Chapter 1963 - Adjustment

Wang Qiyi understood perfectly that this "non-tax revenue" was merely a euphemism for confiscated property. The witchcraft prosecutions, the purge of the Guan Di Temple faction, the suppression of the brokerage houses—these campaigns had ensnared countless Guangzhou gentry and wealthy households, delivering a windfall bonanza to the Planning Commission and Wudaokou.

With Guangzhou slated to become the Executive Committee's new capital, construction demands were immense. Henan Island required an entirely new urban district, while the old city needed comprehensive renovation. Consequently, the State Council proved relatively generous with construction appropriations, channeling a substantial portion of this "windfall" to the Guangzhou Municipal Government.

Liu Xiang was naturally delighted. Yet the calculating minds at Wudaokou recognized that such windfalls were inherently unsustainable. Worse, sudden wealth from "striking down local tyrants" could distort administrators' fiscal judgment, encouraging reckless expansion that might ultimately rupture the capital chain entirely.

The pressure on the finance and tax sector, therefore, grew heavier still. They had to manage money prudently while simultaneously generating as much revenue as possible to sustain Guangzhou's construction momentum.

"The impulse toward massive infrastructure projects is understandable from a local leader's perspective." Wang Qiyi settled into a rattan reclining chair as Ai Yixin brought tea and cigars.

Since Wang Qiyi didn't smoke, Ai Zhixin abstained from lighting one himself. Both opted for tea.

While awaiting dinner from the cook, Ai Zhixin inquired when Zhang Xiaoqi would arrive in Guangzhou.

"Soon—perhaps a fortnight. Just finishing her final training courses. She'll depart the moment classes conclude."

"Living here alone will prove inconvenient. Let me arrange a maid for you..."

"No, no—really, there's no need..."

"Look at you, getting flustered." Ai Zhixin chuckled. "When I say maid, I mean precisely that—nothing more. You can eat at the cafeteria, certainly, but will you tidy the room, clean, and do laundry yourself?"

Wang Qiyi conceded this was a practical concern. Refusing outright would seem churlish, so he expressed his thanks.

Dinner arrived, and the two ate together while continuing their discussion—a working meal in the truest sense.

Wang Qiyi inquired about the Finance and Tax Bureau's current operations, particularly regarding taxation. He felt strongly that since his domain was taxation, he should avoid meddling in finance. Though present manpower shortages had forced revenue and expenditure into the same system—a procedural impropriety he found deeply uncomfortable.

In the long term, finance and taxation would inevitably separate. As a fellow tax professional, Ai Zhixin surely understood the relationship between the State Taxation Administration and the Ministry of Finance in the old timeline—nominally equal yet effectively half a rank lower. A "lateral transfer" from the Taxation Administration to the Ministry was, in practice, a promotion. Ai Zhixin was ambitious, and Cheng Dong wouldn't occupy the Finance Director position—analogous to Finance Minister—indefinitely. The Australian Song's realm was expanding rapidly. Current departmental leaders would, at minimum, eventually hold Vice-National Level positions outside the Standing Committee, meaning ministerial seats would inevitably become available. Even should the future Australian Song Empire's Taxation Administration and Finance Ministry achieve true parity, Ai Zhixin would almost certainly choose Finance. The evidence was there in nomenclature: Ai Zhixin had renamed the "Tax Bureau" the "Finance and Tax Bureau." A single word's difference, yet that difference was profound. As Finance and Tax Bureau Director, though performing tax work, he could legitimately claim concurrent finance responsibilities and remain within the finance system. Ascending to Finance Minister would be entirely justifiable. Should the tax system later achieve independence while the Wangs retained their vigor, the Taxation Administration directorship would likely fall to them. After all, transmigrators working in taxation were scarce.

One could imagine that tax work in Guangzhou—and subsequently throughout Guangdong—would prove staggeringly vast.

Wang Qiyi didn't fear hard work. But this meant years of constant travel, late nights, grinding overtime, and ever-diminishing time with wife and children. For someone as naturally family-oriented as Wang Qiyi, the prospect was distinctly unpleasant.

Ai Zhixin provided a general overview of the Finance and Tax Bureau's current status. Operations essentially continued under the old system—partly from personnel shortages, partly while awaiting final plan approval from Wudaokou. However, following the elimination of the brokerage houses and establishment of several professional wholesale markets, they had at least begun collecting circulation taxes on daily bulk commodities: grain, firewood and charcoal, vegetables.

"Did you bring the stamp duty stamps?" Ai Zhixin suddenly recalled.

"Printed," Wang Qiyi confirmed, uncertain why this mattered so much to him. "Per your specifications, the printing factory created entirely new engravings, and the paper quality was upgraded. Samples are in the document bag—they should reach your desk tomorrow."

Stamp duty collection had already commenced, but they'd been using crude stamps from Lingao's early days. Ai Zhixin considered these insufficiently dignified, lacking proper "authority," so he'd commissioned new tax stamps.

"What's Wudaokou's assessment of my proposal?" Ai Zhixin finally addressed the main topic.

The Finance Ministry had conducted a full day's closed-door deliberation on Ai Zhixin's plan. Unfortunately, most Wudaokou personnel possessed limited taxation expertise. They grasped macro concepts—the relationship between finance and taxation, or taxation and economics—but lacked practical understanding of how to actually collect taxes.

Ultimately, Wang Qiyi and Zhang Xiaoqi had revised the draft themselves, building upon Ai Zhixin's original framework. Referencing the old timeline's Tax Collection Administration Law and implementation regulations, adapted to Australian Song realities—particularly personnel quality and printing technology—they'd preliminarily established a system emphasizing both inspection and collection, with management as supporting function. This effectively overturned half of Ai Zhixin's design. Wang Qiyi had anticipated fierce debate. Instead, after hearing Wang Qiyi's analysis of front-line taxation practicalities, Ai Zhixin agreed without resistance. A true pragmatist! Wang Qiyi thought, exhaling with relief. Had they clashed over fundamental architecture, everything downstream would have stalled.

Discussion turned to specific details.

The revised plan positioned the nascent Finance and Tax Bureau's taxation function around the fundamental departmental mandate: collection and management. Complex policy questions—tax categories, rates, preferences, scope, subjects—would be delegated to specialists at Wudaokou. The tax department would provide advisory recommendations only, with final implementation determined by the State Council through provisional measures.

Ai Zhixin accepted this modification reluctantly. His vision had encompassed not just tax policy but fiscal policy within the combined bureau. But Wang Qiyi relayed his wife's assessment: barely adequate naturalized cadres were in short supply. Carbon paper and specialized receipts existed, but computers did not—one might be cobbled together, but without mass deployment it remained meaningless. Personnel quality was low; overextending operations would only inflate inspection costs and invite rampant fraud. As for professional policy formulation, never mind naturalized citizens—neither he nor Wang Qiyi had ever done such work. Even in the old timeline, tax bureaus didn't concern themselves with policy creation.

The most capable personnel would be concentrated in the inspection team, serving as the Tax Bureau's "sword arm." Simultaneously, female naturalized cadres distinguished by meticulousness, responsibility, quick learning, and strong communication skills would be selected for front-desk collection and public outreach. Building upon this foundation, the "tax administrator" position would be reactivated for taxpayer notification and publicity duties. New administrators would be drawn from recent arrivals. Their responsibilities were straightforward: delivering tax bills, notifying taxpayers of deadlines, conducting follow-up visits when payments fell overdue, and general publicity work.

Tax administrators were forbidden from collecting payments directly. All remittances had to occur at the tax collection hall, made by taxpayers or their authorized agents. Given seventeenth-century cash management realities, daily receipts would be balanced by the collection hall accountant after hours and remitted within forty-eight hours.

Though the Central Reserve Bank had been formally established as the "central bank," the Guangzhou branch was effectively just the Delong Guangzhou branch displaying an additional sign. Two signs, one staff—though accounts and ledgers had been nominally separated.

The Delong Guangzhou branch, operating under the central bank banner, continued serving as the "national treasury." It required a separate tax suspense account and an independent national treasury account. Following daily reconciliation of collected payments, Delong would issue tax payment receipts within twenty-four hours, to be retrieved by the Finance and Tax Bureau's tax accountant—distinct from the hall accountant—for booking and filing. Tax receipts would use manual payment certificates rather than payment slips, facilitating household-by-household amount entry. Payment documentation followed a two-copy payment certificate plus four-copy summary slip model, omitting the commercial bank copies and other redundancies from the old timeline. Verification authority and account auditing were centralized in a specialized team for calculation and determination. Anyone with even rudimentary tax knowledge would recognize this system as riddled with vulnerabilities. But it represented the absolute limit of existing capabilities.

"Insufficient personnel, insufficient technology—however we arrange it, this is our ceiling." Wang Qiyi spread his hands helplessly. Without quality talent and advanced technology, even collecting money proved intractable. A vicious cycle indeed.

"We'll compensate with intensive inspections. At minimum, we establish the framework." Surveying the final draft—neither fish nor fowl—Ai Zhixin seemed to deflate visibly.

"Incidentally, we must submit a report to Cheng Dong. This two-signs-one-team arrangement cannot persist. Delong currently functions as both commercial bank and national treasury. Separate central bank ledgers and accounts exist, but the same personnel handle everything. This blending will inevitably breed problems." Wang Qiyi's extensive dealings with People's Bank branches and Finance Bureau offices at grassroots level had taught him much about internal management.

"Indeed—though I suspect he lacks the capacity to resolve it, however willing. Additionally, our special fiscal account situation remains unresolved. What exactly are the plans for this system?"

For now, Guangzhou's fiscal expenditure operated under a "full appropriation" model. Neither Liu Xiang nor Ai Zhixin found it satisfactory.