Chapter 518 Tax Reform 3

"Oh! I still need to prepare some materials." Bernard took out his pocket watch and took a look. "You go to the conference room on the second floor and wait for a while."

"Okay, go ahead and see you later." Hansel responded, waving goodbye to Bernard.

He climbed the stairs to the second floor, walked along the west corridor to the conference room, and found a person already waiting inside. Steve Fielding, the head of the tax bureau who had only been appointed half a year ago.

However, it is not correct to say that he took office only half a year ago, because Steve Fielding was already one of Alda's tax collectors when Paul's father Graeman Sr. was still there, and along with several others The tax collectors were under the leadership of Old Ford, then Lord Keeper of the Seals. After the current Lord Earl established the Government Administration Council, taxation work has not been set up as a separate department to be responsible. Instead, it continues to be under the direct jurisdiction of Old Ford as the general manager. Fielding and other tax officials are still under the leadership of Old Ford.

Until half a year ago, Earl Grayman felt that taxation work needed to have a separate agency, so the Government Administration added an additional department-the Taxation Bureau. At the suggestion of Old Ford, Steve Fielding stood out from many tax officials. Appointed head of the tax office by Count Graeman.

"Good day, Sir Abbott."

Seeing Hansel enter the conference room, Fielding immediately stood up and said hello. He respected Hansel from the capital Jingyao very much.

"Good day, Steve. I've told you so many times, just call me Hansel. We are colleagues and friends."

Hansel responded helplessly.

"Haha, I just made it a habit verbally, but don't worry, I will always treat you as a friend."

Fielding smiled and said to Hansel, who, as usual, scratched his head in slight embarrassment.

Hansel came to sit next to Fielding and said in a low voice: "Do you think this meeting may be about financial issues?"

Fielding replied: "I think it is very possible. Perhaps you already know that the war in Cape Bay has a great impact on our trade. Judging from the tax data of Fulan Port, our own merchant ships in the Northwest Bay are not bad, but The number of merchant ships on the Horn Bay has dropped by nearly one-third compared to the previous quarter. As far as I know, some people were ordered by their countries to stay at the port to wait for conscription, and some were directly conscripted. There's a war."

Hansel and Fielding chatted, exchanging information and opinions.

During this period, people entered the conference room one after another, including Ford, Director of the Government Affairs Council, Cecil, Director of the Intelligence Department, Mark Palmer, Director of the Forestry Department...

Surprisingly, Thomas, the chief judge of the Lord's Court, also came to the conference room.

Finally, Paul Greiman, Earl of Alda, and Myron Garnard, Earl of Bailding, brought Bernard to the conference room.

Everyone stood up unanimously and saluted the two earls.

Paul waved to everyone and sat down at the head of the conference table. Myron sat on the seat to his left. On the seat to Paul's right sat the director of the Government Affairs Office, Wackley Ford, and Bernard served as the minutestaker. Sitting at a small table behind Paul's side.

"Everyone, the main purpose of inviting you here today is to discuss how to balance fiscal revenue and expenditure."

Paul introduced the topic of the meeting. He held up a stack of papers and said:

"This is a recent report that I would like everyone to take a look at."

Then everyone in the room received a copy, which was quickly looked over.

The above is the revenue and expenditure of the Government Affairs Council in the most recent quarter. As everyone expected, there was a large deficit.

Everyone can guess the reason, because of the situation in Corner Bay.

The count called everyone here, wouldn't he want to reallocate funds to various departments? Everyone thinks so.

If adjustments are made early, some department funds will definitely be cut.

Everyone was drafting ideas quickly in their minds, thinking about how to highlight the importance of their department to avoid being struck by Count Grayman's machete.

"Ahem!" Seeing the furrowed brows of the officials, Paul cleared his throat heavily and said loudly: "I have discussed it with the directors of Mellon and Ford, and all current expenditures should not be changed."

call! Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since cutting expenditures is out of date, what we have to do is increase revenue. We must expand the fiscal revenue of the Government Affairs Council."

Cecil, the director of the intelligence department, thought to himself: "This is easy to handle. Just restore the miscellaneous taxes that have been abolished in recent years."

But what the count said next surprised everyone in the conference room:

"We have discussed it over and over again and feel that the current tax system is outdated, especially the tax-packaging system."

The tax farming system is a tax system that is common in human history - the king or lord does not directly tax his subjects, but entrusts it to someone in the local area and gives the amount of tax he wants to collect. Such people are called tax collectors. The tax collector levied taxes on the people in the area he was responsible for in the name of the king or lord, and then handed over the coins that met the tax amount to the king or lord. The tax collector could levy an additional portion on the basis of the original tax amount. The extra part will be kept by the tax collector as a reward for the hard work.

It should be like this, but...

"I heard there is such a saying."

Indignation came over Paul's face.

There is no mistake in every song, one post, one content, one 6 one, one book, one book, take a look!

"Pay enough to the lord, leave some for the people to live, and the rest is yours. My God, listen to this - leave some for the people to live, is this what people say?"

"You can imagine how much the so-called tax farmers have earned in the middle."

Paul stood up and paced beside the seat, waving his fist

"So, what do you mean?"

Hansel asked.

Paul said: "Abolish the tax farming system and let our tax bureau send people directly to the countryside to collect taxes."

Abolish the tax farming system? Everyone was suddenly shocked.

Cecil asked in surprise: "That... Lord Earl, what if it causes a backlash... I mean, what if those tax farmers resist your new policy? I don't think they will sit idly by and watch their interests suffer in vain."

"It's not up to them! What reason do they have to continue to retain their privileges?"

Paul waved his fist in the air.

"So-called tax farming is nothing more than a compromise under the backward development of social forms."

"In Arda, Bairdin, and Emden, there is no need to make such a compromise."

"In recent years, roads leading to towns have been built, and government affairs officers stationed in rural areas have also been established. We can collect taxes ourselves without relying on others."