Yingdala

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Imperial Congress Approves Unified Contribution Act Amid Public Concern

Economists sends warnings while farmers seek retribution

15 April 5616

KAIZHOU – The Imperial Congress eschewed the pork barrel in favor of something much meatier: tax increases. The Congress passed the Unified Contribution Act after contentious debate between nobles and commoners. The bill is a sweeping fiscal hardliner that raises land and grain taxes across the board on provincial agricultural holdings and craftsguilds. The bill, proposed by Xue Zhengfe, Minister of Finance, was characterized as a "necessary realignment of duties to preserve the stability of the Empire." Significantly, the Act provides exemptions for households carrying senior noble titles and all merchant consortia granted a national trade license, initial provisions that have attracted withering criticism from scholars and smallholder advocates. 

"The UCA is a tax on survival based on class and status," said Delegate Jin Deyan of Tian'an, one of the commoner members of Congress to vote against the bill. "We are punishing the root and protecting the branches." Officials in the Chancellery characterized the law as "a practical action to cover rising budgetary requirements in a manner that did not disrupt Yingdala's noble-le administrative legacy."

While the bill is set to raise government tax revenue in the short, immediate term, economists warn about the long-term and structural affects of this law. Dr. Min, an economist at Kaizhou National University, argued that the bill would "bankrupt small farmers" and "sharply decrease food production, which may cause a rise in food prices that would be felt throughout the Empire as a whole. In summary, the UAC will lead to a collapsing middle class, local stagnation, and civil unrest as government exploits its citizens.