Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece - Chapter 643

[Chapter 62 About the Collection of Taxes]

As for what you said ‘the kingdom has a large population and a large amount of land, and the land tax should also be quite large’.

You are so wrong!

Did you know that when Messapi and Puchetti were conquered, the decree issued by the Senate was ‘three-year tax exemption’.

Having said that, Mersis glanced at Davos with a slight dissatisfaction, because this proposal came from the king’s mouth: “The land tax in the Puchetti area was not levied until last year, and now the Downeys It was conquered by us, but not only did we have no benefit, but we also spent a lot of money to build roads, bridges, temples, military camps… Every day, the money from the national treasury is spent like flowing water. More money to pay the elders!

”

“Okay, Mersis, don’t complain, I believe that with your ability, you can squeeze a few talents out of the treasury.”

Davos looked at him with a smile.

Mersis muttered a few words and stopped talking.

“It seems that none of you have any major opinions on my proposal just now. This is just a rough suggestion, and it needs to be You go and discuss and discuss carefully, come up with a detailed and executable proposal, and return it to me for review.

But—” Davos raised a finger and reminded: “There is a principle to remember, just like the salary of ordinary officials, the more you work, the more you get!

”

It should be more work and more reward, so that there will be fewer elders who have nothing to do, and they should be vying for positions.”

Sesta clapped his hands and applauded. There are indeed some elders in the Senate. Except for raising their hands when making decisions, they cannot feel their presence at other times.

“This proposal will be discussed and formulated by the few of you, tomorrow morning. Give it to me for review, and I will take it to the Senate in the afternoon.

Davos said seriously.

Cornerus looked at the others, and after getting a positive response from everyone, he answered seriously: “No problem, Your Majesty.

”

“Next, I’ll talk about another idea of mine.” Davos said slowly with a slightly heavy expression: “Merxis has mentioned just now that the kingdom’s territory is expanding, the kingdom’s population is increasing, but at the same time the treasury The consumption of gold is also increasing. By the end of these two years, the national treasury has almost no surplus, which is dangerous for a country. In case of a major disaster or war, if we do not have enough reserves of gold and silver, we will not be able to make more money. Good to deal with…

The kingdom’s business tax revenue is increasing every year, which is related to the expansion of the territory, and it is inseparable from the efforts made by Marigi.”

Facing Davos’ praise, Marigi accepted it calmly. .

“But the growth of the commercial tax is a slow process. It is impossible that it will be ten talents today and one hundred talents tomorrow. The income of the land tax is relatively fixed, and the tax exemption for the Downeys is out of the kingdom. In the long run, Mersis, you don’t have to worry. In a few years, there will be a big increase in the land tax, but the land tax is not too much, and you should not expect it to solve the financial dilemma.

If not The ‘Tino’s favor’ was developed a few years ago, and

it earned an extra income for the national treasury, and today’s finances will be even more difficult.”

Having said this, Cornerus and Lyciatus felt a little bit. Shame, they strongly opposed the implementation of “Tino’s favor” back then, believing that it was a gamble that would corrupt the morals of the people.

In fact, this situation did not occur, but instead allowed the treasury to have more revenue.

“But the income of ‘Tino’s Care’ is only about 100 talents per year, and there will be no greater change… Now we should consider adding more money!” Davos’s aggravated tone made everyone Heart jumped.

Cornelus asked carefully: “Your Majesty, do you want to increase taxes?”

Davos narrowed his eyes, glanced at him sideways, and said, “What’s wrong with increasing taxes? You used to say Greece The city-states have no tradition of collecting direct taxes, and now you see, which of the other Greek powers in the Mediterranean does not charge a higher tax than Dionia?

Syracuse used to collect taxes as high as 30% during the time of Dionysius.

Now they charge a special war tax of 5% every year, which they claim is to guard against Carthage. Who knows who they are guarding against?

!

Needless to say, Sparta, its land is completely concentrated in the hands of the state, and only food that is barely enough to eat is usually allocated to citizens, and all other money is used for armaments.

And Athens, I’m sure you all already know that.

At the end of last year, they implemented a special tax system-property tax, one-fifth of the actual property of each Athenian citizen is registered, and one to two percent of this property is charged every year, which is comparable to what we charge. The citizen land tax is much higher!

And Corinth, Argos, Megara are all raising taxes.

Not to mention Thebes, which was completely controlled by Sparta and paid tribute far more than the taxes paid by its citizens.

The direct taxes collected by these city-states are far higher than the land tax of Dionia, and the citizens of Dionia should be very lucky!

As the king of Dionia, I have to take into account the governance of the kingdom and the lives of the people. Therefore, of course, tax increases cannot be added casually, and I must be cautious.

But there is a tax, which I find does not affect people’s lives, and should be collected.

Davos stopped talking, and everyone was lost in thought.

”

Your Majesty, what kind of tax are you talking about?”

“Mercis asked eagerly. “Inheritance

– estate – tax.

Davos spit out a word in a deep voice.

Inheritance tax? The five rotating chairmen and Sesta are a little puzzled, while Mersis and Marigi are thoughtful.

“If Ancitanos is here, he will clear.

Davos looked at their expressions, made a joke, and then explained: “This kind of tax has been implemented in Egypt for hundreds of years. When the property owner wants to transfer the property to relatives or others, the court is acknowledging this. When this transfer is valid, 1/10 of its property will be extracted as a tax paid to the state.

I think we can also have an inheritance tax within the kingdom because it has a lot of benefits.

First, it can increase the kingdom’s taxes.

Second, it can adjust the wealth gap between citizens.

This is especially important. If the initial citizens of a kingdom continue to accumulate meritorious deeds, they may have dozens of acres by the age of 50.

If it is a successful kingdom businessman, it is even more powerful. He can save at least dozens or even hundreds of talents in his life.

Compared with the new citizens who have just joined the kingdom and are working hard to survive, the children of these old citizens can live comfortably without having to work hard to contribute to the kingdom, and even pass it down for several generations, and they can easily become domestic citizens. big landlords and rich people.

In the long run, it will cause jealousy among ordinary citizens, and it is not conducive to the stability of the kingdom, so we need to use inheritance tax to adjust.

”

“Don’t the citizens strive for merits and wealth so that they can live a good life and pass it on to their children and grandchildren?”

!

The implementation of inheritance tax will probably dampen their enthusiasm!

“Lysias asked suspiciously.

“Efforts to obtain meritorious deeds to make oneself a good life, the Kingdom’s full support.

Haven’t we given all kinds of material and honorable rewards!

Allotments, medals…even provide an excellent place for children of citizens to study and train.

But leaving too much wealth to the next generation will only cultivate the arrogance of the next generation of citizens, making them lack the motivation to struggle, and become greedy for pleasure and unwilling to contribute to the kingdom.

Therefore, we can set some conditions for collecting inheritance tax to guide wealthy citizens to use their wealth rationally.

For example, donating to build public buildings can reduce the rate of inheritance tax… This will also make ordinary citizens look at these rich people friendly, which is the third benefit of inheritance tax.

Davos explained patiently.

“But Your Majesty, some citizens have little wealth, and they have to collect inheritance tax. Isn’t it a bit too strict?”

‘ Cornerus said cautiously.

“You asked this question well!” Davers praised and said solemnly: “I don’t think that all citizens of the kingdom are subject to inheritance tax. How much property is exempt from inheritance tax? Citizens who own much property are charged Five percent inheritance tax? Citizens with how much property are charged 10 percent inheritance tax? Citizens who own much property are charged 20 or 30 percent inheritance tax? … After the five rotating chairmen went down, the same Mersis and Marigi go together, come up with a rough draft, and we go to the Senate to raise the bill. I think it’s going to be a long, heated discussion, but eventually it’s going to be established, and I’m Very confident, because every citizen of the kingdom hopes that his child is a hero who is aggressive and can create more brilliant achievements than himself, not a waste who only knows how to eat, drink and play! And our elders hope that the kingdom in the future will be stable. A harmonious society instead of a bad situation where the rich are rampant, the commoners have no place to stand, and riots may be caused at any time!”

“Your Majesty, I think the elders will appreciate your painstaking efforts, and the bill to collect inheritance tax will definitely be established!” Anta Oris immediately expressed his attitude.

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others have also expressed their support one after another, of which Mersis was the most active.

“Next, let’s talk about the “All-Greek Scholars Conference”.” Speaking of this, Davos also showed a dignified and excited look on his face: “With the current strength of our Kingdom of Dionia, it is already The most powerful of the entire Mediterranean Greek countries. But in many places, especially in mainland Greece, the people there do not think that Dionia is a Greek city-state, but despise that Dionia is just a group of barbaric, backward, It’s just a big tribal alliance composed of ignorant barbarians. We need to let other Greeks know about us and understand that our kingdom of Dionia is not only powerful, but also has advanced civilization and splendid culture! If the Greek world a few decades ago The role model to follow is Athens, so today the Turii of Dionia is the center of Greek culture! Let the people of the Greek world know us and get close to us. Purpose!”

After listening to Davos’ impassioned words, everyone was a little excited.

Lysias immediately said: “Your Majesty, although the “Annual Meeting of All-Greek Scholars” is mainly held at the Dionysian Academy, it is also the glory of Turii. Our Turii City Hall will do our best to assist Dionysian Academy will organize this conference where scholars gather.”