Chapter 465: To Win, We Must Defeat Britain
If France currently enjoyed a financial situation as robust as Britain's, it could easily issue special National Debt bonds to weather the six-month fiscal gap.
However, the French government had previously exhausted the market for subscribing to national debt in order to cope with over two billion francs in debt. Now, even if the interest on the National Debt were raised to 12%, it would likely be difficult to sell much.
Joseph nodded gravely. Estimating France's annual government revenue at 500 million francs, at least 250 million francs would need to be raised in one go to initiate the reform to abolish the Tax Farmer system. This sum would sustain operations for the first half of the year, with taxes collected in the first half then maintaining the second half.
However, for a more secure approach, 300 million francs might be necessary.
Joseph quickly recalled various fundraising cases from later eras, recognizing that fields like banking, insurance, and securities still offered some options. He provisionally selected a few of these, telling Mirabeau, "I will find a way to handle the financial matters; the Tax System Reform must be pushed forward as soon as possible.
"You can first contact the forces that support the reform and preemptively put out feelers to build momentum. On my end, I will propose the establishment of a Tax Bureau at the next cabinet meeting, marking the government's initial step in taking over tax collection.
"The next steps will wait until the financial issues are resolved."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Upon hearing 'Tax Bureau,' Bailly immediately thought of another issue: "Your Highness, all tax collection is currently handled by Tax Farmers, and the government has no experience in collecting taxes. I worry this could lead to chaos in tax collection."
Tax Farmers, upon taking over, would pay a lump sum to the government in advance and then assume responsibility for their own profits and losses, ensuring they wouldn't let a single penny of due tax slip by.
Joseph smiled. "I have my own ways to resolve this; you needn't worry."
For an 18th-century government, preventing tax evasion and fraud was undoubtedly a huge challenge, but Joseph had seen a ready-made 'textbook' in action—he could simply copy the methods of the future American IRS.
The IRS is the United States Internal Revenue Service. In the future, Americans might not fear the police or officials, but no one dared to cross the IRS. There was once a notorious gangster, with a long list of murders and illicit dealings, whom even the FBI couldn't touch. In the end, the IRS stepped in, swiftly putting him behind bars and ultimately dismantling his entire gang.
Besides the IRS, Joseph had many other taxation 'weapons' he could deploy, such as the Invoice system, individual income tax system, and tax filing system.
Future government tax departments had devised all sorts of ingenious methods to collect taxes, capable of even handling professional tax evasion accountants of the 21st century, let alone 18th-century taxpayers.
Of course, these were all theoretical. Joseph anticipated that implementing the Tax System Reform would undoubtedly stir up some trouble, but for France's business environment, it was a necessary undertaking.
Moreover, if the Tax Farmer system could be abolished, the tens of millions of francs in tax revenue that currently fell into the hands of Tax Farmers annually could significantly improve French finances. It would truly be killing two birds with one stone, and thus well worth taking some risks.
Subsequently, Bailly submitted last year's commercial development report. The two ministers reported to Joseph on matters concerning French industry and commerce late into the night, finally taking their leave at Eman's subtle prompting, though still clearly eager to continue their discussions.
The clock had already struck half past eleven. Yet, Joseph remained in his study, reviewing the reports in his hands, occasionally taking a sip from the teacup on his desk.
Last year, France's total trade volume reached an astonishing 1 billion francs, almost approaching Britain's 49 million Pound Sterling, which equated to 1.22 billion francs.
However, France's profits from foreign trade were far less than Britain's, primarily because the vast majority of France's trade volume came from neighboring European countries, forcing it to lower prices to compete with those countries' own products.
Britain, on the other hand, ruthlessly exploited its colonies, buying raw materials cheaply and selling manufactured goods at high prices, with no competition to worry about, and Tariffs that were almost zero.
Even France's nominal ally, the United States, had always been a British colony, which meant all its industries and commerce were structured to complement Britain's, making it extremely dependent on Britain. Though now independent, its trade contribution to Britain was only slightly lower than during its colonial era.
In short, France's annual profit from trade was roughly half of Britain's, yet it had to support a population three times larger than Britain's. Currently, Britain's population was under 10 million, while France's was 30 million.
This was already the result of Joseph's continuous efforts. Historically, French industry in 1790 had already begun to collapse, with only Wine still having some sales, until Emperor Napoleon blasted open the European market with cannons and kicked out British goods.
Joseph knew that as the most powerful nation on the European continent, France would constantly face the threat of war from Britain, adhering to its Continental Balance policy.
The so-called Continental Balance policy meant that Britain would never permit the emergence of a single dominant power on the European continent that could overshadow all other nations, thereby ensuring Britain's absolute influence over Europe.
In practice, whoever was strongest on the European continent, Britain would rally other nations to fight against them.
The emergence of the Anti-French Coalition in history ostensibly stemmed from France's Great Revolution, the beheading of the royal family, and the resulting Shared Hatred of the Enemy among other kings.
However, the root cause was that Prussia and Austria remained somewhat weak, allowing France to stand out as the sole powerful nation on the continent, thereby arousing British apprehension.
Otherwise, frankly, Britain was the first to undergo a revolution and execute its King, and was currently a country governed by parliament. Why would it sympathize with other kings to oppose France? In reality, Britain simply wanted to use war to weaken France.
Therefore, having largely defused the domestic revolutionary crisis, Joseph's current strategic focus was to prepare for the inevitable 'Continental Balance' cudgel wielded by the British.
And in the era of the Industrial Revolution, to challenge Britain, France first had to achieve superiority in industry and trade.
Joseph looked at the world map on the adjacent wall. The vast British colonies stretching from India to North America, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, overwhelmed him with pressure.
But soon, a glint of resolve and confidence flashed in his eyes. He was certain he could lead France to catch up in industry and commerce. At that time, he would build a powerful fleet, defeat the navy Britain prided itself on, thoroughly break the curse that restricted France's growth and expansion, and achieve the feat Emperor Napoleon could not accomplish in his lifetime.
To win, we must defeat Britain!
Of course, one must eat one's meal one bite at a time.
Currently, the priority was to complete various domestic reforms, solidifying the foundation, then stabilize the markets secured from Germany, and diligently expand their territory in North Africa, paving the way for the Industrial Revolution.
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