Chapter 451 Financial Meeting
However, this plan caused an uproar in the Senate. There is no objection to the war. The question is, will there be problems with the rule when this is done?
"Your Majesty, this matter needs to be considered in the long term."
Listerine is not optimistic about this plan. Not only is it difficult to supply, but the complicated local situation has also increased the cost of governance. Now that the Eastern Province has finally stabilized, the most he can do is conquer Damascus. As for Zara Yier, just let him pay tribute.
"When I take over the throne, I should make great plans. Damascus has been away from the empire for too long, and now it's finally time to come back."
Hearing what the emperor said, Listerine also knew that this was a step back from the emperor. They also took a step back to support the empire's campaign to regain Syria and allocate supplies and funds.
Everyone knows that the military capabilities of today's emperors are off the charts, and it seems that the empire is going to war again.
The prime minister heard more than other ministers, saying that Rome was preparing to attack Poland, Lithuania and the Holy Roman Empire. This was a big war. If it failed, it might happen like Manchikot or Myriocephalon.
After the military meeting, there is the financial and economic meeting, because it is related to the financial allocation for the next year, and all departments are here.
"Thanks to the expiration of the previous tax exemption period, tax revenue in provinces such as Ancyra and Yerevan has increased a lot. Adding industrial, commercial and trade income, it can reach 3 million lei this year."
Baptiste was the first to speak as usual. The growth rate in the past ten years has been very fast. As for reaching the standards of the Komnenos Dynasty, if taxes were raised to them, the situation would be doubled.
By region, the four provinces of Wallachia, Moldova, Nicea, and Donetsk have seen the fastest growth in tax revenue. The reclamation and re-cultivation of land have increased land yields and improved the economic status of small farmers. Let them gain more say in the confrontation with the landlords.
“In recent years, enthusiasm for water conservancy construction has increased in various places. A lot of newly cultivated land has been reclaimed in Luhansk, Donetsk, Trabizon and other places. Farmers grow grain, grapes and flax here, and then transport them to In the market, you can make a lot of money every time you go in and out.”
Agricultural officer Harper interrupted the finance minister's speech and spoke directly. The main tax in Rome was agricultural tax, so naturally he wanted to talk about the situation of agriculture in recent years and their contributions. Otherwise, how can we strive for more budget.
"That's what we say, but what about the situation where some landowners annex farmers' land at low prices?"
"No country has this situation. If farmers cannot survive, they will sell their land to landlords and then farm the land themselves to pay rent to the landlords. This is inevitable."
Peter nodded. Land annexation is inevitable. If you really want to do this, you can't stop it. But the problem is that if your efficiency is worse after the annexation, it won't work. You have to improve your efficiency.
"They say agriculture is the foundation. The empire's main income comes from farmers, so we must protect them."
Peter left the agricultural debate for the time being, and next came that of industry, commerce, and trade. The empire imposed a one-tenth tax rate on industrialists and merchants, with tariffs ranging from 8% to 15% depending on the type of goods. Since Mircea came to the throne, he has been simplifying tax types and procedures, and promoting a group of people as tax collectors through examinations, which improved efficiency. Coupled with the opening up of Eastern trade routes, Roman industry and commerce entered a new stage.
In cities such as Constanta and Constantinople, small manual workshops have appeared, ranging from two to three hundred people to six or seven hundred people. Only workshops with thousands of people are controlled by the royal family. They continued to expand the scale of production of goods, and they also formed a group abroad to prevent other merchants from profiting. For example, goods from Constantinople caused heavy losses to Florence's textile industry.
The prosperous industry and commerce are naturally also a major source of tax revenue, so the national treasury has been full in recent years.
"The current situation cannot remain unchanged. When Basil II was here, he had an income of 5 million every year."
Peter spoke of the financial situation under Basil II, which at the time of the emperor's death had increased to 6 million nomisma, not counting the relief of taxes for the poor. Today's Rome has more people and a larger territory than Basil's Rome, but has less tax revenue. This is really unjustifiable.
"Your Majesty, the burden on farmers is already very heavy. In addition to the poll tax, they also have to pay a sum of money to be exempted from military service. The tenant farmers also have to pay rent to the landlords. If taxes are increased, they may be forced to protest."
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has not yet broken away from the usual fiscal approach, believing that in order to increase revenue, apart from raising taxes, he means waiting for business to develop. But the emperor had some strange ideas.
"Then combine labor and taxes. From now on, they will only have to pay, and the empire will hire people to work at its own expense. This is very popular in the East."
The emperor's words made Baptiste think about it. In the past, when collecting taxes, he asked if he wanted to serve. If he did not serve, he would add an extra sum of money. This was actually a bit troublesome, and some places still used in-kind taxes. Local officials' The work will be doubled.
Now that labor and taxation are directly combined into one, a lot of workload can be reduced, and other parts of the empire can also receive a steady stream of financial support. Can try.
"The minister will formulate a reliable plan to implement it."
They didn't know where the emperor got so many plans, but they were right to follow him.
In this financial meeting, 600,000 lei will be allocated to the army in the next three years, and naval warships will also be built. At the same time, materials from Cyprus will also be allocated to Antioch to conquer Damascus.
At the same time, the meeting decided to allocate 100,000 lei as basic funds for the construction of fortresses in Ashkelon and the Canal Zone, and bribe local officials and landowners to build fortresses in the name of building markets in the Canal Zone, and increase the number of garrison troops to 4000. And Peter approved another order at the meeting: allowing the empire to send people across the Don River and advancing along the south and east. While the local Mongol rulers have not yet recovered their strength, they should control the territory as much as possible and make good friends with the local people. .
The Don River is less than 60 kilometers away from the Volga River. It is difficult for the Mongols to control large areas of land, so they can only survive in the Caucasus. Moreover, they are not united internally. The good Golden Horde was divided into the Kazan Khanate and the Siberian Khanate. country and other countries, the Golden Horde existed in name only.
At this time, Rome ordered to move to the Volga River, not only to fill the gap while Mongolia gradually withdrew, but more importantly, to control the lower reaches of the Volga and Don rivers, because it was from here that Michael went south to attack Trebizond. Controlling here can also stabilize Georgia, and the local king will not jump around, which is good for the eastern region of the empire.