Chapter 551: A New Outlook in France

Chapter 552: A New Outlook in France

Rouen, northwest France.

The first job that Banel received after returning to the city hall was to make a notice about stopping the collection of city entry taxes and canceling the toll points on the three main roads in and out of Rouen.

He looked at the administrative document signed and sealed by the municipal commissioner in his hand, and looked at his boss in surprise:

"Mr. Depuen, why are you going to stop collecting city entry taxes?!

"Oh, I mean, will this cause financial strain on the city hall?"

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Although he had studied relevant courses at the University of Administration, he still subconsciously thought based on experience when faced with practical problems at this time.

The assistant to the municipal commissioner spread his hands helplessly:

"It was Baron Vaillant who decided. Although I expressed my disapproval, he still insisted on doing so, saying that the experience learned at the School of Administration in Paris would enable Rouen to achieve better development..."

Yes, Municipal Commissioner Vaillant was also a "student" who had just graduated from the School of Administration, and his grades were even better than Banel's.

And he was very smart. After returning to Rouen, he noticed that many city hall officials were sent to the building opposite the city hall and became "auxiliary administrators."

He hurried to inquire about the duties of the so-called auxiliary administrators and found that they only received basic salaries and had nothing important to do. In short, they left the center of power.

After repeated thinking, Baron Vaillant soon thought of the common point of those people-when they were at the School of Administration, they all expressed dissatisfaction with the new policies recently planned by the Palace of Versailles.

He immediately set about avoiding risks, such as quickly starting to implement the policies proposed by the Palace of Versailles to cancel the city entry tax, stop collecting tolls, and allow foreign craftsmen to enter.

These policies had been promoted by the cabinet for many years before, but they were all It was resisted or delayed by the local government. These are important sources of local finance, and no one wants their fiscal revenue to drop sharply.

But this time the situation is different.

The most stubborn and conservative officials were kicked out to the old building across the street, and they were replaced by younger officials who were more receptive to new things. However, due to the limited number of graduates from the Administrative University, many positions are still vacant.

However, this is enough to greatly reduce the resistance to the implementation of new policies. At the same time, Vaillant was also worried that he would be moved to the old building across the street, so he quickly signed these policies.

Of course, it was also because the Palace of Versailles allocated more than 200,000 francs to Rouen this time, and the taxes collected by the newly established Rouen Tax Bureau would also be provided to the City Hall in the future.

This money is basically enough for the City Hall to maintain its operation, so it is not unacceptable to cancel the city entry tax.

Banel then remembered the knowledge he had learned at the University of Management and nodded:

"It seems that it can increase the circulation of goods in various places and promote trade. "

Depuen, the second-in-command of Rouen City, sighed:

"It is said that local tariffs and the commodity access certificate system will be abolished soon. If this continues, Mr. Daniel will probably go crazy."

Daniel is the financial officer of Rouen.

Depuen immediately waved his hand and said:

"Alas, I will go to the Administrative University for further studies next month, and Rouen's affairs will be handed over to you. May God bless Rouen."

Banel took the opportunity to explain to his boss on the way to the office:

"You see, if all cities abolished the city entry tax and tariffs, although foreign goods would flow into Rouen, our goods would also be sold to other places, and the "goods tax" would increase significantly.

"Now that there are no tax farmers, these taxes will stay in Rouen..."

Southeast suburbs of Rouen.

Chabaan, the manager of the "Ruby" mirror workshop, looked towards Evreux through the carriage window and felt in a good mood. He couldn't help humming a tune softly:

"Ah! Everything will be good, everything will be good..."

No wonder he was so happy. On his trip to Evreux, he only encountered a toll along the way - that was outside a small town at the bend of the Seine - which saved him a lot of money.

Even when he entered the city of Evreux, no one collected the city entry tax!

The whole transaction process was very smooth - he handed over a truckload of mirrors to the store that ordered them, and only paid 4 francs in customs duties and 9 sous in stamp duties.

You know, in the past, he had to pay various tolls and miscellaneous taxes for the same business, totaling more than 13 francs!

According to this trend, the "Ruby" workshop will earn nearly 50 francs more per month in the future.

And according to the customer, even the customs duties may be abolished starting next month!

Life is full of hope. The smile on Chabaan's face became even more intense, and his humming turned into singing:

"Robespierre and Duport are singing in the cafe. Ah! Everything will be fine..."

The servants and the driver were infected by his cheerful mood and sang along:

"... Everything will be fine, everything will be fine! Let us look forward to the good days to come!"

After the master and servants finished singing, Chabaan couldn't help but shout out the window:

"Thank you, His Royal Highness the Great Prince! Oh, and Count Fulco, Mr. Robespierre! Long live the tax bureau!"

The car quickly entered Rouen City, and when it was close to the Great Clock Street, it heard a noise coming from the front:

"No, you took too much!"

"Yes! We don't make much money, so we will never pay taxes!"

"Go back quickly, don't try to take away a penny from us today..."

When the carriage got closer, Xiabaan finally saw clearly that dozens of vendors setting up stalls on this street were confronting four tax officials.

The Grand Clock Street is the most prosperous commercial district in Rouen and an important place for collecting market taxes.

"Look at these guys," the clerk next to Xiaba'an said contemptuously. "In the past, when the people from the tax office came to collect taxes with sticks and whips, they were as honest as sheep."

Shabaan glanced at the pistol on the tax officer's waist, shook his head and said:

"You can't be too polite to these profiteers, but tax officials rarely use force..."

"The current tax rate is much lower than before. If you ask me, I have to give them a good beating! Let's see if they still pay the tax!"

Robespierre was also overkill. In order to create a completely different image of the tax bureau and the previous tax collectors, he asked his subordinates to speak kindly and try not to use force.

This made the whole country praise the tax bureau, but at the same time, some profiteers and unscrupulous people no longer feared them and began to openly act rogue.

When Xiaba'an finally returned to his workshop, before he even got out of the car, he saw the workshop's accountant trotting over and whispered to him:

"Mr. Manager, I just saw the tax collector's carriage on Rue Jourmain. It should be here soon.