An Analysis Of The Collection Of End-of-life Tax In The Qin And Han Kingdoms

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,there were frequent commercial exchanges among various countries.The merchants took advantage of the chaos of war to develop their own power.In this context,the government began to levy taxes on businesses,but at this time,the business tax was single,the form of collection was scattered,and the tax rate was different.Since the unification of the Qin Dynasty,under the guidance of the ideology of "valuing the source and restrting the end",the rulers gradually standardized the taxation measures on commerce,and formed the business tax,also called the end business tax,which was opposite to the agricultural tax which mainly focused on land rent,namely the property tax.During the Qin,Han and Three Kingdoms Period,the final industry tax system gradually took shape,with more detailed tax classification,more rigorous tax methods and more scientific tax rates.According to the tax items of the end of industry in the Qin and Han Dynasties,it can be divided into three categories: the first category is the industrial and commercial tax levied on commercial trade and commodity circulation;The second category is the property tax levied on the private property of businessmen.The third category is the monopoly tax of official supervision and business.With the clarity of the tax items of the end of business tax,the levy measures of the end of business tax are gradually standardized.Under the guidance of Legalism,Qin exercised strict management of the end industry,and the tax rate of the end industry was relatively high.In the early Han Dynasty,the rulers adopted the policy of recuperation and relaxation.They also relaxed the management of the last industry and gradually reduced the tax rate.They even opened up the industries formerly owned by the government,such as salt and iron,to the private sector.With the relaxation of policies and the decline of tax rates,the end business is booming,and merchants are strengthening their strength,and the end business tax income is also increasing.The expansion of merchants’ power is bound to bring unstable factors to the centralized government.During Emperor Wudi’s reign,he resumed the strict management of commerce and implemented a series of regulatory measures while raising tax rates and specifying tax items,which ensured the government’s control over the final industry tax.From the middle of the Western Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms,the tax policies were in the same line and the tax rate tended to be stable,but it would be adjusted constantly according to the social characteristics at that time.However,in essence,the final business tax in the Qin and Han Kingdoms always maintained the characteristics of multiple tax items,wide range and high tax rate.In the Qin,Han and the Three Kingdoms period,the final industry tax was generally a combination of physical goods and money,but there were also individual taxes levied on labor,which ensured the government’s "maximization of tax revenue".At that time,the government mostly adopted the form of "self-occupation" when collecting taxes,that is,taxpayers declared and paid taxes by themselves under the supervision of officials,which also improved the efficiency of the collection of end-business tax and prevented officials from taking the opportunity to enrich their own pockets.