nycdaug Chapter 239 Sky-high Tax
Chapter 239 Sky-high Tax
According to Ye Lingqiu, wars have been frequent in recent years, and because the Forty-Eight Villages did not commit many crimes, the government has not been busy suppressing bandits.
However, when she passed by Jingzhou, she clearly felt the power of the Forty-Eight Villages.
The government is still careless. If they allow a stronghold to grow bigger and bigger, won’t it threaten the security of Dayu?
This inevitably made Shen Yitian feel that the current emperor was indeed a bit incompetent.
Otherwise, how could a copycat be allowed to grow so powerful?
However, she was not interested in whether the emperor was incompetent or not.
Until they came down from the island and returned to the restaurant, the government sent people to collect taxes.
In Dayu, you have to pay taxes no matter what you do.
Whether they are peddlers, farmers or fishermen, as long as they are living people, they must pay taxes.
Paying taxes was normal, but the amount the tax collector asked her to pay was abnormal.
"My restaurant has only been open for two months, and you're asking me for fifty taels of silver in tax?" Shen Yitian was stunned when she saw the tax collector in front of her.
The man nodded naturally: "Yes, fifty taels of silver, everyone pays this way."
Shen Yitian almost rolled her eyes and pouted.
She invested so much money in the early stage, and now that her business has just started, she has to bear a tax debt of 25 grains every month.
Who can bear this.
"Aren't taxes collected based on profits? You haven't even looked at my account book, so why did you ask for fifty taels of silver?" Shen Yitian couldn't help it and asked through gritted teeth.
She remembered that before the original owner got married, in the capital, the Shen family's most successful business, Jinlou, did not pay even fifty taels of tax a month!
"Oh, girl, what you're saying is outdated. The current tax law is to charge according to the size of the store.
Look at your restaurant, it takes up such a large area, so you have to pay fifty taels." The tax collector smiled and explained to her kindly.
"Don't even mention you. Even before, we charged this restaurant 25 taels of silver a month."
Shen Yi was so sweet that she felt pain. This was not a land tax or house tax. She had never heard of doing business being charged according to the business area.
"What you said is very interesting. If I don't have a shop, then I don't have to pay taxes when I do business, right?"
The tax collector smiled and said, "Girls are always joking. Even if you don't have a storefront, you still have to occupy a place. We will collect taxes based on the size of the land."
"What if we carry them all on our backs and don't take up space?" Shen Yitian asked again.
In later times, such small businesses would indeed not be subject to tax.
But this world is different. Everyone has to pay taxes. If business taxes are not based on profits but on area, wouldn't that allow for loopholes?
But the tax collector said, "If that's the case, I'm afraid we'll have to calculate the tax based on how many places you've visited."
Shen Yitian: ...
How shameless!
Of course the taxes were not paid. Shen Yitian didn't even know how other people paid their taxes, so she would definitely not take the money rashly.
Unfortunately, she later took the time to ask a few companies and found out that other companies actually paid taxes in the same way.
Several companies are even saying that their business can no longer continue.
Shen Yitian finally understood why the original owner had returned to his hometown when the restaurant had been renovated so well and the interior decoration was still new.
This is just a small county town. If we have to pay 25 taels of tax a month, who can afford it?
I may not even be able to earn fifty taels a month. After deducting the wages of the cooks and servants, the shop rent, and paying so much tax, and there are other expenses, this is basically a loss-making business.
He is relying on business to support his family. It would be a big deal if this doesn't drag down the whole family.
Shen Yitian sat in the room depressed, so disgusted by the tax that she didn't eat properly for several days.
Ye Lingqiu specially made soft and delicious pastries, which were her favorite sour jujube cakes and hawthorn cakes, and also served them to her with a pot of good tea.
Seeing her unhappy look, Ye Lingqiu said, "This is actually quite normal. The tax laws were changed a year ago. The reason is that Dayu is engaged in many wars these days, and taxes must be increased to ensure that the soldiers on the frontiers have enough food and clothing."
"The soldiers are well fed and well clothed, but how can the people survive? With such high taxes, who would dare to do business?" When Shen Yitian heard this, she felt that the sour jujube cake in her hand no longer tasted good.
Ye Lingqiu said, "It's not just merchants, farmers and fishermen are all affected too. A lot more taxes have been added. It's still okay in Lingnan, but in Jingzhou, some people are already struggling to survive."
Shen Yitian: ...
I thought she traveled through time to a peaceful and prosperous era, but it turned out to be an era with heavy taxes and levies.
The original book only mentioned that the emperor was sending T-shirts to the border soldiers, and batches of supplies were sent there. Any general or soldier who made meritorious service would be rewarded continuously.
When Shen Yitian saw it, she sighed that the treasury of Dayu was really sufficient.
Who knows that all the money is taken from the people.
After taking two big bites of the sour jujube cake, she still felt nauseous.
In this situation, if the war continues for another two years, will the people still be able to survive?
"Tiantian, don't worry about this. If you want to open this restaurant, you can continue to open it. If you don't want to, you can close it. As for that island, if you continue to collect taxes in this way, I'm afraid it will be troublesome even if you manage it." Ye Lingqiu poured her tea and advised in a low voice.
Shen Yitian was not convinced. If she didn't make more money, she might not be able to protect the Shen family in the future relying on the things in the space.
She was so worried.
Three days later, Luo Xuan came again.
Unlike before, this time he was wearing official uniform.
If he was wearing casual clothes, Shen Yitian could lock him outside the door and not let him enter the restaurant without changing her expression or heartbeat.
But it was different when she was wearing official uniform. Officials were different from civilians. If she stopped the county magistrate from entering the restaurant, she would probably be charged with disrespecting officials.
Moreover, judging from Luo Xuan's attitude, coming here today might not be as easy as before.
As expected, as soon as he sat down, Luo Xuan looked straight to the point and asked Shen Yitian: "The people below said that you haven't paid the taxes for the past two months?"
Shen Yitian and Ye Lingqiu sat aside. She nodded and said, "Yes, I think the tax is unreasonable, so I haven't paid it yet."
Luo Xuan raised his hand, signaling her to stop talking, and lowered his voice to remind her: "Hey, Miss Shen, don't talk nonsense. This tax law was set by the court. If you think it is unreasonable, then you are questioning the court."
Shen Yitian frowned and said, "That's not my intention. I just think we should be lenient under the iron law. If we collect taxes like that according to the tax law, how can I continue to run this restaurant? Wouldn't I be losing money every day?"
"Miss Shen, what you said is true. There is no reason to lose money in business. If you can't come up with it in these two months, it's not a problem to give you two months. I know the business talent of the Shen family. This restaurant will only make profits in your hands, and there is no way it will lose money.
However, if you postpone the tax payment, according to the law, you will have to pay an additional 10% late payment fee. If you agree, Miss Shen, I will personally tell my subordinates tomorrow that I will not collect the taxes for the next two months."