Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 761

Chapter 756: The Empire Still Wants to Pay Me Back

. Lingze Star has never been busier.

This planet, located in the western Tangu Star Region of the Spiderweb Universe, is the capital of the Lingze Sector.

Before the war, this planet boasted a well-developed starport system, serving as a transportation hub connecting the Empire’s central territory with the Spiderweb Universe.

During the war, it became a key target of contention, but fortunately, the Empire repelled the Iron Armor after a battle, and it has remained under Imperial control ever since. Even during Iron Armor’s counterattack, the Imperial Army maintained garrisons on the planet’s surface and starports, allowing Iron Armor’s fleet to bypass it.

Later, when the Western Front Army was reorganized, Lingze Star became a crucial logistical hub. Countless transport ships brought in all kinds of war supplies, unloaded them, and then distributed them to various frontline battlefields by smaller transport fleets.

During this period, Lingze Starport System, which had suffered some damage from the war, was not only urgently repaired but also further expanded.

Due to its advantageous location and the planet’s excellent infrastructure as a transportation hub, it was chosen after the Alliance took control as the site for the collection of Imperial taxes between the Alliance and the Imperial Central Government.

Previously, Lingze, as a transportation hub and a logistics hub during wartime, was bustling with ships and ships, its waterways bustling with activity.

However, none of that prosperity could compare to the prosperity it experienced after becoming the site for the collection of Imperial taxes!

Although the Alliance Plan was signed less than a year ago, the collection of Imperial taxes has already begun.

The tax cycle agreed upon between the Alliance and the Empire is biennial. However, the Alliance has grown so large, controlling nearly ten thousand worlds, that it can no longer simply wait for the tax collectors to come, as it did in its younger days.

The Alliance Plan stipulates that the Alliance must collect taxes from all fourteen star regions at once. This task cannot be delayed until the tax season is near; that would undoubtedly prevent the collection of taxes.

In fact, even before the Alliance Plan was signed, a dedicated Imperial Tax Working Group had already been stationed on Lingze Star and begun work.

This high-level task force, established under the Alliance Finance Department and reporting to both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, held considerable power

and responsibility .

It was solely responsible for the collection of Imperial Taxes across the Alliance.

Numerous transport vessels, including those belonging to the Alliance’s Chamber of Commerce fleets, were allocated to the task force.

Official Alliance transport vessels could be used directly; those belonging to the Chamber of Commerce were required to pay a fee and operate under orders from the Chamber of Commerce fleets.

At this moment, the task force’s leader, Director Guo Chenyu, was accompanying Gu Hang, who had stopped by Lingze Star on his way back, to inspect the tax situation.

It had been seven months since Gu Hang left Holy Terra.

Taxation was, of course, so crucial that Gu Hang had made a point of stopping by to take a look on his way back to the Dragon Eagle Star Region.

“…Our tax collection efforts are proceeding relatively smoothly. The cumulative amount of supplies flowing in from all over the star region has reached 432.7 billion tax coins, and ships continue to arrive to transport supplies for storage on Lingze Star.”

“A ship from the Imperial Central Government is expected to arrive in three months to transport 160 billion tax coins worth of supplies. After that, a new batch of ships will arrive approximately every month. It’s estimated that it will take eight months to transport the remaining 640 billion tax coins. With this, the Alliance’s first round of tax collection is complete.”

According to the Alliance Plan, the Alliance’s tax revenue for the first year is 300 billion, and 500 billion the following year. The first installment will total 800 billion.

This will increase to 800 billion in the third year, 1 trillion in the fourth year, and so on. This is a nonlinear growth process, with the annual increase determined by negotiations between Alliance officials and the Imperial Tax Department. However, by the tenth year, it will reach 2.1 trillion and remain there.

Gu Hang nodded slightly, his gaze quickly flicking through the documents. His psychic energy enveloped Lingze Star’s vast starport system, quickly checking and verifying whether the documents matched the actual situation.

There were undoubtedly discrepancies.

But Gu Hang wasn’t one to be overly critical.

With such a large-scale material flow and accounting, some errors and omissions were normal.

A few gentle reminders and warnings were necessary; heavy penalties were unnecessary.

No one is immune to mistakes.

As long as there were no major issues, it was enough.

Gu Hang then inquired about the second installment of the Imperial Tax and the large-scale infrastructure Lingze Star had built to support it.

Guo Chenyu answered each question, clearly confident in his understanding.

The first installment of the tax was only 300 billion coins, but Lingze Star already had over 400 billion in supplies in reserve. The excess was clearly in preparation for the next tax payment.

In reality, the ships from the Imperial Central Government wouldn’t stop after delivering the first installment of 800 billion coins. The Empire’s ships will operate on a monthly basis, or even more frequently in the future. During the third and fourth years, the second phase of 1.7 trillion tax coins will be delivered to the Imperial Center. This will continue indefinitely,   and the same will be true when the amount stabilizes at 2.1 trillion.   Even the Imperial Center will struggle to mobilize enough ships to transport such a large amount of supplies all at once.   They can only ship out in batches, monthly or even weekly. Of course

,   this comes at a cost, and the Empire will still have to bear the transportation costs from Lingze Star to the Imperial Center.   However, this cost is completely manageable.   Like any other cosmic domain, we will have to negotiate with local governments, both at the star and cosmic levels, to determine how much you keep and how much I take. While there are fixed quotas, if you’re not careful, your 40% could be 100 billion, and my 30% could be 150 billion. Local governments have every incentive to use a range of tactics, including false reporting, concealed reporting, and reasonable calculations of losses, to wrestle with the Imperial Tax Department.   It all requires negotiation, compromise, threats, and even the use of force when necessary.   It’s all about costs.   Not to mention the myriad of minutiae involved. There’s haggling over who will bear the tax and transportation costs between star regions; who will provide escort services; who will be held responsible for transporting supplies like food spoilage, expiration dates, or improper storage.   With the Alliance, there’s no need to worry about any of this. There’s   a fixed quota, a fixed point.   The tax officials come to count the amounts, and after that, the fleet arrives to take away the supplies. Simple and straightforward.

However, there is a problem. Lingze Star’s infrastructure can handle the tax burden for the next two years without much problem.

However, in the third and fourth phases, the tax burden on the alliance will rise to over a trillion.

At that point, Lingze Planet’s infrastructure will be strained.

Guo Chenyu’s plan calls for the construction of a new starport on Lingze Planet, dubbed the “Tax Port.” Simultaneously, a massive space city dedicated to tax storage is also under construction on the surface. Space elevators for direct and rapid cargo transport will connect the space storage city, the ground storage city, and the tax port, as well as fixed orbits for cheaper, larger-scale cargo transport.

Once completed, Lingze Planet’s cargo throughput will triple its current capacity, fully capable of handling the Alliance’s future tax cargo needs.

There will even be enough space to support the Imperial Chamber of Commerce’s trade fleet, allowing them to trade bulk commodities with the Alliance.

It’s worth noting that this “Tax Port system” is incredibly expensive. It will be completed in four phases, totaling eight years, with a portion delivered for use after each phase. The total cost is expected to reach 70 billion tax coins, equivalent to the cost of a battleship.

However, this funding will not be borne by the Alliance.

This matter was brought up during Alliance officials’ discussions with officials from the Ministry of Taxation on Holy Terra regarding the implementation details of the Alliance Plan.

After intense discussion, the Alliance officials secured a concession: the Imperial Ministry of Taxation would cover the construction of the Lingze Star Tax Port.

The Ministry of Taxation would certainly not provide funding, nor would they directly recruit and hire a construction team to work on Lingze.

No problem, the Alliance could do it, just pay. If they didn’t want to pay, they could deduct it from the tax bill.

The Ministry of Taxation agreed.

After all, this was necessary investment and construction for the smooth operation of tax collection.

Moreover, while they were paying, including it as a deduction would reduce the pressure.

And speaking of deductions, the Alliance’s tax deductions covered more than just the construction of the tax port.

Seventy billion, while not a small sum, was not the most crucial.

The most crucial aspect was the Alliance’s war expenses during the Ironclad War and the Zerg War.

Shouldn’t the Imperial Central Government reimburse this?

This was a promise made when the Western Front Legion was formed, and it was also a political tradition of the Empire.

Within the Empire, local rulers are responsible for safeguarding their territories. Planetary governors are tasked with ensuring the stability of their own worlds. Setting aside the more abstract level of sector, even the star and universe governments have a responsibility to ensure the security of their respective jurisdictions.

This is the fundamental reason why the Empire reserves a portion of its imperial tax revenue for sector and universe governments.

Without funds, how can people build or fight?

However, these responsibilities are primarily limited to defending the homeland.

For example, planetary governors are responsible for the safety of their planets. If they fail to address the situation, they are deemed derelict in their duties and should be dismissed or executed. The sector will then request intervention from the sector government, mobilizing troops from other planets for support, or even the sector government itself. These supporting troops from other planets cannot fight in vain; the sector government must pay for their support.

Internal problems within the star domain government were solved with the 30% of the Imperial Tax the domain government received. If they couldn’t solve the problem, they would seek help from the Cosmic Domain Chairman, who would then personally intervene or mobilize troops from other star domains. This portion of the money would be funded by the Cosmic Domain Government, which also retained 30% of the Imperial Tax.

Similarly, if a major problem arose that the Cosmic Domain Government couldn’t resolve, or if the Empire advocated for an Imperial-level war in a particular direction, Holy Terra would mobilize core forces from the Solar Domain or other domains to participate. Naturally, the central government would foot the bill for this.

The Iron Armor War was undoubtedly a war spanning multiple universes, requiring the mobilization of a large number of troops from other regions. The Spider Web Universe itself was incapable of resolving the issue internally.

The Alliance responded to the Empire’s call, an act of undeniable loyalty. The Iron Armor War fell outside the Alliance’s responsibilities, and the Imperial Center naturally funded the war. Of course

, due to the urgency of the situation, even if the Imperial Center had the funds, it would be difficult to quickly deploy supplies to the various locations where troops would be deployed.

Furthermore, the Imperial Central Government often lacks sufficient funds.

This means that supporting troops often need to provide their own rations.

This was the case with both the Northern and Southern Legions during the Ironclad War.

While the participating regional troops had political aspirations, the central government reimbursed their wartime expenses.

If they couldn’t afford it, they would use tax coins to offset the tax burden.

This was a common practice.

The Alliance’s wartime expenses were substantial. While

the Imperial Central Government didn’t have to cover the cost of building the army, the countless shells expended, the soldiers sacrificed, the army and navy equipment destroyed, the fuel costs… all of these had to be accounted for, right? And

what about the equipment damage, the rewards awarded after victory, and the stipends paid during the war?

Furthermore, at the outbreak of the war, when the Southern Legion was still engaged in the Menghe Star Region, Holy Terra, in order to urge the Alliance to move north as quickly as possible, made a clear promise to the cannon fodder who had attracted the Ironclad’s attention.

Clear regulations, political conventions, and pre-war promises combined made it impossible for Holy Terra to evade its obligations.

This money should have been paid by the Ministry of Military Affairs.

But the Ministry clearly didn’t have the wherewithal.

Conservative estimates suggest that the Ironclad Wars cost the Empire over one hundred trillion in tax coin. The construction of the two Western Front legions was largely financed directly by Holy Terra, amounting to fifty trillion.

The Northern and Southern Fronts, though the Empire didn’t contribute, still still cost another fifty trillion.

For the Alliance, the total expenditure, calculated by calculation, was sixteen trillion.

And that was after the Ministry of Military Affairs had cut and slashed the reward for victory. Furthermore, unlike the Northern Front, the Alliance’s forces on the Southern Front suffered many casualties, numerous destroyed ships, and lost land forces, resulting in exorbitant pensions and compensation.

Even with this calculation, the Imperial Central Government still found it difficult to accept.

Sixteen trillion, what a concept!

The Alliance’s total tax revenue had increased from three hundred billion to two and a half trillion, adding up to a mere twelve and a half trillion over ten years!

Does this mean that after signing the Alliance Plan and giving you Lord Gu Hanggao, Holy Terra will still give you 3.3 trillion?

(End of this chapter)