Analysis of the differences and reasons for tax reduction and exemption of the three-person group
In reducing the burden on peasants, the Southern Song Dynasty formulated and implemented flexible and fair policies in response to the actual needs of different social groups for tax reductions and exemptions. Vulnerable groups are more in need of tax relief than other classes, and they are often the first to enjoy the benefits of such policies.
The most common vulnerable groups in the Southern Song Dynasty included poor households with weak economic means, displaced people, victims of natural disasters, and civilians who were robbed, all of whom became the focus of tax relief.
The lower households are a vulnerable group in society, and they are under great pressure due to heavy taxes, and the need for tax reduction is very strong. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the imperial court repeatedly implemented tax reduction and exemption policies for lower households.
For example, in the twenty-first year of Shaoxing (1151), Gaozong exempted the money owed by the lower households; In the sixteenth year of Chunxi (1189), Song Guangzong ordered the exemption of the fifth-class household's body money and the fifth-class household of Lin'an and the tax on buying silk; In the first year of Qingyuan (1195), due to the flood in Lin'an Province, Song Ningzong ordered that the poor people in Lin'an Province be exempted from paying taxes.
These measures show that the imperial court has given special attention and protection to the lower households in terms of tax relief.
The Southern Song Dynasty court paid special attention to and gave priority to the treatment of tax exemptions and exemptions. Because under financial pressure, in order to reduce the burden on the people, the imperial court needed to reduce a part of the fiscal revenue, and the lower households were usually selected first.
In the thirteenth year of Shaoxing (1143), Emperor Gaozong said: "When the country's finances are sufficient, we will reduce taxes to reduce the burden on the people." However, if all of them are exempted, it may result in financial shortfall.
Therefore, we only reduce or exempt the third-class households on this road, which can not only help the poor people, but also will not affect the finances. ”
Gaozong reduced or exempted the taxes of farmers in western Zhejiang, but he was concerned that the scope of the tax could lead to financial difficulties, so he only exempted farmers below the second class. In the year of Shaoxing, when Song Gaozong reduced or exempted the national arrears, he was exempted from all of them except for criminal households and public officials.
In the twenty-first year of Shaoxing, the imperial court exempted and exempted the national arrears of taxes, except for the situation households and the wealthy people above the second class, all the rest were exempted, and these people were excluded from the reduction and exemption objects.
In the 7th year of the Gando reign (1171), the Imperial Court announced that the "Law on the Acquisition of Seedlings and Begging" would be revised, stipulating that "the taxes of the upper third class and the situation households will not be exempted even during the amnesty period."
Through the legal form, the upper household is excluded from the scope of reduction, which means that the principle of preferential reduction of the lower household is further institutionalized. The Southern Song Dynasty court usually granted a greater tax relief to the lower households.
Even in the case of tax reductions for all classes of peasants in a given area, the amount of relief for different strata of peasants will vary, and usually the amount of relief for the lower households will be higher than that for the upper households.
1.In the ninth year of the dry road, Xiaozong issued an edict to allow the households in Gao'an and Shanggao counties under the jurisdiction of Yunzhou to exempt all the acres of land abandoned after the autumn. Among them, the upper household only needs to reduce part of the autumn tax, and the lower household can be completely exempted.
The move is aimed at reducing the burden on farmers. 2.In the eighth year of Chunxi, there was a flood in Yanzhou, and Xiaozong ordered that the affected families be exempted from the purchase tax, and the number of farmers above the third class was halved.
The amount of reduction and exemption is based on the economic capacity of farmers, and the lower class households can be completely exempted, the middle households can be halved, and the upper class households can be halved. The move is also to help farmers tide over the difficult times.
During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, Chen Juren made a suggestion to the imperial court, believing that the favor of the state should benefit all small people, not just those who are recalcitrant and traitorous.
He suggested that half of the fifth-class and fourth-class households in the world should be exempted. Although this suggestion was accepted by the emperor, the imperial court only reduced the first order.
Fourth, fifth-class lower household money.
In addition, the reduction amount for fifth-class households is higher than that for fourth-class households. In the eighth year of the main road, in order to reduce the burden of silk tax on Shaoxing Prefecture and Chuzhou, the imperial court increased the number of people who were apportioned in the two places, and stipulated that Shaoxing Mansion "received a total of one silk horse for every seven dings of the fourth class, and one horse of silk for every ten dings of the fifth class".
This policy has reduced the burden of 13,000 horses of silk every year.
Although the burden of silk has been reduced for the fourth- and fifth-class households in Shaoxing Prefecture and Chuzhou, there are differences in the degree of relief between them. In Shaoxing Prefecture, the upper fourth-class and fifth-class households had to pay one-seventh and one-tenth of the silk respectively, while the burden on the fifth-class households was 30% lower than that of the fourth-class households.
In contrast, in Chuzhou, the upper fourth-class and fifth-class households had to pay one-fifth and one-eighth of the silk per ding, respectively, and the latter was 37 fewer than the former5%。
In some special cases, the court would also pay special attention to the lower classes and make exceptions to reduce their taxes. For example, in the 10th year of Chunxi (1183), the imperial court accepted the report of the Liangzhejiang Transit Department and agreed that the poor people in Qingquan Township, Dinghai County, Mingzhou, should reduce the burden of the second tax in order to ease their difficulty in paying taxes.
In the application for summer tax reduction, there are 106 silk taxes to be submitted to the imperial court, which is difficult to easily exempt according to convention. However, in order to alleviate the burden of the poor people in Quanxiang, the imperial court issued a special edict to reduce or exempt the upper tax.
Eventually,"The three provinces were also given a reduction of 106 horses of silk by the same holy decree"。In addition, because of their relatively weak social status, homeless people may sometimes be given priority in tax relief.
In the twenty-first year of Shaoxing (1151), the imperial court put forward a special policy for the purchase and exemption of Lin'an Mansion. Due to the difficulty of reducing the service money, the imperial court decided to reduce taxes only for the people living in the northwest region.
Because they are in a foreign land, weak in strength, and have a relatively difficult life, this part of the population has become the priority of the policy.
In the event of a disaster, farmers in the affected areas are naturally vulnerable. Although the imperial court frequently implemented tax relief policies, it should be noted that the disadvantaged group is a relative concept.
In the affected areas, the severity of the damage may vary from household to household, but those who are severely affected are in a more difficult situation and have a more urgent need for tax relief than ordinary people.
Therefore, the Southern Song Dynasty court did not reduce taxes and taxes in the same way when dealing with different disaster victims.
In the thirtieth year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1160), the two counties of Lin'an and Yuqian in Lin'an Prefecture suffered floods, which seriously affected the lives of local farmers. In order to reduce the burden on the peasants, the imperial court issued an edict on tax reductions and exemptions, including the exemption of taxes such as the tax on dry seedlings, the tax on the dry seedlings payable by the households, the tax on the body and the money on the body, and even the four materials in the severely affected areas can be reduced or exempted, followed by the three materials, and the rest of the areas will be reduced by two materials.
This move reflects the imperial court's concern and care for the disaster-stricken areas, and at the same time reduces the burden on the peasants, which is conducive to the recovery and development of the disaster-stricken areas. However, the imperial court did not provide a general reduction for all affected farmers, but divided the affected areas into three levels according to the severity of the disaster, and determined the actual extent of the relief.
The hardest-hit peasants were the most vulnerable, and the imperial court was more aggressive in reducing their taxes to protect their basic livelihoods. In the early Southern Song Dynasty, the rule of the imperial court was not yet stable and the society was relatively unstable, so the peasants who had suffered from floods could be subjected to looting and plundering.
In order to protect these affected farmers, the imperial court also reduced their taxes, reflecting the care and protection of the farmers.
Faced with the dual threat of Jin soldiers and wandering bandits, the people of the Southern Song Dynasty suffered from looting. However, the imperial court did not sit idly by, but took practical and effective measures to reduce the burden on the people.
For example, in the first year of Shaoxing (1131), after Huizhou was plundered, Emperor Gaozong ordered that the people who were plundered be exempted from the summer tax. At the same time, the amount of relief will also be determined according to the extent of the loss, ensuring fairness and justice.
In addition, for the people of Anji County, Huzhou who were affected by the looting, the imperial court also gave preferential treatment for reducing the taxes of the year, and the specific reduction and exemption ratio was divided into three levels according to the degree of loss: seven points for those who were burned and robbed and those who were captured and killed, five points for those who were looted, and three points for those who were not robbed.
This preferential tax reduction and exemption policy for the disadvantaged groups reflects the humanistic care and flexibility of the Southern Song Dynasty, and is highly reasonable and positive.
The need for tax relief was even more urgent for the disadvantaged, and the imperial court made them the focus of the tax relief and provided greater relief to protect their livelihood.
The Southern Song Dynasty court also selected the targets and quotas for exemption and exemption according to the actual needs of different groups, reflecting the principle of starting from reality. This approach can accurately direct limited resources to groups with greater needs, making tax reductions more targeted and conducive to maximizing the efficiency of resource utilization.
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