

The Maritime Customs Office had three taxes: Maritime Customs Tax, Detention Tax, and Market Tax.

Maritime tax refers to the taxes levied on merchant ships entering and leaving the port.

Detention tax is a tax levied on foreign merchants who are detained, including fees for hotel stay, rental, and inventory.

Market tax is a tax levied on various commodities in the market.

In Xia Yuanji's opinion, the market tax here is collected duplicately with the maritime tax.

It was paid once when purchasing and again on board the ship, which not only increased the cost, but also went against Zhu Gaochi's original intention of encouraging everyone to go out to sea for trade.

Zhu Gaochi's original intention was naturally to hope that big merchants could purchase large quantities of goods in the country and sell them abroad, thereby increasing domestic sales and earning back silver from abroad.

But the risks of maritime trade are much greater than those of domestic business.

It costs both money and life.

If you are not careful, both will be gone.

Especially now that we are just beginning, the pirates have not been eliminated and the navy is just being established, so the risks are extremely high.

Maritime merchants have to take such great risks and pay double taxes, which sometimes makes people feel that it is not cost-effective.

The tax rate has been reduced from 30% to 15%, which is a considerable amount considering the large quantity.

The reality that they have to spend a lot of money before making any money and are still uncertain whether they can make any money will discourage some small and medium-sized businesses from engaging in maritime trade.

So, the court simply decided not to collect the money when going out to sea, but only when returning.

Being able to return home means guaranteed profit. Collecting taxes at this time not only has a large base, but is also reasonable, which makes people feel much more comfortable.

Another point is that after being heavily taxed, in order to ensure profits, maritime merchants will not reduce prices and dump goods to disrupt the domestic market.

The above is from the perspective of maritime merchants.

Let’s talk about it from the court’s perspective.

The things that sea trade brings are generally the same three things.

For this kind of things that can be purchased in large quantities and taken out, the domestic market is basically in a relatively saturated state in terms of production, sales volume and quality.

Only by going beyond the domestic market and overseas can we open up larger and broader markets and stimulate the growth of domestic productivity.

Take porcelain for example. Now that the maritime ban has been lifted, there are many more porcelain workshops.

We produce plates, dishes and bowls for export overseas non-stop for twelve hours every day.

In order to increase production, merchants offered large sums of money to craftsmen to increase production capacity and improve technology.

When all these benefits are combined, the domestic economic environment will be one of increased competition and good growth.

Moreover, once the maritime ban was lifted, not only would people in the country go out to sell things, but people outside would also bring goods to the Ming Dynasty to sell them. How could they not collect heavy taxes?

"So, what about the domestic commercial tax?"

Zhu Gaochi understood it clearly and then asked Xia Yuanji about another suggestion.

"The late emperor was too naive. The only major source of income for the court is the two taxes, one in spring and one in autumn. It is said that agriculture is emphasized and commerce is suppressed, but commerce is much more profitable than farming. That is, people are used to farming, and they think it is not good to register as merchants, so the talents in the fields have not fled. Once a natural disaster occurs, it is difficult to collect the tax. After more than 30 years, there have been deficits everywhere. How can such a small amount of money support the entire court?"

Xia Yuanji had wanted to say this for a long time.

From the Hongwu Dynasty to the present, the total amount of commercial taxes collected each year is almost negligible.

The luxurious life of the merchants in the south of the Yangtze River is obvious to everyone.

The late emperor was determined to make the people live a good life. In the early years of the Hongwu reign, the payment for one acre of land was three to four dou of rice. By the end of the Hongwu reign, the payment for one acre of land was reduced to one to three dou of rice.

But the lives of ordinary people haven’t gotten much better.

Although there is more food left, the prices of clothing, housing and transportation are all rising, and the banknotes are still depreciating.

The taxes paid by the people are too little, but the government's annual spending has not decreased.

This is absolutely not an option for development to continue.