Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 611: An ancient secret i

To determine to tax people, a census is needed. The Empire had done this with the Tax Registry Act

While some villages in the outsiders of nowhere in the Empire might have been able to evade this registry, and even Arial himself had many oppositions to this move that even some nobles in the earlier implementation of this act rebelled against him, by the fourth year of his rule, while he could not say that all the people of the Empire was registered he estimated around forty to fifty percent of the population of the Empire was registered

The reason why Arial did not immediately tackle the problem of taxation in his region is because he did not know who he could tax, who he could collect it from

It would only invite chaos if he forces it too much

This might seem like a small problem but it is not. 

Arial since the moment he unifies more than half of the continent under his rule, he had always been thinking of the taxation system

He had many discussions with Silas about this matter. He consulted the opinions of many from the knight lords, to the great nobles of his Empire.

The people have always disliked the idea of paying taxes. During his time as a Duke when Aetherland was still known as the Dukedom of Alan, even he dislikes it.

The reason was simply because he had little say in how taxes should be spent. But the Dukedom taxes were not exorbitant 

And it was not as numerous as some of the other kingdoms. 

The reason for this lenient taxation is simply because the Dukedom is small and the lords sometimes hold more power than the High Lords and taxes was not something that the kingdoms have a say on. 

The political structure of the Dukedom was different. 

There were no King. 

While they do bands with each other fighting external enemies, they were as busy fighting among themselves.

But because of the duty and honor of the houses, there is rarely a war between noble families since the High Lords monitors these kinds of things.

As for taxes, most of them only taxes places that is under the dominion of their rule and do not have power to tax other places

Because of this each place has different taxes. Certain peasant might even relocate to certain county or duchy that offers more lenient taxes.

As such, because of this competition between noble houses to retain peasant to till the farm among others, the taxes are very lenient.

The Dukedom of Alan was like this. 

Knowing fully that the Dukedom had no power to truly enforce powerful measure toward the noble lords, the High Lords impose only the smallest of sum 

Arial had changed all of this when he reigned and when his dominion stretched far and wide. 

With imperial power tightly in his hand, he could do some changes. As Arial the Conqueror his name brings awe and might to whoever heard his name

Before him, there was tax called a title. Ten percent of the annual produce of land or labor must be given to support their local minister and parish church that was established.

There was even a law that impose penalties for nonpayment. The Dukedom had that but it was voluntary. 

When the Purge of Rome happens, since then the tithe was abolished. One could imagine the anger of the Church but it is not really up to them.

The Purge had put the fear of the Emperor in their hearts. 

Even their Inquisition did not strike so much fear in the heart of the churchmen as the name of the Twelve Generals. 

The taxation is also based on the ownership of land. It did not change that much until Arial had made Arrandy the shining gem of the continent, where trade prospers. 

At that time King Adrian himself wanted to impose tax on trade. Because people started becoming rich from trade rather than land.

But the reason why the law was not passed is simply because at that time King Adrian did not want to offend the Vermont.

At that time, King Adrian had gained his strength from the House of Vermont. The one who was fighting the war for him was the young lord of the House of Vermont

If he had passed such law at that time, it would be seen as him targeting the Vermont. Some people would then would try to incite both sides against each other.

One might say that if such a thing had happened, and if the Vermont at that time retracts their support for King Adrian, then the conclusion of the battle between Lord Alderam and King Adrian might not be what it is. 

Arial however impose taxes on trade but he did not impose it so heavily like the Vern Empire. 

Instead there is even exemption and it depends on the things that were traded. It was complex, comprehensive and complete. 

As Arial himself at that time was High Lord, not many people could meddle in the way he governs his dominion.

And unlike other kings and lords that would have used the taxes for their own enjoyment and aggrandizement, Arial had invested it back into the duchy of Arrandy and the virtuous cycle of him gaining wealth continues

Even before he sat on the throne of the Empire, his methods had captured the imaginations of the other lords who began to emulate his method.

They then see that just because you raise taxes, did not mean that you would become even wealthier.

Of course Arial had mastered the fact that raising too much or cutting the taxes too much would instead incur adverse reaction

Lowering taxes raises income that the citizenry could dispose, allowing people to spend the leftover sums.

As Arrandy at that time was a burgeoning place of trade, of prosperity and wealth, and still is, the lowering of some taxes increase the wealth of his duchy

Trade prospers and while he did not get as many, the more people become wealth which means more people pay taxes and this cycle creates prosperity.

It is not like Arrandy become one of the most prosperous duchy in the Empire simply because they are rich people there.

In stories of the troupe, or some retelling of storytellers in taverns, they skipped the part where the House Council of the Vermont had think of and debated many hours from night to morning to make sure that the prosperity of the duchy is not short lived.

The reason is not because these storytellers wanted to diminish the contributions of these people

The reason is simply because they could not understand the economic policies unless one learns in the University.

How could a pig farmer son could understand the intricacies of politics, of economic when all they have learned was how to raise pigs?

Raising pigs is not something that one should be ashamed of. Silas himself is a son of a pig farmer. 

But it is unreasonable to ask and trying to explain basic economics to someone who did not even have the slightest idea of such a thing.

And what kind of story would the storyteller present if he told them the story of how a bunch of men, not sleeping at night trying to formulate economic policies that would bring wealth

Compare that to a story of fighting, of drama, of tragic love stories, who cares about the boring stories of how taxes is constructed?

However, because Arial had done it once before, he knew that great economic policy could revitalize and even changes the fate of a county or a duchy.

The lords at that time notices this. That by reducing some taxes, some people demand more goods and services as they have more to spend.

In other words, determining the taxes, where it should go, where it should be spent is something that needs to be think about very carefully.

As Arial take the helm of the Empire, the taxes that he collected is enormous even when presumably only around forty or fifty percent of the population of the Empire was registered.

While the peasant was also taxed, they were not taxed heavily that they need to sell their children.

The taxes imposed on the people have many requirements. Some people who were below the poverty line was exempted from this.

There was a King in Dostov that used to try to taxes all adult men. 

As there are insufficient records and not all able men have enough pennies, silver or gold to pay their taxes, which they deemed absurd and insane, a rebellion sparks and almost topple the King

That tax was abolished. Arial had learned from the past and only after reaching some level of wealth that one would have to pay taxes.

And since the Treasury was not embezzled by him and instead were pour back into the Empire, like the way he had raise up Arrandy from some small port region to one of the most prosperous place in the Human Continent, the Empire is now in a golden age of prosperity

While Arial himself had used the taxes to build some palaces here and there, and that itself is a great undertaking he did not use all of it as he has his own personal wealth.

He usually would take only a little of that and uses his personal wealth to create most of his palaces

He also had abolished the taxes imposed on movable property. And he also had uses the taxes as military spending against the Zettel.

But after the war, he had brought a lot of wealth from the Zettel treasury and manage to gain back what he had lost in the preparation of the war.