Economist in Chinese History (Three Pillars of Tax Reform) Yang Yan Zhang Juzheng Yongzheng (Part 1)

I was hesitant to write this article, because the three in the title are actually better at tax law and more macro economics. That is, they are better at stock games than incremental games. The achievements of these three are to expand the state revenue, except for the four Brother Yongzheng, the first two are not much help for how to liberate the productive forces and create new value.

However, considering the importance of taxation to economic activities, we, as ancient economic enthusiasts, cannot ignore it in any way.

According to the literature, China's ancient tax system arose in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, that is, the transition period from slave society to feudal construction. It is well understood that the fruits of the labor of all slaves in slave society belonged to the slave owners, and no additional income was needed or provided. As for what the slave owner paid to the king, it was a tribute, and the goods paid, the amount of payment, and even the frequency of payment were not fixed, so it could not be called taxation.

However, after entering the feudal society, with the change of land ownership system and personal relations, taxation began to enter the historical stage.

According to the historical records, there are two main types of taxes collected at the earliest, namely taxes and endowments. The so-called tax refers to the people's tax (population tax), which is levied according to the population, whether rich or poor, rich or poor, as long as they are alive, they should be paid; the so-called endowment is levied according to the land, called the land tax. In addition, there will be temporary taxes such as military service and military service in various dynasties or localities, which will not be discussed here.

So how taxes are paid, the answer is in kind. Yes, the ancient way people paid taxes to the official treasury was through land output. Of course, it is also occasionally paid with industrial goods or currency, but this is not the mainstream, and we do not raise the bar.

Until the first year of Emperor Dezong in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the expropriation method of tian fu was roughly based on the amount of land harvest and the approved amount. The tax is also levied in kind, fixed or with the fluctuations of the year. As for the standard of expropriation, it is determined by the ruler according to his needs and is not uniform.

Why mention the time point of the first year of Emperor Dezong in the middle of the Tang Dynasty? Because of this year, Prime Minister Yang Yan officially opened the first large-scale tax reform in Chinese history.

The background of this reform is that since the "Anshi Rebellion", the central government has not been able to effectively control the household registration and the land and mu household accounts, and the land annexation has been drastic, and the corresponding population flow has been strengthened, and the central government has indeed been unable to catch it. The local feudal governors, on the other hand, set up a clever name and arbitrarily apportioned them, and did not pay attention to the central government at all. If this situation continues, the unified state system will disintegrate. In order to save the central government's finances, Prime Minister Yang Yan launched his tax law reform plan, which is actually very simple, that is, according to the advantages and disadvantages of the land in various localities, the number of fixed taxes with different amounts is distributed, and other miscellaneous taxes are abolished, and the people's tax is paid according to the unified standard of the numbers reported by various localities. The subject matter of payment shall be unified as currency and shall not be offset in kind. Because this tax is levied in spring and autumn, it is called the "two tax laws".

The "Two Taxes Law" has two innovations, first, fixed taxes, and second, monetary collection. The effect was obvious, and the financial revenue of the imperial court increased rapidly, supporting the famous "Dezong Zhongxing". However, such a simple and crude tax reform will deal a huge blow to agriculture, industry and commerce throughout the country, and it will inevitably be resisted by the powerful forces in various localities, and the class contradictions will become more acute, resulting in intensified social turmoil. Less than thirty years after its implementation, the "Two Taxes Law" existed in name only, and the once glorious Tang Empire also completed its final "return to the light" and gradually went to its demise. (To be continued)