Chapter 474: Collecting taxes on the Tsar
Like Peter, George did not care how the Japanese spent this winter.
Who cares about who these days? Just mind your own business. George can't even care about the poor people in Russia, let alone the Japanese.
Stolypin is indeed capable of what ordinary people cannot. He just sold 10 million hectares of the Tsar's land some time ago, and now he is eyeing Amur.
The Russo-Japanese War made the whole world know the true strength of Amur, and St. Petersburg naturally knew it better.
There are eight governor-general regions in the Russian Empire, and the Amur governor-general is the most special one. When Witte was the finance minister, he had the final say on how much tax Amur had to pay. The tax officer stationed in Amur from St. Petersburg was the easiest tax officer in the empire.
The tax officers of other governor-general districts keep an eye on the accounts of the governor-general district, chasing the governor for money every day, and it is a thankless effort at both ends.
Amur's accounts are very clear, there is no concealment, and the taxes that should be paid are paid on time. It can be called a model governorate.
Stolypin was dissatisfied, believing that Amur’s taxes were seriously inconsistent with Amur’s actual level.
Last year the fiscal revenue of the Russian Empire was 3.5 billion rubles. Although it seems to be a lot, it also spent more. The interest on foreign debt alone was as high as 150 million rubles.
Although the Russian Empire did not pay compensation for the Russo-Japanese War, the losses caused by the Russo-Japanese War to the Russian Empire were approximately 5.5 billion rubles.
In order to make up for the losses caused by the Russo-Japanese War, Stolypin had to increase taxation.
Of all the provinces and governorates in Russia, Amur has the best financial situation. Not only does it have no foreign debt, but it also has a slight balance. This is simply a miracle in the Russian Empire.
What makes Stolypin dissatisfied is that Amul’s revenue from just one cosmetic product exceeded 190 million rubles last year.
Last year Amur paid only 85 million rubles in taxes.
Stolypin believes that this number should be increased at least five times to basically meet the economic level of Amur.
The new chief tax officer of Amur, Biharovsky, has served in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Finance and has rich experience. He came to visit George as soon as he arrived in Amur.
George expressed his support for Biharovsky's work and asked Biharovsky to contact Mikhail.
Mikhail came to Yuriev Palace that evening.
“It doesn’t matter, if he wants to check the accounts, let him check——”
George is not afraid of investigation. The Siberian Bank has so many accountants who are not free of charge.
Amur's economy is indeed very developed, but if you just look at the accounts, you can't find any problems.
Stolypin was right to be unselfish, but he found the wrong person. If Stolypin first started investigating the accounts of the Admiralty, George might praise Stolypin as a man.
“Let me tell you, we just paid too much, which is why St. Petersburg felt that we were easy to bully. We should learn from other governorates and delay what we should and owe what we should.”
< br>Mikhail was heartbroken. If he was asked to do the accounting, Amul would not only not have to pay money to St. Petersburg, but St. Petersburg would also give Amul subsidies.
Amul has a high income, but there are also many places to spend money.
George turned defeat into victory in the second phase of the Russo-Japanese War without asking for a penny from St. Petersburg.
We didn’t ask St. Petersburg for money to rebuild Arthur’s Fortress.
Even the medals awarded after the war were made by Amul with his own money and did not seek reimbursement from St. Petersburg.
Not to mention the cost of disarmament.
Stolypin was not satisfied with this situation.
Mikhail felt that Stolypin, the prime minister, would not last long.
Just a few days ago, Admiral Dubasov, who had just been appointed commander of the Moscow Military District by Nicholas, was assassinated.
Dubasov was lucky. He was not dead, but only slightly injured.
Not only did Dubasov fail to hold the assassin accountable, but he also wrote a letter to Nicholas pleading for the assassin, saying that the assassin was just a child who had gone astray.
Nikolay expressed appreciation for Dubasov's behavior, but at the same time rejected Dubasov's request. In his reply to Dubasov, Nicholas said: Executing certain people who have gone astray is the best way to avoid a lot of bloodshed.
During the Russo-Japanese War, workers rioted in Moscow, and the Guards went to suppress it, resulting in nearly 12,000 deaths.
The place where George spends the most money now is in East India, mainly on infrastructure construction.
“Complain less and do more.”
George is not going to give away any points.
But if Stolypin wants to get more taxes from Amur, that is not realistic.
85 million a year is enough.
Next year, it can be more, such as 8,700——
Don’t be too little, George’s family’s annual salary adds up to just this much.
Judging from the accounts alone, Biharowski did not find any problems.
It’s not without any problems.
Many companies in Amur are privately owned by George. The transactions between companies are not reflected in the accounts and are settled by the Siberian Bank.
Bikharovsky wanted to check the Siberian Bank's accounts, but was rejected by the Siberian Bank.
Biharovsky wanted to complain to St. Petersburg, but was stopped by deputy Lisakovitch.
"We had better not do that, otherwise we will not be able to move forward in Amur."
Lisakovich reminded Bikharovsky that Amur is not St. Petersburg.
Russia is the Russia of all Russians, especially the Russia of the Tsars and Grand Dukes.
Compared to other grand dukes, George pays a lot of taxes every year.
Of course George has to pay taxes.
The Tsar sold 10 million hectares of land some time ago. Did he pay the tax?
If George pays taxes on everything, no matter how small it is, then do other Grand Dukes have to do the same?
“If we do nothing, what does the empire want from us?”
Biharovsky insisted that quality is the key to being valued by Stolypin. factor.
“St. Petersburg knows everything about the situation in Amur. Why didn’t the Tsar give the order?”
Lisakovich knew Amur's situation better than Biharovsky did.
Amur not only has tax officials, but also secret police.
Amur's secret police headquarters is right next to the Vladivostok police station. The staff on both sides know each other and often have meals and drinks together.
The Vladivostok secret police has its own communication system and can directly contact St. Petersburg without going through Vladivostok officials.
Although it is not a system and Lisakovich does not know the contents of the secret police report, Lisakovich believes that the economic situation of Vladivostok is under the control of St. Petersburg.
Because the Tsar himself was a shareholder of many Vladivostok companies.
The tax paid by Amul may indeed be a little less.
But the dividends Amul gave to the Tsar were not large at all.
So unless necessary, do not break this tacit understanding between Vladivostok and St. Petersburg, which is more beneficial to the stability of the empire.
(End of this chapter)