Taxation in imperial China and the West

Abstract

Imperial China had a durable taxation system that included land tax, poll tax, and labor services, the form and weight of the three taxes changed over time, the most representative tax system was the Zu Yong Diao system, whose levy standards were initially based on the person and levied in kind, however, the An Lushan rebellion changed the system, and the new tax system, two-tax law, remained stable in the late-imperial time. Transformed the tax system into the land-based and monetary levy. Remarkably, the main system of the three taxes was stable in imperial China, Meanwhile, the system of tax shifted greatly in West Europe, the consumption tax and heritage tax were founded at that time which well increased government revenue and supported the rise of the West. The relatively outmoded taxation, worsened the fiscal of late-imperial China, and separated the center and prefecture . The author argues that China was impeded by its severe principle-agent problem, and the structure of agricultural society aggravated the corruption in prefectures though the center was forced to maintain a low tax rate. Although the Qing dynasty had made a long prosperous period and impulsed profound reforms in taxation, it would fall into crisis as preceding dynasties in the 19th century even without Western threat.