17세기후반 호조의 재정수입 확보책

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17세기후반 호조의 재정수입 확보책

Hojo, The Ministry of Finance, was finding new tax revenues in the late 17th century choson Dynasty. Hojo levied on cultivated land, but the whole sum of land taxes were not collected on time, that is the reason Hojo needed new tax revenues. Local governors asked Hojo to dispose land taxes of their own government because of the failure of the harvest and so on. The revenue of Hojo is not enough for annual expenditure by frequent demands of immunity land taxes(給災). Hojo threw doubt on if it was necessary for local governors to demand the immunity of land taxes so many times, but couldn't adopt the measures. The government didn't try to establish a system to examine their demands, and the tax were exempted repeatedly without actual investigations, which resulted in the serious damages of Hojo. In addition, although most local governors evaded the tax system, the central government didn't work out appropriate measures. It shows the enfeeblement of the central control over Hojo didn't try to improve the system in which it would examine the tax capability of the local, but only supplement provisions by borrowing property from other government department, relief funds(賑恤穀) or war funds(軍資穀). War funds loaning system is necessary for war funds. War funds were stored up for war with usually no use. War funds were putrescible goods, so needed regularly renewing(改色) which was given chances by war funds loaning system. The problem is that the all of the provisions against war were not returned. Hojo exempted the local land tax on the condition that the local governments should pay it back the next year if the thing would change well. (But Hojo could exempt the tax) If the local governments put off paying it back in excuse of the bad crops, Hojo couldn't also pay the provisions which had been borrowed. The situation lasted, and the stored provisions were reduced. It is critical that provisions against war decreased. But it is more critical that using provisions enabled local governors to evade taxes. The tax system which linked the central government with the regions fell unstable as such. Hojo decided not to depend on provisions but on coinage in order to resolve the financial difficulties. It was expected to increase revenue. But the discussion and the investigation on how the coinage would affect the national economy were insufficient. Moreover, Hojo was chosen for coinage, but the regulation which would prohibit another government agencies from minting coins was meagerly prepared. After putting the coinage system in operation, another agencies arbitrarily issued coins. As a result, the central government didn't figure out the amount of current money. In other words, it was impossible that the government would regulate circulation of money. Such the Minting coins and their circulation aggravated the tax system. The following choson government in the eighteen and nineteen centuries could not help facing the financial problem which had already gotten into tangles in the late seventeen century.