Post by donquixote on Aug 19, 2015 22:34:10 GMT
Evaristo Pérez de Castro y Brito looked down at the proposed Bill put in front of him.
Two bright sparks working as senior officials in the Finance/Treasury Ministry had drafted it. As a piece of legislation derived from educated bureaucrats, rather than by members of the parties, it would stand a far better chance than legislation proposed by any Parliamentary party. Perhaps this was a good way forward. Nonetheless, the Bill would have to be correctly scrutinised by members of the coalition cabinet, no doubt with amendments made for engorging various elites.
The Bill pertained to the long term economic plan that Evaristo Pérez de Castro y Brito had initially been elected to deliver, however, fraught negotiations and backbench rebellions by both sides of the coalition had severely limited the efficacy of Bills passed.
The Bill had an air of historical significance, putting forth arguments as to previous reasons for financial ruin in the Kingdom of Spain. In part, Spain's long history of defaults stemmed from an over-reliance on mined metals from South America, and the Government had continued to budget for the presence of these metals despite no longer being sovereign over the areas where these were mined, or receiving any delivery of them. The results of this had been disastrous. The value of the metals had collapsed, as the over-supply of them contributed to a decline in their real value to any actor in Spain. The pretension of the arrival of precious metals had only exacerbated the decline in value of the metal actually present, driving wealth abroad. Confidence in the ability of the Spanish Government to service debts in the long run had collapsed, driving the price of credit upward. An inefficient administration had meant that taxes which would have made Spain creditworthy again, or at least make Spanish government bonds viable, had not been collected.
The Bill made provisions for the creation of an efficient bureaucracy, the first step towards creditworthiness. At present, Spain was in a dire financial situation, the Confiscations of Mendizabal had been held up or hijacked by local bureaucrats, seeking to profit from better terms or bribes, as the liberalisation that occurred simultaneously in the treatment of land as a commodity had driven the price upward, the lack of supply was having the same effect.
The document itself reads:
"
In light of the troubles of the past, a modern, functioning state is needed to both recover and progress as a nation. In order to create this, an efficient administration shall be needed.
The most fundamental of all problems is the lack of a functioning tax collection system, from which we can leverage future collections for investment purposes required for the reconstruction of our nation, thereby increasing the amount of tax brought in. Second to this is the general absence, at a provincial level, of a professional bureaucracy.
1. Investment by the Spanish State in it's bureaucracy, shall take two forms:
a. Immediate reforms to increase the professionalism of it's existing members
b. Long term reforms, such as offering competitive salaries to recent University graduates achieving above a certain mark, or anyone passing a specially formulated test aimed at testing aptitude at a multitude of bureaucratic problem solving and trustworthiness.
2. Effective immediately following this Bill's passing, a census is to take place, with 100 treasury officials from the main Ministry in Seville undertaking a year long journey each, to collect information regarding the number of citizens in each town.
3. Effective immediately after the Bill's passing, the hiring of 500 Finance Ministry staff, to be trained in tax collection by established authorities, who will then take up office in local municipalities with the largest population and of high economic importance. From here their performance will be reviewed by visiting officials from the main Ministry, to review tax intakes, along with checking their standard of living. High rewards (all assets of said officials) will be offered to those visiting officials who can find discrepancies as to the income of Finance Ministry officials at the local level, any case against officials must be brought before a high court in Seville. Local officials will hire officials in smaller municipalities, the same system regarding discrepancies will be in place for them.
4. A uniform system of account management will be taught at Universities across the country, along with the Ministry of Finance. This will then be the required standard for all businesses employing over 20 persons operating in Spain.
5. All systems of taxation in place previously are to be considered abolished with the passing of this Bill.
6. All businesses with any employees must deduct income from said employee's salary/wage prior to the payment of said salary/wage at the beginning of each week/month. This rate shall initially be set at 10% of income for all levels, to be passed on to the Municipal Office or official. Businesses not complying will be subject to trials in court on the charge of defrauding the Spanish State, punishment, if found guilty, will mean exile to Spanish lands in Patagonia, along with the seizure of all assets held in Spain by the Spanish State (or, in the instance of foreign businesses or citizens, exile and seizure of assets).
7. Any business operating in Spain, must pay the annual fee of 10% of profits in 'Pesetas' to the Spanish government. Businesses choosing to pay in the following currencies will be subject to an 8% tax on profits (exchange rate taken from market rates on the day of payment due); British Pound Sterling, Austrian Gulden, US dollars, French Francs, a rate of 9% will be charged on all other currencies in nations that have existed for a period of over 50 years. Businesses not complying will be subject to trials in court on the charge of defrauding the Spanish State, punishment, if found guilty, will mean exile to Spanish lands in Patagonia, along with the seizure of all assets held in Spain. A business successfully completing 10 years remaining innocent of fraud will be rewarded with a two percentage point drop in the level of taxation versus the national rate.
8. Donations to the Church will be charged a 'loyalty' tax of 20%, following the Catholic Churches support of the Carlist cause. Priests themselves, shall be exempt from tax, providing they fulfill educational requirements to the local populace in matters of reading in Spanish or Latin. Donations to Churches or other religious centres not aligned to the Catholic Church shall be charged the rate of 15%.
9. Any previous legal provisions preventing the ownership of land or other assets, or penalty rates of taxation, on the basis of non-alignment to the Catholic faith, will henceforth be abolished, the national rate will apply to all citizens or persons domiciled in Spain. Previous legal provisions preventing loaning of money at interest will also be abolished.
10. Business tax exemptions will be brought in for a minimum period of 10 years, in the following areas:
- Coal mining
- Ship building or any business that has over half of the value of sales relating to ship building products.
- Banking or insurance firms
- Agricultural produce preservable or for export.
11. All dues owed by and to the Spanish government in Spain will be paid by fiat currency (paper currency), named the peseta, which will be exchangeable at a set rate with metal currencies, which will be collected and stored at the Central Bank in Seville. So as to prevent fraud of paper currency, a tender will be issued for the printing works needed to international paper companies. The contract will be signed in Britain between the two parties, therefore coming under English law. The rate at which the supply of the paper currency can be expanded will be set at a maximum of 2% per annum, printing of increased supply will be monitored, the results audited by a third party and published at municipal town halls, major international money markets.
12. Bonds issued by the Spanish State will come under two classes,Class 1 - local bonds, issued to citizens and residents of Spain, for the reconstruction of Spain. Class 2 - International bonds, issued in London, denominated in Pound Sterling. Bonds in London will contain legal instruments allowing for a majority of Class 2 bondholders to suspend the contract between Spain and the tendered supplier of Spanish pesetas, thereby preventing future delivery of said currency.
"
The Bill would take some work to pass, however Evaristo was confident that due to the high regard the Parliament held for the two author's, it could escape without major amendments.
Two bright sparks working as senior officials in the Finance/Treasury Ministry had drafted it. As a piece of legislation derived from educated bureaucrats, rather than by members of the parties, it would stand a far better chance than legislation proposed by any Parliamentary party. Perhaps this was a good way forward. Nonetheless, the Bill would have to be correctly scrutinised by members of the coalition cabinet, no doubt with amendments made for engorging various elites.
The Bill pertained to the long term economic plan that Evaristo Pérez de Castro y Brito had initially been elected to deliver, however, fraught negotiations and backbench rebellions by both sides of the coalition had severely limited the efficacy of Bills passed.
The Bill had an air of historical significance, putting forth arguments as to previous reasons for financial ruin in the Kingdom of Spain. In part, Spain's long history of defaults stemmed from an over-reliance on mined metals from South America, and the Government had continued to budget for the presence of these metals despite no longer being sovereign over the areas where these were mined, or receiving any delivery of them. The results of this had been disastrous. The value of the metals had collapsed, as the over-supply of them contributed to a decline in their real value to any actor in Spain. The pretension of the arrival of precious metals had only exacerbated the decline in value of the metal actually present, driving wealth abroad. Confidence in the ability of the Spanish Government to service debts in the long run had collapsed, driving the price of credit upward. An inefficient administration had meant that taxes which would have made Spain creditworthy again, or at least make Spanish government bonds viable, had not been collected.
The Bill made provisions for the creation of an efficient bureaucracy, the first step towards creditworthiness. At present, Spain was in a dire financial situation, the Confiscations of Mendizabal had been held up or hijacked by local bureaucrats, seeking to profit from better terms or bribes, as the liberalisation that occurred simultaneously in the treatment of land as a commodity had driven the price upward, the lack of supply was having the same effect.
The document itself reads:
"
In light of the troubles of the past, a modern, functioning state is needed to both recover and progress as a nation. In order to create this, an efficient administration shall be needed.
The most fundamental of all problems is the lack of a functioning tax collection system, from which we can leverage future collections for investment purposes required for the reconstruction of our nation, thereby increasing the amount of tax brought in. Second to this is the general absence, at a provincial level, of a professional bureaucracy.
1. Investment by the Spanish State in it's bureaucracy, shall take two forms:
a. Immediate reforms to increase the professionalism of it's existing members
b. Long term reforms, such as offering competitive salaries to recent University graduates achieving above a certain mark, or anyone passing a specially formulated test aimed at testing aptitude at a multitude of bureaucratic problem solving and trustworthiness.
2. Effective immediately following this Bill's passing, a census is to take place, with 100 treasury officials from the main Ministry in Seville undertaking a year long journey each, to collect information regarding the number of citizens in each town.
3. Effective immediately after the Bill's passing, the hiring of 500 Finance Ministry staff, to be trained in tax collection by established authorities, who will then take up office in local municipalities with the largest population and of high economic importance. From here their performance will be reviewed by visiting officials from the main Ministry, to review tax intakes, along with checking their standard of living. High rewards (all assets of said officials) will be offered to those visiting officials who can find discrepancies as to the income of Finance Ministry officials at the local level, any case against officials must be brought before a high court in Seville. Local officials will hire officials in smaller municipalities, the same system regarding discrepancies will be in place for them.
4. A uniform system of account management will be taught at Universities across the country, along with the Ministry of Finance. This will then be the required standard for all businesses employing over 20 persons operating in Spain.
5. All systems of taxation in place previously are to be considered abolished with the passing of this Bill.
6. All businesses with any employees must deduct income from said employee's salary/wage prior to the payment of said salary/wage at the beginning of each week/month. This rate shall initially be set at 10% of income for all levels, to be passed on to the Municipal Office or official. Businesses not complying will be subject to trials in court on the charge of defrauding the Spanish State, punishment, if found guilty, will mean exile to Spanish lands in Patagonia, along with the seizure of all assets held in Spain by the Spanish State (or, in the instance of foreign businesses or citizens, exile and seizure of assets).
7. Any business operating in Spain, must pay the annual fee of 10% of profits in 'Pesetas' to the Spanish government. Businesses choosing to pay in the following currencies will be subject to an 8% tax on profits (exchange rate taken from market rates on the day of payment due); British Pound Sterling, Austrian Gulden, US dollars, French Francs, a rate of 9% will be charged on all other currencies in nations that have existed for a period of over 50 years. Businesses not complying will be subject to trials in court on the charge of defrauding the Spanish State, punishment, if found guilty, will mean exile to Spanish lands in Patagonia, along with the seizure of all assets held in Spain. A business successfully completing 10 years remaining innocent of fraud will be rewarded with a two percentage point drop in the level of taxation versus the national rate.
8. Donations to the Church will be charged a 'loyalty' tax of 20%, following the Catholic Churches support of the Carlist cause. Priests themselves, shall be exempt from tax, providing they fulfill educational requirements to the local populace in matters of reading in Spanish or Latin. Donations to Churches or other religious centres not aligned to the Catholic Church shall be charged the rate of 15%.
9. Any previous legal provisions preventing the ownership of land or other assets, or penalty rates of taxation, on the basis of non-alignment to the Catholic faith, will henceforth be abolished, the national rate will apply to all citizens or persons domiciled in Spain. Previous legal provisions preventing loaning of money at interest will also be abolished.
10. Business tax exemptions will be brought in for a minimum period of 10 years, in the following areas:
- Coal mining
- Ship building or any business that has over half of the value of sales relating to ship building products.
- Banking or insurance firms
- Agricultural produce preservable or for export.
11. All dues owed by and to the Spanish government in Spain will be paid by fiat currency (paper currency), named the peseta, which will be exchangeable at a set rate with metal currencies, which will be collected and stored at the Central Bank in Seville. So as to prevent fraud of paper currency, a tender will be issued for the printing works needed to international paper companies. The contract will be signed in Britain between the two parties, therefore coming under English law. The rate at which the supply of the paper currency can be expanded will be set at a maximum of 2% per annum, printing of increased supply will be monitored, the results audited by a third party and published at municipal town halls, major international money markets.
12. Bonds issued by the Spanish State will come under two classes,Class 1 - local bonds, issued to citizens and residents of Spain, for the reconstruction of Spain. Class 2 - International bonds, issued in London, denominated in Pound Sterling. Bonds in London will contain legal instruments allowing for a majority of Class 2 bondholders to suspend the contract between Spain and the tendered supplier of Spanish pesetas, thereby preventing future delivery of said currency.
"
The Bill would take some work to pass, however Evaristo was confident that due to the high regard the Parliament held for the two author's, it could escape without major amendments.