At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the country was stable and the economy was prosperous, and it was the beginning of the peak of China's feudal dynasty. However, such a prosperous Tang Dynasty situation also contributed to the arrogance of the ruling class, and social contradictions continued to intensify, which eventually led to the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion. After the Anshi Rebellion, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty was not as good as before, the feudal towns were seriously divided, the centralization of power declined, the system was chaotic, and the Tang Dynasty faced a serious financial crisis and political crisis. In order to consolidate the centralization of power and stabilize the political situation, Tang ** adopted a series of reform measures, such as land reform, military reform, tax reform, etc., and the famous "two tax laws" reform came from this period.
Tang Dezong Li Shi, born in the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty, witnessed the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, but also experienced the turmoil of the Anshi Rebellion, determined to revive the Tang Dynasty, after the accession to the throne, make great efforts, carefully select officials, and be diligent in political affairs. In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, due to the collapse of the Juntian system and the collapse of the rent-yong system, the state's finances fell into crisis. Dezong boldly adopted Yang Yan's suggestion, reformed the tax system, rectified the chaotic tax order, increased fiscal revenue, alleviated the financial crisis, and laid the foundation for the later Yuan and Zhongxing.
Rent and Yong modulation, originated from the Northern Wei Dynasty's rent and service system, is the early Tang Dynasty implemented the tax system, rent refers to the field rent, the adjustment refers to the household adjustment, Yong is the forced labor. The Juntian system originated from the Northern Wei Dynasty, part of the land is owned by the state, part of it is privately owned, and the state-owned land must be returned to the state after death, which is a land system that matches the rent modulation and rent regulation.
According to the Gaozu Ji, each adult man is allocated one hectare of land and pays 20 buckets of millet and 30 buckets of rice every yearTwo horses of silk a year, two zhang of silk, one-fifth of Bujia, three taels of cotton, three catties of hemp, where there is no mulberry and silkworm breeding, the tax is fourteen taels of silver a year;They have to serve 20 days a year, and those who don't serve are paid three feet of silk every day.
Under the cooperation of the tenant modulation and the uniform land system, some people have land, and they can pay taxes if they have land. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, just after the end of the long war, the country had a large amount of idle land, which provided conditions for the implementation of the equalization system. However, in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the political situation was stable, the country was prosperous, the population increased significantly, and the country did not have enough idle land to continue to implement the equalization system. At the same time, land annexation was rampant, and landlords, bureaucrats, and aristocrats owned large amounts of land but paid little or no taxes, and peasants who lost their land had to flee to avoid paying taxes. After the Anshi Rebellion, a large number of household registrations were separated, coupled with the flight of peasants and the increasingly serious land sales, the land equalization system collapsed, and the rent regulation also existed in name only.
During the period of Tang Dezong, the feudal towns were seriously divided, the political situation was turbulent, and a large number of laborers were used to fill the army, or used for transporting grain and grass, resulting in the withering of households, the abandonment of land, and the great decline of social productivity. The state finances are used for military spending and freight, and the treasury was empty after the Anshi Rebellion, and the huge expenditure overwhelmed the burden. After the Anshi Rebellion, the tax system was chaotic, and various tax agencies were not in charge of each other, and the people had to bear taxes under various names, which was unspeakably miserable. Under the regulation of rent, the tax is paid by the people, the bureaucrats and monks are exempt from taxes, and the rich are mostly officials and monks, resulting in the income of the landlords, monasteries, etc., who have a lot of land and property, and the income of the landlords, monasteries, etc., is not taxed, and the peasants who have lost their land have to pay taxes, and the people live in exile without a fixed place, and it is impossible to compile a household registration and collection household survey, which accelerates the collapse of the rent and yong modulation. Therefore, in order to increase the fiscal revenue of the government and simplify the tax items to stabilize the regime, Tang Dezong adopted Yang Yan's suggestion and implemented the two-tax law.
Yang Yan explained in the "Petition for the Two Taxation Laws" that the two taxation laws stipulate that miscellaneous taxes will no longer be levied, and that household tax and local tax will be combined into one tax, and the state's fiscal use will be calculated first, and then taxes will be levied on the local government. It no longer distinguishes between the main household customers, nor does it calculate taxes on the basis of capitation, but divides households according to assets and land properties, and the higher ones are more negative, and the lower ones are less negative. The merchant pays one-thirtieth of the tax in the state or county where he is located. It is paid twice a year, once in summer and once in autumn, for two taxes.
1. The principle of putting in and out of the amount
Under the influence of Confucianism's idea of "living within one's means", the principle of revenue and expenditure has been dominant in the national tax system since the Han Dynasty. After Yang Yan proposed the two tax laws, the principle of "living within the limits of income" was changed, and the state first calculated the fiscal expenditure, determined the total amount of tax required, and then the local government collected it according to the number of ** allocation.
2. The principle of simplifying the tax system
In terms of content, the two tax laws replace the rent adjustment with household tax and local tax, unify all kinds of taxes, and simplify the tax items. In terms of time, it is levied twice a year, the summer tax does not exceed June, and the autumn tax does not exceed December, which clarifies the time of taxation and shortens the period of taxation. In the way, the use of monetary taxation instead of tax payment in kind is not only conducive to unified settlement, but also convenient for taxpayers to pay, and improve work efficiency.
3. The principle of two taxes and three points
The emperor sent an envoy to depose the two tax revenues, according to the fixed amount of the financial budgets at all levels, part of which was handed over to the first finance, part of which was retained by the festival envoy, and part of which was retained by the local finance. This not only satisfies the needs of the first financial situation, but also alleviates the contradiction between the local government and the first place to a certain extent.
4. The principle of fair taxation
* It is stipulated that all households shall be registered in their current place of residence, and that they shall be divided into households according to the amount of land and paid according to the level of households;Taxation is not based on population, but on the amount of property owned. Non-domiciled merchants are to pay one-thirtieth of the state and county in which they are located, and are subject to the same taxes as settlers, and are not allowed to make excess profits. The two tax laws have expanded the scope of taxation, making the imperial relatives, nobles and bureaucrats, local tycoons, and unsettled merchants all subject to taxation. In terms of taxation standards, it has been changed from "person-oriented" to "asset-based". The higher the household, the higher the tax amount, and the tax is levied according to the amount of land, and the more people bear the burden, which reflects the principle of fairness.
1. The amount is in and out, and the quota is given to the capital
The idea of "the amount of income and the system of income" of the two tax laws has reformed the concept of "income within the limits of income" since the Han Dynasty, and created a precedent for the state budget. During the Tang Dynasty, social productivity increased and industry and commerce developed to a certain extent, and the traditional tax system could no longer meet the requirements of the state for the budget. At the same time, with the collapse of the regulation of rents, the number of tax items increased, and the tax order was chaotic, the "amount of income and control" was of positive significance for restricting expenditure and curbing harsh administration, and it had a certain alleviating effect on the situation of excessive fiscal expenditure and arbitrary collection by local governments at that time.
2. Capital calculation and taxation are the same all over the world
The two taxation laws have increased the scope of taxation, exempted nobles, bureaucrats, and monks from tax-free privileges, and changed the phenomenon that the rich have become officials and monks to avoid taxation, which is of great significance for increasing tax revenue and alleviating the state's financial crisis.
The two taxation laws are based on capital, which changed the service system based on the Ding body since the Warring States period, which can be regarded as the first milestone in the reform of the tax system in ancient China. This thinking takes into account the bearing capacity of taxpayers, reduces the burden of the working people, is conducive to reassuring the people, mobilizes the enthusiasm of the laborers in production, and promotes social and economic recovery.
3. After two taxes and three points, the financial rights will be collected
As far as the localities are concerned, the two taxations stipulate the legitimacy of local taxation, increase local fiscal revenues, and promote local development and construction. For **, the two taxes and three points will collect the right to pay taxes, which has changed the phenomenon of local forces continuously dividing up **income since the Anshi Rebellion, strengthened the centralization of power, and alleviated the contradiction between ** and the locality.
1. Uneven income and expenditure, excessive demand
The principle of "limiting the amount of income and controlling the revenue" was originally put forward for the purpose of limiting the expenditure of the imperial court and restricting the indiscriminate collection, but the ruling class did not explain what kind of standard should be used to measure the amount of revenue when it was implemented, and whether the people could afford it when the state made the budget, so that later the uncontrolled exploitation of the people's property increased the burden on the people and intensified social contradictions.
2. Sell silk at a low price, and tax copper money
Although the commodity economy of the Tang Dynasty has developed to a certain extent, the circulation of coins on the market is still insufficient, so when paying taxes, it has to be converted into coins at a low price, and for a time the money is heavy and light, which hinders the further development of the commodity economy, so the two tax laws have been implemented for less than 30 years, and they are forced to change the currency calculation and levy to the conversion of goods.
3. Miscellaneous taxes are incorporated and additional taxes are levied
Although the two tax laws stipulate that in addition to the two taxes, no money shall be added, but because the expenditure is too large, the bureaucrats are insatiable, so the miscellaneous taxes are merged into the two taxes, the tax is increased, and other tax items are added to the two tax laws. In the third year of construction, two taxes and salt money were increased, and the two taxes were increased by 200 for each 100 taels, and the salt was increased by 100 per 10 liters. In the fourth year of construction, there began to be a tax on the shelf between the houses and money. Since then, the names of green seedling money, land money, tea tax and so on have been added, and the total amount of payment has become higher and higher, and the people have been overwhelmed and once again headed for the fate of tax evasion in exile.
4. There are many ills and diseases, and the name is not worthy of the name
After the implementation of the two tax laws, the number of households was not adjusted for a long time, which undermined the principle of fairness that "the rich and the poor are the poor." In addition, the two tax laws stipulate the legality of land sales, which further aggravates land annexation, and land concentration has reached an unprecedented level, more people have lost their land, the people can not afford it, and the income cannot reach the budget, and the two tax laws have gradually lost their original meaning.
The two tax laws came into being at the right time, which expanded the tax revenue for the country and maintained the rule of the Tang Dynasty. Although many shortcomings were exposed in the later period and could not be continued, the two taxation laws, as a major change in the history of taxation in ancient China, had pioneering significance at that time with the ideas of "controlling the amount of income from the amount of taxation", "taxation based on capital" and "taxation by currency", and laid the foundation for the later tax reform.