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A Region Within The Community, Farmers' Land Tax Burden,

Posted on:2010-03-21Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:Q Y ZhangFull Text:PDF
GTID:1115360302457529Subject:China's modern history
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Since Late-Qing , government finance was always on a deficit, and farmers be charged with taxes more and more heavily . In the period of 1920's and 1930's, farmers' burden of land tax was incredibly heavily , and levy by local government was casual, and out of control of central government. So, the problem on the burden of land taxes by farmers was not only a action of taxation, but also a dangersocial problem which carried economic and political whirlpools.1920's and 1930's was the important period Yen Hsi-shan controlled Shanxi and major period Yen Hsi-shan took part in wars and reforming of rural systems. Because of funds demand, the burden of land tax on every farmer in Shanxi was heavier than the burden in most provinces such as Shandong , Henan , Anhui , Hubei , ect . Meanwhile , in Shanxi , Suiyuan , Chahar , Hebei provinces , in where Yen Hsi-shan had stronger power, farmers' army corvee which was the variety of burden of land tax was also heavier obviously than other provinces in whole country , and nearly every county in these provinces suffered from army corvee.According to his long-term plan, Yen Hsi-shan tried to set up a new systems to impose land tax by rectifying country systems of Shanxi . Because of different reforming effectiveness in different places , imposing styles varied greatly in counties in Shanxi. The situation blocked the imposing on land tax . But on the other hand , Yen Hsi-shan Government supervised and managed the heads of counties strictly in imposing land tax ,established a new system in which heads of counties were the leaders , and heads of villages were the centre of village management, and villages were taken as the key link in the institution of imposing land tax , so , Yen Hsi-shan held a correct policy in imposing land tax . In addition , imposing land tax in Shanxi had obvious character of network because of strict administrative ruling-net being built by Yen Hsi-shan Government in substrate society .Meanwhile , the government harried villages by multifarious ways , such as grain levies , tolerancing farmers and requisitioning for corvee , thus , the predation bore obvious elusiveness and fraudulence . For these reasons , imposing land tax in Shanxi was favorable around the nation in this period . Moreover, reforming of rural systems launched by Yen Hsi-shan operated to the perfection of rural administrative system and defense system of Shanxi, and for this reason , to a certain extent, the reforming made rural public security better . The situation restrained rural violent behaviors of refusing to pay grains and tax in Shanxi, therefore , rural social order in Shanxi was more stable than other provinces in this period .Relatively , rural leaderships represented by heads of villages in Shanxi didn't control county governments. However , because of Yen Hsi-shan' dependence and compromise on local forces , rural corruptions grew more and more , landlords and flashmen caught hold of rural political powers , though Yen Hsi-shan Government stipulated a lot of regulations . But , with the increasing land tax imposed by government, rural taxation task usually couldn't be fulfilled , and heads of villages often had to pay tax to government for fanners ,some of them broke the bank or lost their lives . Therefore , common farmers were reluctant to hold the post, let alone landlords and rich peasants .essentially, the land tax policy of Shanxi was a more well-concealed exploiting one , and eventually aggravated economic breakdown and social decline in Shanxi villages .From this deep lessons of history , for a long developing target, the article thinks that it is constructive rural policy which gives more to farmers and takes less from farmers that can flourish social economy and stabilize public order.
Keywords/Search Tags:Problem on burden of land tax, Land tax in Shanxi, farmers, rural leaderships
PDF Full Text Request
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