"There is a Bao Qingtian in Kaifeng, and the iron mask selflessly defends the loyal and adulterous", speaking of Bao Zheng, everyone is not unfamiliar. As a well-known historical figure in China, his image has been active in various novels, operas, film and television dramas, and "judging cases like gods" is synonymous with him. What is less well known, however, is that he served as a fiscal and tax officer on several occasions.
After Bao Zhengzhong entered the army, he was appointed by the imperial court as the zhi county of Jianchang (present-day Yongxiu, Jiangxi), but as a great filial son, he did not go to office because his parents could not take a long step in the year.
Soon, the imperial court had to appoint him to Hezhou (河州, in modern Hexian County, Anhui) to manage the money and grain taxation, and Hezhou was close to his hometown of Luzhou, and he gladly took up his post. Therefore, his first official position should be the tax officer of Hezhou, that is, the first tax commissioner in the history of Hexian County.
Later, Bao Zheng served as the Shaanxi Road Transfer Envoy, the Deputy Envoy of the Third Division, and the Third Division, respectively, in charge of finance and taxation. Although Bao Zheng has not been a full-time tax official for a long time, he has been paying attention to taxation all his life, doing a lot of things to recommend financial talents and reduce the tax burden, and now, Xiaobai will take you to understand!
Recommend financial talents
When Bao Zheng was prime minister, an official named Fan Xiang in Shaanxi created the "Banknote salt law" after years of research, showing a high talent for taxation, which changed the salt industry from a monopoly monopoly of the government to a free private trade under the supervision of the government, so this law was controversial between the government and the opposition.
After carefully listening to the statements of the governments at all levels in Shaanxi, salt merchants, and peddlers, Bao Zheng was instructed to investigate the pros and cons of the "Banknote and Salt Law" in a timely manner, and he held that the "Banknote and Salt Law" founded by Fan Xiang not only reduced the people's burden of conscription, but also increased the state's tax revenue, and indeed benefited the country and the people with one stone.
Therefore, after returning to Beijing, he immediately reported to the emperor according to the facts, and tried his best to recommend Fan Xiang to become the deputy envoy of Shaanxi in charge of finance and taxation, so that the "Banknote and Salt Law" could be smoothly promoted, and the national treasury increased its income by 510,000 yuan in only two years.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > reduce the tax burden</h1>
As a finance and taxation official, he attached great importance to observing the people's feelings, emphasizing the reduction of the people's burdens, low endowments and lightness, and relieving the people's difficulties. When Song Renzong used troops against Western Xia, the state finances were in difficulty, so he used the method of folding to collect taxes from the peasants.
The so-called "folding" means that when the government collects taxes, it can arbitrarily convert a certain kind of physical object into another kind of physical object or convert it into cash money to pay taxes, so that the folding and folding often makes the peasants pay several times more taxes. For example, the summer tax in Chen Prefecture (present-day Huaiyang, Henan Province) was originally stipulated to pay barley or wheat, but the local government suddenly required farmers to pay cash. According to the market price at that time, the wheat was 50 yuan per bucket, but the official government discounted it to 100 yuan, which increased the burden of the people by nearly 2 times for no reason. Another example is the summer tax in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huainan and other places, which is equivalent to cash money, and wheat is 94 yuan per bucket. The peasants had no cash, so they had to sell wheat cheaply, and they only sold twenty or thirty yuan per bucket, and their families were miserable.
Since Bao Zheng served as the envoy of the Third Division in charge of the tax work of the whole country, he has reported to the imperial court four times to advocate exemption from change, so that the peasants can still pay taxes in kind, and finally received the approval of the emperor, which was unanimously praised by the people of the whole country.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="25" > honest taxation and punish the emperor</h1>
In 1056, Bao Zheng served as the governor of Kaifeng. Emperor Renzong's favored concubine Zhang's uncle Zhang Yaozuo (張尧佐) was highly valued by the imperial court and promoted to the rank of Third Envoy, holding the power of national finance and taxation. This man imposed harsh taxes on the people, and he snuggled up to the imperial power, and there was a cry of condemnation from the government and the opposition.
Bao Zheng took the lead and asked for the removal of Zhang Yaozuo from the post of third envoy: "Zhang Yaozuo is a person with little talent, relying on the nepotism of the noble concubine to ascend to the heavens one step at a time." Behind this, I don't know how many people have scolded you, but why do you have to protect this Zhang Yaozuo to beg for food? ”
After two impeachments, Emperor Renzong did not accept it, and then Bao Zheng defended himself, and Zhang Yaozuo was finally dealt with.
Throughout Bao Zheng's 27-year career, he advocated the abolition of official business and the implementation of free trade, which objectively conformed to the trend of the transition from the natural economy of the Northern Song Dynasty to the commodity economy. His fiscal and taxation thinking contains the concept of equality between the government and the people and justice for the people, which is also of great significance to our tax work today.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="35" > extension: Thailand's "Bao Gong"</h1>
There is a laundry detergent in Thailand that sells very well, because its trademark is called "Bao Gong", and its advertising slogan is like this: "The decontamination effect of this laundry detergent is as ruthless as Bao Gong's treatment of corrupt officials; the company's business policy is as fair and honest as bao gong trial cases." ”