Chapter 85 Finance and Education (Two Chapters in One)

“The first is tax law reform. The empire’s original tax types are the following four.

Farmland tax: The empire will charge a tax on the cultivation of private land. The amount of the tax is based on the quality of the land, farming methods, crops and output.

Commercial tax: A tax levied by the empire on merchants and commercial activities. The tax amount is usually calculated based on the transaction volume. It must be said that this set of tax laws is extremely rigid until now.

Almost all merchants traveling to and from the empire had ways to evade taxes, especially Armenians, Greeks, and Jews.

Commercial taxes, which had been the mainstay of imperial taxation in the fifteenth century, were now inferior to the tax farming system that had preceded them.

Public taxation: The empire leases certain administrative departments, public services, and franchises to private individuals to obtain a certain amount of tax revenue.

Regarding this article, I can only say that the empire lacks suitable talents to manage local areas. Otherwise, it is incredible that the income from the empire’s direct rule is only a quarter of that of the tax farming system.

Considering the civil service examination that Your Majesty has promised before, I privately think that it needs to be implemented as soon as possible.

Inheritance tax: A tax levied by the Empire on property inheritance, the amount of which is based on the value of the estate and kinship.

In my opinion, this article is a derivative tax from the previous public tax. The empire negotiated with the contractor to collect more tax than when it was first contracted.

Your Majesty, with all due respect, the "legislator" is indeed great, but the tax law he left behind is already two hundred years ago.

As the empire's power declined, the original system should have been swept into the trash heap long ago.

Below is my design.

Import and export tariffs: In view of the initial industrialization of the empire, in order to protect the domestic manufacturing industry from competition from low-cost goods from other countries such as Britain.

I will set high tariffs to impose high taxes on imported goods and restrict imports to a certain extent to encourage the development of domestic industry.

Industrial tax: In order to make up for the shortfall in national fiscal revenue, I will enact an industrial tax law.

Of course, the empire's industry is still in its infancy, and during this period, I will provide preferential policies.

As for specific taxes, I refer to the British government.

They implemented various forms of industrial taxation. The most famous of these was the Malbury Act, passed in 1781, which imposed taxes on a range of industrial sectors, including stamp duties and manufacturing duties.

Land tax: In my opinion, land tax will still be the bulk of the empire's fiscal revenue for some time to come.

The most important of the land taxes are the agricultural tax and the land deed tax. The former is a tax on agricultural output in rural areas, and the latter is an annual tax levied on land owners, including farmland. Of course, Muslims do not have to pay it. . perform

Excise Tax: In this area, the British created a large number of tax entries.

Considering the national conditions of the empire, our country's demand for grape juice, tobacco and coffee is still quite large.

I recommend that the empire can set up relevant institutions to monitor the consumption of these goods and at the same time operate some of its own stores.

After all, this is a lot of income.

Resource tax: The development of state-owned resources such as mineral resources and land resources also requires paying taxes to the state.

According to my calculations, as long as the financial reform is completed and your Majesty's civil service examination successfully delivers enough management talents to the local area, I am confident that the empire's fiscal revenue will reach 6.5 million pounds. "

Izet said confidently that in his opinion, the potential of the empire was far greater than that. As long as a reform was needed to activate this ancient empire, he would once again stand on top of the world.

Selim asked immediately after listening to Izet's bold words.

"What about education funding? Izet, you don't seem to have taken it into consideration."

Izette smiled.

"Your Majesty, how could I not consider this matter?

In accordance with your educational requirements, I have devised a wonderful solution for you - let Millett pay for it.

At present, the empire has almost no way to educate Muslims except missionary schools. On the contrary, almost all the four millet schools have their own schools.

According to Your Majesty's plan, such a huge compulsory education system can definitely cover the children of the original Millet community.

So I thought that based on the population ratio, the four major millets only need to pay 50% of the education funding.

Of course, the specific policy arrangements still depend on what you and the Grand Vizier want."

Yusuf Pasha now glared at Izet.

What do you mean by what the Sultan and the Grand Vizier mean? This kind of thing should not be decided by the Sultan.

Even if it doesn't work, just discuss it with the Grand Mufti. It's none of his business. Izet only has IQ in life, not emotional intelligence.

Selim didn't have time to care about Yusuf's ideas. Since the issue of education was already involved, he might as well discuss and resolve it together.

Sultan said immediately.

"Yusuf, has the Grand Mufti discussed the construction of the school with you?"

The Grand Vizier replied with a frown on his face.

“Your Majesty, based on your request and the actual situation in the empire, our idea is to provide only six years of compulsory education, which will improve the literacy rate to a certain extent while reducing the possibility of Muslim child labor in factories.

At the same time, regarding the school's annual enrollment number, we will require local governments to arrange enrollment plans based on local population and economic development levels, and require local governments to report to the Ministry of Education.

For the faculty and staff hired by the school, we will require them to be proficient in Ottoman. "

"Ottoman? Have the Grand Mufti and Ulema completed their work?"

Selim asked excitedly, never mind what Ottoman is, you can say it is a patchwork or Sayyiduniya directly copied it.

In short, the fact that this language can be called Ottoman means that the Sultan has put aside his discrimination against the Turkic language and started to unite the masses.

After all, the Ottoman Sultans have always called themselves noble Oghuz Turks. Do you think that the Turks and the Sultans are of different ethnic groups?

Sorry, in the eyes of successive Sultans, the Turks are purely inferior ethnic groups. Even when writing in Turkic, they will add a sentence in front of it, "I am sorry for using such a lowly language, because it is for people with low cultural level. "

For successive Ottoman sultans, there is no difference between the lower-class people of the Orthodox Church and the lower-class Muslims of Islam. They are all the sultan's cattle and horses. Don't think that you are noble just because you believe in different religions.

No matter who you are, if you are asked to serve, you serve; if you are asked to pay, you pay; if you are asked to pay taxes, you pay taxes.

For hundreds of years, the local government of the Ottoman Empire has adhered to the same governance principle - I don't solve problems, I only solve those who raise problems.

Since the ethnic and religious problems in the Ottoman Empire are quite serious, some people will definitely think that this is an issue of ethnic discrimination. This was also what Emperor Sai thought before he traveled through time. Law.

It was not until he had been in the Ottoman Empire for a few years that he understood one thing. The Ottoman Empire had no ethnic or religious discrimination against Ottoman residents other than the ruling elite, because in the eyes of the Sultan, all living beings were cattle and horses.

This was also the reason why Selim was so excited. After much persuasion, he could finally start to build national and religious identity.

Yusuf took over Selim's question and answered.

"Your Majesty, according to your instructions, we have integrated similar words and writing in Turkic, Arabic, and Persian, and at the same time, for new words, we have partially absorbed the Balkan languages.

This will also be the focus of the empire's compulsory education in addition to mathematics. For students who are willing and have financial resources, only by mastering this language can they take the exam and continue their studies.

As for the place of further study, according to your instructions, we are ready to build a university in Constantiniya.

They are Ottoman University, Constantiniya University, Selim University, Suleiman University of Political Science and Law, "Thunder" Military Academy, and "Conqueror" Military Academy.

The first three universities are mainly comprehensive universities, and Selim University has already cooperated with the Royal Academy of Sciences. As for the majors, we compared the British universities and made some modifications.

These universities will be completed at the end of September this year and will recruit students from all walks of life as long as they can pass the exam.

At the same time, in order to strengthen the management of universities, the Ministry of Education will provide reference opinions on the categories of majors opened by schools and the number of students enrolled in each major.

And the Ministry of Education will determine their future financial allocations based on the performance of the first batch of students in each university.

As for the issue of education funds for Millet mentioned by Izzet, I have also arranged it.

As your majesty said, an education system independent of the government will only lead a country to division, and the empire's education system is obviously far more than one.

In order to avoid excessive financial pressure and affect the training and industrialization of the empire's new army.

It is definitely not enough to just charge tuition fees. Of course, we do not charge any money for Muslims who are willing to receive compulsory education.

In this case, we will also strictly control the number of students enrolled in each school, limiting it to a few hundred people, after all, the expenses of faculty and staff are also high.

Selim thought for a moment and said.

"Notify the local Kadi (judge) and ask them to encourage children to receive education and at the same time strengthen supervision.

The Ministry of Education should also send specialists to guide school enrollment. For families that are almost unable to survive, priority should be given to enrollment to relieve their pressure. After all, for ordinary people, having more mouths to feed is sometimes fatal. Of course, they must be Muslims.

For universities, prepare for pilot work, conduct research on majors, and deal with majors with low enrollment and low value in a timely manner. If they can be saved, they should be saved, and if they cannot be saved, they should be closed.

While Kadi is supervising, the education responsibility system must be implemented, and the person responsible can be held accountable if there is a problem.

Also, select Ulema from major religious groups to be the principal of the school. The principal is the first person responsible. As a principal, it is his responsibility to teach To educate every student well, we can implement the class teacher responsibility system and designate one teacher to be responsible for one class.

You can determine the specific situation according to the actual situation.

This kind of management must be strategic. While ensuring the smooth progress of teaching work, it is also necessary to strengthen the ideological education of students.

What we need is a good student who is loyal to the Sultan, loyal to the empire, can speak Ottoman, understand Ottoman history, and is dedicated to the empire.

For children from poor families, if the other party shows high talent, the class teacher will recommend it to the principal. After confirmation by the principal, the principal will recommend it to a higher level school. The government will fund its expenses and dig out enough good seedlings for the future of the empire.

The Ministry of Education must also supervise the entrance examination and not let people mess around.

If the children of wealthy families and powerful people don't do well in school, if they want to go to higher schools, let them pay a school sponsorship fee. Don't let these people mess up our education system. "

Selim also thought very hard. Instead of letting these rich people find the bureaucrats and use the back door, it would be better for the Sultan to clearly mark the price and provide all-inclusive services.

It doesn't matter if you can't pass the exam. You can pay for it. Whether or not you can graduate is your child's own problem.

If it doesn't work, then you can spend some more money and sell your children a diploma. "

Yusuf Pasha suggested.

“Your Majesty, although we have decided to universalize compulsory education.

But in this kind of school, it is absolutely difficult for the children of rich and powerful families to accept that they are in class with a group of peasant children. "

Is it time to launch an aristocratic school?

For example, the British public schools can also be a tool for us to win over elites from other provinces. Of course, ordinary children can also participate in the selection of public schools.

As long as he believes in Allah. "

Selim nodded.

“This is a good idea. Suleiman from Chapan also came to me and raised this issue before. They are willing to jointly fund the establishment of such a school with me.

As for the site selection and construction, he will come to discuss it with you when the time comes. The first noble school in the empire cannot tolerate any sloppiness.

As for the name, it is called Allah Public School. This public school means open selection. I don’t care about the other aristocratic schools. Anyone with "public" must pay attention to this. There must be no violation. We must show to the society that As long as you can endure hardship, you can "

Before Selim could finish his words, he heard Izet muttering on the side.

"As long as you can endure hardships, there will be endless hardships. Geniuses like me are always forced to struggle on the front line."

Selim felt that his head was full of black lines, and he selectively ignored this strange thing.

After the meeting, the Sultan rode a carriage to Topkapi Palace. He also made an appointment with the Grand Mufti.

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