Collected Essays on Finance and Economics ›› 2024, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (2): 14-24.

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Institutional Changes and Enlightenment of the Liang-shui-fa System during the Tang and Song Dynasties from the Perspective of Income Distribution

TONG Guanghui1, WANG Wulin2   

  1. 1. Zhejiang Research Institute of ZUFE-UCASS, Hangzhou 310018, China;
    2. School of Finance, Taxation and Public Administration, Tongling University, Tongling 244061, China
  • Received:2023-08-05 Online:2024-02-10 Published:2024-02-05

收入分配视角下唐宋之际两税法的制度变迁及启示

童光辉1, 王武林2   

  1. 1.浙江财经大学-中国社会科学院大学浙江研究院,浙江 杭州 310018;
    2.铜陵学院财税与公共管理学院,安徽 铜陵 244061
  • 作者简介:童光辉(1984—),男,浙江温岭人,浙江财经大学-中国社会科学院大学浙江研究院副教授,博士;王武林(1989—),男,安徽合肥人,铜陵学院财税与公共管理学院讲师,博士。
  • 基金资助:
    国家社会科学基金一般项目(20BJY212)

Abstract: The reform of the Liang-shui-fa System opened up a new pattern of “asset-based,” and its fairness on the tax dimension was significantly improved compared with the “people-oriented” pattern of the Zu-yong-diao system. However, the uneven tax burden in policy practice wasstill an outstanding issue. In turn, how to equalize the tax burden became a main thread of the tax system reform during the Tang and Song Dynasties. At the same time, the state gave up its efforts to adjust the structure of land ownership on a large scale. On the one hand, land transactions became more active, land ownership tended to be concentrated, the wealthy farmer class rose, and the change rate between the rich and the poor was significantly accelerated. On the other hand, with the advancement of tenancy relationships, farmers gained more freedom with a relatively improved social status under loose personal appendent relations. To some extent, such a situation promoted the improvement of agricultural productivity and the prosperity of the commodity economy. To be sure, there remained behaviors such as evading state taxes and encroaching on the interests of small farmers among the wealthy farmer class, and farmers who gained more freedom faced greater risks in production and life. Therefore, the state had to take measures to rectify tax evasion, develop social welfare undertakings, and guide and give full play to the active role of the wealthy farmer class in grassroots governance and charity. Historical experience shows that “wealth” and “equity” are not necessarily opposites. The key lies both in protecting people’s enthusiasm for creating wealth and regulating the construction of the tax system: distributing the tax burden fairly, developing social welfare undertakings, giving full play to the power of public welfare, and promoting cooperation between the public and the private sector to promote the improvement of income distribution and the improvement of people's livelihood and well-being.

Key words: Income Distribution, Tang and Song Dynasties, Liang-shui-fa System, Equal Principle, Property Tax

摘要: 两税法改革开启了“以资产为宗”的新格局,其税制层面的公平性较“以人丁为本”的租庸调制有了明显改进,但政策实践中的赋税不均问题却依然突出。与此同时,“田制不立”和“不抑兼并”成为新的政策取向:一方面,土地交易更加活跃,土地占有趋于集中,富民阶层崛起;另一方面,租佃关系愈加发达,人身依附关系松弛,农民获得更多自由,在一定程度上促进了社会生产力的提高和农商经济的繁荣。当然,富民阶层存在着逃避赋税的强烈动机,而获得更多自由的农民在生产生活上也面临更大的风险。所以,国家需要采取土地清丈和建立以贫民下户为重点的因灾减免救济制度等措施来解决赋税不均问题。历史经验表明,在一定条件下,完备的产权保护制度与税收发挥调节收入分配作用是可以相兼容的,关键在于保护民众发展生产和创造财富的积极性的同时,采取有力措施来维护和落实税收公平原则。

关键词: 收入分配, 唐宋之际, 两税法, 均平原则, 资产税

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