1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

Dream on!

"Society is developing, nothing is impossible." Wu Hao shook his head.

"Okay, I won't even talk about living the same life as Boss Chen. Even if these employees only spend 10 yuan a month on food, that's still a 100 million yuan business. How many bosses will get rich?"

Someone subconsciously retorted:

"So, Boss Chen spends 1000 yuan on food every month. If there are 100,000 Boss Chens, then..."

Before he could finish his words, he was met with idiotic looks from others. Let's not talk about who can afford to be treated like this, are you a pig?

Spending 1000 yuan a month?

"Look, everyone knows that no matter how much a rich person eats, he can never eat more than ten thousand poor people. If we can increase the consumption of the poor, can we make more money?"

"this..."

"But the problem is that these poor people, and even the vast majority of farmers, have a hard time even getting enough to eat every month, let alone spending money. So they can't get rich, and neither can the bosses."

"So what our government needs to do is to get businesses to pass on profits to their employees, so that they can afford to spend. This will boost economic circulation and make the country and society richer."

Well, the logic is indeed simple and makes sense, but how can it be done?

Why should I give my money to poor people?

It's my own ability that I became rich first, what does it have to do with the poor?

Now that I'm rich, do I have to help those poor people get rich too? What's the point of me getting rich then?

Many people secretly complained in their hearts, but were reluctant to speak out due to the atmosphere of the banquet. Wu Hao saw their thoughts, but he also did not point them out.

Regardless of whether you accept it or not, this is the case. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has already decided that this must be done in all areas where the Red Army controls and establishes effective political control.

Don't accept?

It doesn't matter, we in the CCP won't force you to leave, so just leave!

We will not confiscate your property, and we will even allow you to sell it to us at a price higher than the market price.

However, the first condition we give you is absolutely the best. If you don’t agree, don’t expect to get similar treatment in the future.

In the words of Comrade Ma Shiwu, this is called "natural selection."

After explaining the CCP's bottom line and original intention, Wu Hao was about to explain other issues when a staff member came over and whispered something. He could only laugh and say:

"Sorry, everyone, I have something to do and need to leave for a while. You can continue to look at these legal provisions. If you have any questions, we can talk later."

After saying this, he bowed to everyone and was about to leave when he casually asked Boss Chen another question:

"Mr. Chen, I remember that you had a cannery, a rice mill, an ironworks, a rubber factory in Singapore...right?"

"Uh...yeah."

"We really need these things, you can consider it."

358 Investing in the country is the biggest business

Leaving behind a pile of legal documents and several staff members, Wu Hao left, but the atmosphere at the banquet table fell into silence for a moment.

The meaning of Wu Hao's last words before he left couldn't be clearer: the CCP needs a lot of supplies, which means there is a lot of business to do; in other words, everyone has the opportunity to get rich;

However, if you want to get rich, you must listen to the CCP and act according to the laws promulgated by the CCP;

However, if we abide by these laws, we feel that we cannot make money and it is not worth it no matter how we look at it;

However, you shouted that you would not do it, and although they did not say it explicitly, their attitude was very clear:

"If you don't do it, there are plenty of business owners who will."

Therefore, no one, including Tan Kah Kee, knew what to say next. To liven up the atmosphere, one of the staff members who stayed behind with Wu Hao said with a smile:

"Gentlemen, please don't be nervous or anxious. We in the Communist Party of China abide by rules and laws. If you have any questions, please sort them out and sit down and discuss them slowly."

Logically speaking, the phrase "obeying rules and laws" is the most important reason why many business owners and capitalists did not leave immediately but continued to stay after reading so many legal provisions that are unfavorable to them.

During the period of "conducting research" in the streets of Nanchang, everyone gradually recognized this point.

It was not only this trial that shocked the whole country, but also because the integrity and professionalism of the Chinese Communist Party officials really exceeded their imagination.

For example, the issue of commercial tax rates, why didn't anyone just dwell on this issue?

因为，诚然，以所得利润计算的5%-45%的累进税率似乎比国民党那边高太多了（普遍是营业额的4%到10%，或利润的3%-35%) ;

But the problem is, apart from regular taxes, the CCP doesn't impose any exorbitant levies like "shit donations," "door-opening donations," "passing donations," or "land donations," and neither do officials extort money from businessmen.

Anyone who has done business in the Republic of China knows that those things are the real cost!

If you don't have some strong connections, will the Kuomintang officials collect taxes from you according to the rules?

Don't make trouble.

Why are people so keen on giving money to Kuomintang officials?

Because as long as you give enough money, he really has a way to reduce your tax by half or even exempt it directly and solve all the troubles of the whole process!

Since you have to pay anyway, you should naturally give it to the person who can bring you the greatest benefit and minimize the total cost.

This is the basic logic of doing business.

Moreover, taxes are collected based on "profit" rather than "turnover". If there is no profit, there is no need to pay. There is no need to teach you how to lower the profit.

In addition, in order to reduce the cost of setting up institutions and personnel and win over the hearts of the people, the Nanjing regime and local warlords abandoned the official tax collection system in many areas and places and adopted the traditional contract tax collection system or agency tax collection system.

What does that mean?

That’s right, it’s a tax-free system!

It's hard to imagine, but in 1932, the Nanjing regime was still practicing "tax farming." As long as the winning bidder collected the minimum tax required by the government, any excess would be theirs. They even created a new system of "general contractors and subcontractors."

It's obvious that the tax collectors in various places will "collect as much as they can without killing the people". After all, the extra money is their own profit. As for the lives of merchants and ordinary people, who cares?

Therefore, this forced many chambers of commerce and industry associations to participate in bidding themselves, collect their own taxes, and then the entire industry or region united to control the tax amount to a certain level to avoid being destroyed.

To sum up, for the businessmen of the Republic of China, if you really calculate it, the actual tax rate of the Communist Party may be much lower than that of the Kuomintang and the warlords.

Most of the people here are smart people who have traveled a lot. They can figure out this issue with a little thought, and there are not many who disagree.

Even so, some people still felt bad that so much money had to be used to pay taxes, and couldn't help but say:

"This brother..."

"My last name is Li, you can call me Secretary Li."

"...Secretary Li, that's what you say, but your Communist Party is really collecting too much tax."

"Yes, yes..." others responded.

"Haha, sir, you and everyone else can't look at things that way."

Secretary Li did not shy away from the question of "high tax rates." Instead, he patiently explained, "We collect taxes, but we guarantee that every penny we receive from you will be used for your benefit. We call this 'taking from the people and giving back to the people.'"

"Depending on the industry, we will use the taxes paid to support the needs of the relevant industry. For example, the commercial taxes paid by ordinary shops will be used to repair the roads in front of the shops and maintain security..."

"For example, if we collect taxes, we will guarantee the absolute safety of your caravan and goods within our controlled area, without you having to pay any additional fees..."

"I believe you all understand what benefits these things can bring.

Well, that's why people don't have much of a problem with high tax rates or heavy levies. It doesn't matter how much tax there is; as long as it's used effectively and brings convenience, merchants are generally willing to accept it.

for example.

Why do many businessmen from Hunan and Hubei prefer going through Guangxi to Guizhou when going to Yunnan?

In addition to the road problems and the internal fighting among Guizhou warlords, another important reason is that Li Bai and Huang of the Guangxi clique "adhere to the rules"!

Although I charge a lot for tolls, I absolutely guarantee the service after I collect the fees!

One reason.

(Historically, Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren collected extremely high tolls for opium, but opium merchants were still willing to go through Guangxi because once they received the money, the Guangxi clique would provide various services, including military escorts;)

(Opium dealers don't have to worry about bandits robbing them, don't have to worry about local garrisons taking advantage of them, don't have to spend huge sums of money to hire thugs, and don't have to use other connections... Overall costs can be reduced.)

(Therefore, opium traffickers had a particularly high opinion of the Guangxi Clique and passed through here in large numbers, resulting in the Guangxi Clique's "opium protection fees" alone accounting for more than one-third of its fiscal revenue in 1933)

(Building a good business reputation.jpg)

After no one commented on the tax rate issue, some people launched attacks on the Labor Law and Labor Contract Law for being "too biased towards workers":

"...In short, I ask your party to seriously reconsider this. Our businesses and entrepreneurs will not survive if we continue this way!"

"Well, indeed, we admit that the promulgation of these two laws, including a considerable number of legal provisions, was a bit ahead of its time."

Unexpectedly, Director Li nodded in agreement, then changed the subject: "But we have our own ideas and considerations..."

Regarding the promulgation and implementation of the above laws, the debate within the Communist Party of China was much more intense than the issue of the Criminal Law, and the questions raised by each other were also much more sharp than those raised by these businessmen.

It is easy to talk about when it comes to ordinary crimes such as murder, arson, rape, and extortion, but these laws often involve what kind of political and economic system the CCP should adopt in the future, and involve "exploitation and anti-exploitation", so the debate is very intense.

Let’s start with the issue of taxes.

In fact, when the Soviet government was first established last year, the CCP had already stipulated this form of progressive tax rates in the Provisional Tariff Code, but the tax rates were relatively low – ranging from 2% to 18.5%;

And it is based on the turnover - below 200 yuan is exempt from tax, above 200 yuan is divided into 13 levels of progressive tax rate, capital above 10 yuan is taxed at a different rate, special circumstances may exempt from tax, etc.

This time, not only is the tax rate no longer based on operating revenue but on profit, but it has also been more than doubled, ranging from 5% to 45% depending on the industry, which directly aroused opposition from many people.

Some believed that this would severely damage the business environment, resulting in no entrepreneurs or factory owners willing to operate in areas controlled by the Red Army, and would also severely impact many small businesses.

Some people believe that this will result in some industries paying too little tax and some paying too much tax, leading to unfairness and conflicts;

Some people believe that profit margins are difficult to calculate, making it easy for businessmen to exploit loopholes and falsify accounts to cheat the government and evade taxes;

Some people suggested that private enterprises should not exist in the first place. If all enterprises were turned into state-owned enterprises under Soviet management, there would be absolutely no problems of exploitation and taxation.

If such a sharp debate had happened in the past, everyone would have probably thrown accusations at each other.

Things like "capitalist roaders" and "leftism", "luxury hedonism" and "utopian socialism".

However, this time, because the influence of the Soviet Union was temporarily blocked, the struggle among the top leaders was not so intense, and there was a person who could crush the whole situation in charge, although everyone argued, they finally controlled the scope to the matter itself.

Then, in response to the discussion among the CCP members, UMP45 (Mark) raised a series of questions from a fundamental starting point:

1. Can the problem of exploitation be solved immediately at this stage?

Well, although we are all communists, not many people are arrogant enough to think that the CCP can solve the problem of exploitation.

Those who proposed turning all enterprises into state-owned enterprises all shut up after being rebuked with comments like "Where will you get so many talented people to manage operations" and "Will people selling breakfast on the street also become employees of state-owned enterprises?"

So, the second question arises: if the problem cannot be solved, what is the reason? Clearly, in addition to the CCP's inadequate management capabilities, the more important reasons are that productivity and production relations have not developed to a certain level, and the ideological awareness of both the Party and the people has not reached a corresponding level.

Putting aside the issue of productivity, the CCP's practice over the past few years has fully demonstrated that even if ordinary people set up a pancake stand, let alone factory owners and entrepreneurs, dare to move, they will fight you to the death!

Private ownership cannot be eradicated at present, so we have no choice but to accept it.

3. Since exploitation cannot be eradicated, should the CCP give up the fight against it? The answer is, absolutely not!

Otherwise, the CCP would not be the CCP.

4. Is there any positive value or significance in exploiting ordinary people by opening small shops and hiring assistants, or by factory owners and hiring workers?

The issue became even more controversial. When pushed to the point of being desperate, someone jumped out and said, "This is a defense of exploitation," and was about to accuse them, but was forcibly suppressed by Li Desheng and Wu Hao.

So, the final conclusion is, yes.

Because the current CCP does not have the ability to build so many factories involving multiple industries on a large scale and implement effective management, nor can it provide the people with the industrial and agricultural products they need, so it must rely on the private economy.

Otherwise, where did the guns come from? Where did the cannons come from? Where did the clothes and shoes come from? Did you just come up with that out of your own wits?

We can't rely on external aid for everything, right?

5. Since the CCP cannot eliminate exploitation or the private sector, and cannot immediately establish state-owned factories capable of providing the people under its rule with necessities, what should it do?

In this way, under step-by-step guidance, the opinions within the CCP were finally unified:

On the one hand, while doing everything in our power to protect the legitimate rights and interests of workers, we must also find ways to attract private business owners to cooperate with the CCP and even open factories in areas under its control, thereby boosting the economy and commerce.

On the one hand, they studied hard and worked hard to train outstanding cadres for the CCP's own urban supporting management and business operations, gradually established state-owned factories, strengthened their own strength, and gradually eliminated exploitation in various industries;

As a result, laws such as the Labor Law were introduced.

Unlike the Labor Law that nearly died in history, this time, the "people's entrepreneurs" who were supposed to hinder the labor protection law have almost no say;

On the contrary, the will of lawmakers, the power of law enforcers, and the degree to which managers consider the people are much stronger than in history.

(I used to work in HR, so I must speak up for the Labor Law and Labor Contract Law, which are now widely criticized by workers.)

(In fact, the current labor law is the result of the desperate struggle of the lawmakers back then. Otherwise, according to the opinions of the "capitalists" at the time, this thing should not have come into being.)