The "Two Taxes Law" was promulgated at the suggestion of Emperor Dezong in the first year of his reign (760), when Prime Minister Yang Yan proposed it, and it was another major reform in the history of China's tax reform. The implementation of the two tax laws adapted to the requirements of high land concentration at that time, promoted the development of the commodity economy in the Tang Dynasty, and was the inevitable result of the political and economic development of the Tang Dynasty, occupying an important position in the middle and late Tang Dynasty and even the entire feudal society, and having a far-reaching impact on the development of future generations. Today we will talk about how the Tang Dynasty implemented the two-tax law under one circumstance.
First, politically, the income competition between the imperial court and the localities was fierce, and social contradictions intensified sharply. Before the implementation of the two tax laws, the separation of the imperial court and local feudal towns was quite frequent. In order to maintain their local rule, the forces of the clan towns have expanded their military strength, enhanced their military strength and economic strength, and formed a confrontation with the central government, and the political and economic contradictions between the imperial court and the local clan towns have become very sharp. At the same time, before the Tang Dynasty, taxes were heavy and extremely unfair. Nobles and officials, by virtue of their positions, were granted the privilege of tax reduction and reduction, while the imperial court shared this part of the tax reduction among the people and passed on the economic burden to the common people. Yang Yan once said: "All rich people are many dings, and the officials are monks, and Israel is not exempt." If the poor have nothing to gain, they will survive, so they may be exempted from the upper and entrusted to the lower. "From the early years of Zhenguan to the xuanzong period, the number of officials increased dramatically, and administrative expenses were extremely large; And the military expenditure required to quell the Anshi Rebellion was also very large. In order to meet the growing demand for taxation, the government had to increase the proportion of taxes levied on peasants, especially in the Jianghuai region, which caused resistance among the masses of the people.
Second, economically, land annexation was serious, the equalization system gradually disintegrated, and by the time of Kaiyuan Tianbao, land annexation had become widespread. The increasingly fierce land annexation has fundamentally changed the form of land ownership, the state has less and less land, and the equalization system is gradually disintegrating. The burden of servitude increased, peasants fled in large numbers, and the sources of tax revenue for the imperial court were decreasing. In the end, in desperation, two tax laws were implemented.