pertwk Chapter 27 Vito: Yes, even breathing is taxed!
Chapter 27 Vito: Yes, even breathing is taxed!
Tibi almost burst into tears when she saw Jules' name on the land deed.
Finally, after walking a tightrope for so long, I've finally managed to earn some money for myself in this other world!
"You brat, you think getting the land title and paying that exorbitant transfer and registration tax at the registry office is all it takes? Humph!" Vito put down his quill, looked at the gleeful Tiberius, and sneered. "Look at your pathetic self!"
"Listen up, kid. Don't let your jaw drop when I say this! Because you're about to face a specialty of Rhys: tax collectors, or you can call them vampires, whatever you like."
So Vito reached out and began to argue with Tiberius.
"First, there's the estate! Those 120 slaves all have to pay 'manure tax.' Don't even think about shirking this money. Every single living slave has to pay, unless you can prove they're going to die tomorrow! It has to be paid every year, and it's a huge expense!"
"Then there's the land tax. Yes, the land registered in the archives is taxed based on its quantity and quality! But in reality, you still have to give them a 'bonus,' otherwise, even if half of it is rocky mountains and muddy ponds, those tax collectors can still calculate a good price for land that can grow golden wheat! Saying it has 'quite high development potential'... Damn, I saw one before, a tax collector registered a piece of muddy land near the river as 'fertile, water-bearing soil with low development level'... It's blatant lying!"
"Livestock has to be taxed too! Large animals like oxen, horses, mules, and donkeys that can be used for farming and grinding grain are all taxed per head! Officially, it's calculated based on the animal's teeth condition… Hmph, in reality, if you don't stuff shiny silver coins into the hands of those tax collectors, whether it's your old mule that's almost toothless and walks unsteadily, or your newly weaned foal that can't even be yoked, they'll all be counted as 'top-quality, in their prime, full of energy'! The tax will double!"
"You say you don't want these large livestock anymore, but you can raise some meat and wool-producing livestock instead, right? Ha! There's a 'group-raising tax' specifically for large-scale farming of livestock like pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese. If the number exceeds the limit in the code, oh, sorry, you have to pay the tax!"
"Fishponds and streams exceeding a certain number are taxed! They don't care if it's a clear pond for raising koi or a muddy cesspool only infested with mosquitoes and stinking loaches!"
"Roads! Ah, yes, the road in front of your house! The Lis Tax Code stipulates that within a certain area near a manor, all roads passable by carriage must be one foot above ground level, paved with gravel or compacted earth. Furthermore, the estate owner is responsible for planting trees and digging drainage ditches along both sides of the main road to ensure its smooth flow..." Yes, kid, it's mandatory! They call it "beautification," oh boy, that's another expense! And then you have to pay a "road maintenance tax"—though ultimately you'll have to pay for, labor, and stones yourself to repair the road. But dare you not pay this tax? They might actually send someone to dig up the entrance to your main road! Not a penny less!"
Mill tax? Yes, our mills, even if we only use them to make flour for ourselves, have to pay taxes to the city government, otherwise they'll dare send people to demolish them! It's ridiculous! We built our own mills, we bought the stones, we felled the timber, we used the slaves, we raised the livestock, but we still have to pay the city government every year! Otherwise? They really have the right to send people to demolish the mill you worked so hard to build! The reason? "Illegal structure!"
Tiberius, hearing this, couldn't help but interject: "Wait a minute, Vito, doesn't this contradict Rees's advocacy of a 'consensus on the rights of free men'? After all, this is our own property... the mill and the roads, it's our own property!"
"Free man? Power?" Vito rolled his eyes dramatically, as if he'd heard the funniest joke. "Then you'll soon be slapped with a new label: 'Obstructing the free market'! Although I fucking don't understand what that rickety road we built ourselves and our dilapidated mill have to do with the 'free market' in the center of Ries City! If that damn market is so fragile that it needs to suck the blood of our broken road and that mill that can only grind wheat to function, then it might as well just collapse!"
Vito grew increasingly agitated, his words flowing like a rapid-fire crossbow: "Hold on! You want to make money off agricultural products, like wine? Fine! A license to sell alcohol—if we ever want to sell our brewed alcohol, we'll need that license, and it'll be priceless! You wouldn't dare sell alcohol without connections, would you? And the brewing tax—calculated based on the number of brewing pots on the estate! By the Seven Gods, even the lords of Westeros wouldn't dare go into the serfs' houses, tear down the walls and under their beds, to find their ale-brewing pots to calculate the tax! These guys are greedier than those knights!"
"Forge tax! Same old tricks, taxed by the furnace! Whether it's a blacksmith's furnace or a small clay furnace for mending pots, every single one of them has to pay tax. I just want to forge a few hoes and repair sickles for the slaves, and I have to pay for that too?"
"Forestry tax—if we sell timber to the market, that's 'commercialization,' so we pay tax! Fur tax—if we sell furs to the market, that's still 'commercialization,' so we pay tax! Oil press tax—same here, taxed according to the number of machines! Good heavens, can anyone tell me, in all of Lys, which estate doesn't grow olives and flax?" Vito complained.
"Don't rush, there's more! Textile machinery tax—same applies! And the broken machines used in slave households are included too! But the authorities 'graciously' give you a quarter discount, bah! It's just a 'favor' from some masters! Fireplace tax—the broken fireplaces in the slave sheds that struggle to even get smoke out have to be included! Building tax—that's why your uncle wanted to tear down half of the slaves' dilapidated huts on the estate first! Damn it! No choice, build them new houses! They'll have to pay taxes anyway!"
"Besides that!" Vito counted on his fingers, feeling like there weren't enough to go around. "Every year, when those tax collectors come to 'measure' the land, register it, and write our meager output into the city's accounts, we have to pay them a 'bookkeeping fee'! And there's also a 'parchment fee' specifically for the tax collectors!"
"You think that's all? Ha! Not a chance!" Vito became increasingly agitated, spitting as he spoke. "Your Uncle Jules' new house in Riss, and the manor house outside the city! The foundation will be subject to 'foundation tax'! The walls will be subject to 'wall tax'—calculated by height and length! You built the walls to keep out thieves, but the first thing you attract are the tax collectors! Damn it, they're better at stealing than thieves themselves!"
"This is a rural farm. Let me tell you, the taxes on industries in the city are far more outrageous!"