Taxation in premodern China

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Poll tax receipts issued during the Guangxu period of the Qing dynasty. Poll Tax Receipts - 7.6-Candareens, Guang Xu Year 23 (1897) and 8-Candareens, Year 25 (1899).jpg
Poll tax receipts issued during the Guangxu period of the Qing dynasty.

Taxation in premodern China varied greatly over time. The most important source of state revenue was the tax on agriculture, or land tax. During some dynasties, the government also imposed monopolies that became important sources of revenue. The monopoly on salt was especially lucrative and stable. Commercial taxes were generally quite low, except in times of war. Other means of state revenues were inflation, forced labor (the corvee), and the expropriation of rich merchants and landowners. Below is a chart of the sources of state revenue in Imperial China.

Contents

Premodern Chinese taxes by dynasty
DynastyLand tax (as % of income)Commercial tax (as % of income)State monopolies Corvée Remarks
Qin (221-206 BCE) [1] 10%heavysalt, iron, coinage, forests and lakes1 month a yearLaws aimed at discrimination of merchants, expropriation and exile of rich landowners and merchants. Heavy poll taxes. Period of interventionist policies due to Legalist influences.
Early Western Han (202-119 BCE) [2] 0–3.3%None (could not collect)None1 month every 3 yearsPoll taxes; Period of laissez faire policies due to Taoist influences.
Late Western Han (119 BCE- 2 CE) [3] 3.3%Heavy taxes on capital and income of merchants; excise tax on alcoholSalt, iron, coinage, grain trade 1 month every 3 yearsSome expropriaton of merchants occurred under Emperor Wu, who intervened systematically in the economy due to Modernist influences.
Eastern Han (25- 220 CE) [4] 3.3%NoneCoinageLight; could be commuted with payments of cashPoll taxes; Period of laissez faire policies due to Confucian influences and because the dynasty was founded with the support of rich landowners and merchants disgusted at government intervention in the late Western Han.
Six Dynasties (220-581 CE) [5] [6] Variable; heavyMiscellaneous customs taxes, taxes on capitalCoinage, ironHeavyPeriod of upheaval and division; economy regressed heavily due to the Barbarian invasions. Taxes varied in the North and South because Chinese rule was maintained in the south while barbarian tribes ruled the north.
Sui and Tang Dynasties (581-907 CE) [7] 25%3.3%Iron, salt (starting after the Anshi Rebellion)20 days a year; could be commuted with silk paymentsDuring this period the state practiced the "equal-field system" in which most land was state owned and granted to individual farmers to prevent the formation of large estates. This allowed greater government control over the individual farmers.
Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) [8] 10% + "numerous surcharges"3-4%Salt, some foreign luxuries, tea and alcohol under Wang Anshi, paper money, sulfur.Light; could be commuted with cash payments.The Song was a period of high economic growth. During Wang Anshi's chancellorship, the government lent money at exorbitant rates and instituted price controls on many commodities. They were repealed after his death. The late Song suffered from high inflation due to government printing money to cover deficits.
Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty (1279-1368 CE) [9] Very highVery highSalt, tea, paper money, iron, alcohol, porcelain, bronze, gold and silver, textiles and "virtually any major industry"HeavyExpropriation of many Chinese landowners and merchants. Yuan China suffered from high inflation due to government printing money to cover deficits.
Ming Dynasty(1368-1644 CE) [10] 3-4%2% (widespread evasion)Salt (widespread evasion; mostly abandoned by end of dynasty)AbolishedThe Ming was a period of high economic growth and laissez faire policies due to Confucian influences.
Qing (Manchu) Dynasty (1644-1911 CE) [11] 3-4%2% (early part of dynasty). 2 to 10% (later part of dynasty)Salt, foreign tradeAbolishedProhibition on new mines except to provide employment, restriction on number of merchants, widespread expropriation of Chinese landowners and re-enserfdom of millions of tenant farmers. Likin (goods transportation tax, locally collected).

The Qing state experienced economic decline and fiscal weakness in the 18th and 19th centuries. [12]

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References

Citations

  1. Zhan 2006
  2. Li & Zheng 2001 , p. 244
  3. Ji; et al. 2005a , pp. 73–74
  4. Li & Zheng 2001 , p. 244
  5. Ji; et al. 2005a , p. 105
  6. Xie 2005
  7. Xie 2005
  8. Xie 2005
  9. Li & Zheng 2001 , p. 925
  10. Huang 1998 , pp. 138–141
  11. Myers & Wang 2002 , pp. 563–647
  12. Zhang, Taisu (2023). The Ideological Foundations of Qing Taxation: Belief Systems, Politics, and Institutions. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108995955. ISBN   978-1-108-99595-5. S2CID   256566388.

General sources