Chapter 18 Tax Increase?

So Archibides settled down and retorted boldly: "We have harvested some gold and silver mines, but His Majesty once warned our finance department that gold and silver should not be abused, and must be consistent with the annual grain production and tax revenue. Correspondingly... In short, the silver coins in our hands will become worthless when there is more gold and silver, so the gold and silver are directly mined from the gold and silver mines. As the cost of this new mercenary, the finance department cannot be in charge. , you must obtain His Majesty's approval." After saying that, Archibides turned and bowed respectfully to the doctor.

Davos said softly: "Archibides is right, gold and silver mines are strategic materials for the kingdom and cannot be used as long-term financial expenditures unless there are unexpected special circumstances."

"Your Majesty's decision is right! If the gold and silver mines are trampled, dug, and hairless, and the kingdom is flooded with gold and silver, it will only destroy the kingdom's trade prosperity and cause chaos." Minister of Commerce Mari Ji immediately agreed, for the sake of Archibalds endorsement.

Archibides continued in high spirits: "Also... Sir Alexis, you have only seen how much land has been added to the kingdom, but you have not seen how many officials we have added in order to manage these lands. This is already a large expenditure. This is not to mention the large relocation costs that need to be spent in order to relocate citizens to these new lands, as well as the construction of roads and repairs on these new lands. Bridges, temple repairs... repairing various public facilities and maintenance costs, this is a huge expenditure. To tell you the truth, if it weren't for the prosperity of business and trade in the past few years, the increased business tax revenue barely made up for these increased income. Expenditures, I am afraid that the salary paid to you every month will be reduced."

Archibides said, nodding his thanks to Marigi.

Alexis was dumbfounded. He thought that with this new decree, the kingdom would be able to have two or three more special legions that could be put into battle at any time, and the Ministry of Military Affairs would feel much more relaxed. Behind.

He reluctantly said: "Since everyone has agreed to establish such an army composed of foreign freemen, and thinks that sufficient military expenditure must be needed to maintain it, but now the national treasury cannot provide military expenditure for it, but there is no military expenditure, this army The army cannot be established, so what should we do?"

Lysias looked at his nose and his heart with his eyes, with a contemplative look.

Cypros rolled his eyes and hesitated several times.

What Mariji and Sedorum were whispering.

Hermon shrugged and said apologetically, "I don't know much about the kingdom's finances."

Archibides, who had shouted that he had no money before, remained silent at this moment.

The other ministers either really didn't know much about it, and were a little dazed, or they looked like they were thinking, and there was a strange calm in the palace hall.

This is, a loud voice sounded: "Because the establishment of an army that is truly free from daily work and can be put into battle at any time is the growing need of our kingdom's territory, and it is a brand-new, long-term important national policy, so its military expenditures It's better to levy the new tax on the people alone!"

As soon as this remark came out, some people were shocked, some looked the same, and some were obviously relieved.

Tax increase, finally someone said it! ... Davos grasped the armrest of the seat with both hands, and looked at the speaker: Ataris, it really is him! Dare to serve, dare to serve, as expected of the outstanding talents recommended by Kunogolata back then, knowing that he would offend the general public, he did not hesitate to say it, and regarded the safety of the kingdom as more important than his own gains and losses. In contrast, Cypros, another rotating chairman who he valued, who is more capable of doing things, obviously thinks too much. As for Lycias, Hermon, Sedorum, these people...hehe.

Davos glanced at the ministers calmly,

Taking all beings into his eyes, when he made contact with Cypros' eyes, Cypros quickly turned his head away, he had realized that his performance just now disappointed Davos.

"Tax increase? This is not good, and the public may find it difficult to accept." The first to respond was the Minister of Health Helps.

"Yeah, since the establishment of Dionia, the direct tax of the kingdom has been one percent, and it has remained the same for almost 20 years. The people have become accustomed to it. If a tax is to be levied now, it will make them pay more. I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to accept it." Heraclid, the minister of construction, also expressed his attitude later. As technical officials, he and Helps did not seem to consider the problem from the perspective of the kingdom. The first thing that came to mind was the mentality of the people. .

"His Majesty has said just now that the times are changing, the environment is changing, the kingdom is changing, and of course our laws should also be changed to meet the new needs! 20 years ago, when Dionia was established, it only had three There are four small towns with a population of less than 30,000 people, which is very inconspicuous; and now the kingdom is already the overlord of the Western Mediterranean, with a territory more than ten times that of the year, with a population of more than 3 million, and many are attached to Our city-state and forces are no longer the small city-state alliance of the past!"

Cypros finally stood up to speak, and he said emotionally: "When Dionysus was first established, all the public officials, including the elders, were not paid, but now the salary of the junior officials of the kingdom can roughly buy a cow for a month. do not speak of us;

Twenty years ago, Dionia sent troops to fight. All the citizens who could fight together were less than 10,000 people. They could reach the front line in a few hours. After a day or two, they could end the battle and return to the city-state in a short time. Even the rations that the soldiers carried from their homes were not finished;

Now, once the kingdom starts a war, tens of thousands of people can easily be dispatched. The combat time is calculated in months, and the required military ration is calculated in tons as the basic unit, not including other material consumption. These are all calculated by the kingdom. to provide;

Twenty years ago, Dionia had no major expenditure except for building roads, but now the kingdom has countless public buildings, not only the construction cost, but the maintenance cost is a large number, and there are schools in various towns. And the money earned by the public hospital is simply not enough to keep it running, it needs subsidies from the kingdom to keep it going...

The bigger the kingdom, the greater the consumption. Can only the one percent tax be able to meet the growing needs of the kingdom of Dionia? of course not! We rely on the commercial tax collected from the trade prosperity brought about by the power of the kingdom! It depends on the inheritance tax collected because the kingdom is strong and the citizens are rich! It depends on other expenses obtained by the power of the kingdom to enrich the life of the people (such as the lottery of the competitive competition hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, the cost of borrowing books from the library, etc.)! Relying on His Majesty's wisdom and everyone's conscientious work, has barely guaranteed the development of the kingdom today!

To be honest, the direct tax charged by the kingdom has remained at one percent for 20 years, which is definitely a huge miracle! This is Hades' blessing! This is His Majesty's mercy! Even in the most difficult times of war, the kingdom just borrowed money from the people instead of charging exorbitant war taxes, the people of Dionia should feel lucky that they live in such a happy kingdom and nowhere else .

Look around us, this is no longer the traditional world where citizens of Greek city-states did not collect direct taxes a few decades ago.

In the eastern part of Sicily before, during the reign of Dionysius, the war tax of each city-state was as high as 30% or more, and it lasted for many years, and even after his overthrow, Syracuse's annual direct tax was close to 10% %, to ensure that the city-state can recover its strength as soon as possible and ensure safety under our pressure;

In western Sicily, the tax rates of the Phoenician city-states and the sub-states of Carthage were relatively lower, but also more than 5%, and it is said that the money from these taxes was spent on the conquest of southern Iberia.

Let’s take a look at the mainland of Greece. There have been frequent wars in the past few decades. Which city-state’s direct tax is not above 20%. Even the richest Athens, they even came up with a wonderful tax collection method. There must be many wealthy foreign businessmen settled in each tax collection area, and then it is stipulated how much tax the area must pay. If the tax is not reached, you will be punished. Often due to the begging and persecution of the people in the area, more than half of the tax amount is paid by these Rich businessmen took it.

Not to mention Sparta, it has always been that all the wealth earned by the city-state is controlled by the government, and then it is responsible for distribution.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a world of frequent wars and dangerous rebirths. The countries and forces around us are accumulating strength and fighting for it. Even if Dionia is strong now, it cannot be taken lightly. The kingdom should not only increase the tax rate, but also the tax rate should not be too low, so as to ensure the normal operation of the kingdom and have enough strength to protect the security of the territory and defend the interests of the people! "

Cypros' remarks were deafening, causing some people to lose their minds, and some people to suddenly realize.

Immediately afterwards, Davos praised loudly: "Well said!"

Only then did many people understand: Your Majesty supports tax increases!

The atmosphere in the hall began to change, but Lysias still worried and persuaded: "Your Majesty, once the additional tax is proposed, it will not only cause great controversy in the Senate, but also cause great dissatisfaction among the people. It may cause turmoil in the kingdom, and it will have a great impact on your prestige, Your Majesty!"

Davos smiled lightly and said in a deep voice: "For the interests of the country, Ataris and Cypros have the courage to make such suggestions regardless of personal honor. As a descendant of Hades, the patron saint of this kingdom, do I still care about this? Disgusting! I'm just asking you, Lycias, should you raise taxes?"

Davos pointed directly at the center, and Lysias could not avoid it and could only answer: "Your Majesty, from the current situation of the kingdom, we... need an army formed by foreign freemen; in order not to affect the kingdom To operate normally, we also... need a little extra tax to provide material support for this army."