sjar Chapter 467 Having such a father-in-law is a disgrace to this official.
Chapter 467 Having such a father-in-law is a disgrace to this official.
Yang Shaofeng immediately rolled his eyes in dissatisfaction.
"How could my son-in-law be talking nonsense?"
"In the border markets, goods from Ming Dynasty merchants are sold at exorbitant prices."
"The goods from foreign merchants are not expensive, but they are not very useful to ordinary people."
"The common people could only buy everyday and cheap things at the town market."
"The key is that Chengguan City is close to home."
Did the merchants of the Ming Dynasty sell their goods at exorbitant prices?
Seeing Yang Shaofeng's eloquent words, Emperor Zhu fell silent.
A tea set costs ninety-nine strings of cash, which is indeed not cheap.
If I were an ordinary citizen, I probably wouldn't come to the market to buy things.
But what's this bastard talking about, the Chengguan Market?
Got to go see it.
If it works well, then let other states and counties copy it.
Just as Emperor Zhu was considering having other prefectures and counties copy Dengzhou Prefecture's practices, the clerks in the tax office had already compiled the day's tax figures.
"Today was alright."
Yang Shaofeng handed the report compiled by the clerks to Emperor Zhu and said with a smile, "There weren't any large transactions, but there were quite a few luxury goods transactions today, and the commercial tax was over 15,800 strings of cash."
Emperor Zhu's eyes widened immediately: "How much?"
More than 15,800 strings of cash?
Commercial tax?
Is it just commercial tax?
Just as Emperor Zhu was shocked by the number 15,800 strings of cash, Empress Ma looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "My dear son-in-law, what do you mean by the luxury item you mentioned? It sounds very expensive."
Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but admire him greatly.
Look at Chairman Ma, she sees things so clearly and gets to the heart of the matter. No wonder she's my mother-in-law.
Then look at that bumpkin next to me who's only shocked by the amount of money.
Ah.
Having such a father-in-law is truly a disgrace to this official!
While inwardly cursing, Yang Shaofeng bowed to Empress Ma and said, "Replying to Mother-in-law, so-called luxury goods are things that ordinary people basically don't need."
"Ordinary people don't need it, but if they are willing to spend the money, they can buy it. It is defined as a regular luxury item, and its price in the market is relatively high."
"If it's something that ordinary people couldn't afford even if they went bankrupt, it's positioned as a top-tier luxury item, and the price is usually unimaginably high."
“Glass teaware from Ningyang County is positioned at a relatively low level; it doesn’t even qualify as a regular luxury item.”
"The border markets have a special luxury tax for these luxury goods, with a tax rate between 30% and 50%."
"If we also include the customs duties paid before the goods arrive in Dengzhou Prefecture, as well as the normal commercial taxes, the total tax rate on luxury goods may reach 80%."
Empress Ma, who hadn't thought much of it before, was greatly shocked by Yang Shaofeng's words.
"Such a high tax rate..."
Empress Ma frowned and said, "If merchants are still willing to come to the border market, how much profit do they actually make?"
Emperor Zhu said menacingly, "Now I finally understand why we prioritize agriculture and suppress commerce. These merchants, heh heh..."
Yang Shaofeng said, “Mother-in-law, you might want to think about it. At most, a glass tea set is worth a few hundred coins, but when you take it to the market, it sells for ninety-nine strings of cash a set.”
"A pound of rice costs only a few coins, and a pound of flour costs only a few coins as well."
"Even if 50% of the 99 strings of cash is taxed on luxury goods and another 10% is taxed on commerce, there will still be nearly 40% profit left."
"Of course, that's not how it's done."
"Because the glass workshops in Ningyang County belong to the Ningyang County government and the wages paid to the workers are high enough, in the end, less than 30% may remain."
"Of these 30%, 20% remain in the county treasury, while the remaining amount goes to the national treasury upon the transaction."
"Of the 20% that remained in the county treasury, half ended up in the son-in-law's pocket."
So, you bastard, you make ten strings of cash just by selling a set of glass teaware?
This calculation alone greatly displeased Emperor Zhu.
Emperor Zhu glared angrily at Yang Shaofeng and roared, "Aren't you afraid of overeating your way to your death, you worthless bastard! What, do you want to take all the wealth in the world back to your Ningyang County?"
Yang Shaofeng immediately became angry: "Father-in-law, you are really wronging your son-in-law by saying that."
"After all, the 50% luxury tax and the 10% commercial tax collected in Dengzhou all go into the national treasury."
"Of the 30% left by Ningyang County, one-tenth was sold to the national treasury, and the other 10% was used to repair bridges and roads, maintain the normal operation of the almshouse, the orphanage, and the county government."
"And we also have to pay the workers in the glass workshop."
"After all, the people of Ningyang County are all poor, and I just want them to live a little better."
"Even the one-tenth that the son-in-law keeps, half of it is reserved for his parents-in-law, not for him to keep all by himself."
As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Empress Ma nodded and said, "The half-portion that my son-in-law left for us is with me."
Emperor Zhu fell silent.
So, the national treasury took 70%, and this bastard even left us an extra 50%?
That's okay.
However, since this scoundrel says that luxury goods can be taxed so high, shouldn't we have the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites work together to create a list of luxury goods?
……
Ever since leaving the market, Yang Shaofeng has been eager to sing.
After all, there aren't many opportunities to upset Old Deng.
Today's trip to the border market not only successfully caused trouble for Lao Deng, but also allowed them to use Lao Deng to cause trouble for the officials in the court, making them start to think about the tax rates for luxury goods and commercial taxes.
Just perfect.
However, upon returning to the Dengzhou government office, Emperor Zhu suddenly asked, "Tell me, where have all the beggars in the city gone?"
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "A beggar?"
Emperor Zhu nodded and said, "Yes, where is the beggar?"
"Ever since we arrived in Ningyang County, we've been wondering why there are no beggars in Ningyang County?"
"And what about Dengzhou? There aren't any beggars in the city of Dengzhou?"
"This is clearly not normal."
It is impossible for the world to be without beggars.
No matter how hard the imperial court and government try, there will always be some people who are unable to farm or work, or who are unwilling to farm or work.
From the capital to Ningyang County, and then from Ningyang County to Dengzhou Prefecture, Emperor Zhu encountered quite a few beggars along the way.
Why are Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture exempt from this?
Yang Shaofeng replied with a smile, "Father-in-law, I couldn't bear to see those beggars suffer, so I placed those who were too young in the orphanage and those who were too old in the charity home."
"As for the young and strong, they were all thrown to work on construction sites."
"If someone is missing an arm or a leg, we'll see if we can arrange for them to work in a workshop."
"Give those who deserve household registration, give those who deserve land, and give those who deserve wages."
"Anyway, there are places to put them."
So what exactly are the officials in other prefectures and counties doing?
Do they deserve the salaries we pay them?