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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.
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