Chapter 2354: Hypocrite (plus more)

Even Allen, who is the most resolute in anti-tax attitude, does not think Rebecca's argument is reasonable.
When did the colonial people happily pay taxes to their home country across the ocean?
Rebecca knows the virtues of her compatriots, and how can she say this so embarrassedly?
Qiao An's gaze at Rebecca also revealed surprise.
He grew up in the southern town of Alfheim, and of course he knows the attitude of the villagers towards paying national taxes.
Residents of Delin Town even took pride in resisting taxes and regarded expelling and beating tax collectors as a feat worth showing off.
From Alfheim to Midgard, towns and villages with a long tradition of resisting taxes like Delin Town are everywhere. Don't even say that Qiao An has seen or heard of towns and villages that pay taxes according to the law.
As for cities like Leiden Port and Midgard, it is reasonable to say that tariffs are a big income, but rampant smuggling activities have made customs virtually useless. Most of the imported goods that flow into the colonies are smuggled goods, and the imperial government does not receive much tariffs. .
In such an environment, Rebecca dare to say that the colonial residents have fulfilled their tax obligations to the imperial government. Is this really ironic?
Under the gaze of everyone's doubts and expectations, Rebecca took a sip of coffee and continued to interpret her own judgment.
"The tax burden is divided into'direct taxes' and'indirect taxes.' Colonial residents are indeed resisting direct taxes, but they have never paid a copper sheet of indirect taxes, and their contribution in this regard is greater than that of inland residents of the empire. "
"The imperial government has been keen to open up overseas colonies over the past few years. There are two main motives. One is to transfer the population to alleviate the social conflicts intensified by the population expansion in the local area, and the other factor is to obtain cheap raw materials. "
"Mr. Jefferson mentioned in his pamphlet that the imperial government would import large quantities of grain from the New World every year. In fact, it imported not only grains, but also a large amount of magic crystals, wood, cotton, tobacco, indigo, fur and precious metals. These are all imperial An indispensable resource for operation."
"However, few people noticed that the trade relations between the empire and its overseas colonies were not equal."
"The prices of grains and raw materials imported by the empire from the colonies were very low, and the colonists were not allowed to export similar commodities to merchants in other countries, even if the other side offered higher purchase prices. This constitutes a fact for the colonists. Exploitation."
"On the other hand, the inland of the empire, with its more developed industrial strength, has been using colonies as a market for dumping industrial products for many years, while at the same time not allowing colonial residents to purchase industrial products exported by other countries."
"If the colony needs a certain commodity, such as a clock and watch, and the empire itself cannot provide sufficient production capacity, then the imperial authority will authorize the colonial company to import such goods from a third country, clear customs at a certain port in the empire, and then reinstall it. The ship will be resold to the New World at an increased price."
"In this type of re-export trade, the franchisee on the empire side is actually a broker. To put it ugly, they are bandits and vampires blocking the road. If this link is removed and the colony is allowed to directly import goods from a third country, the price is obviously It's cheaper."
"Acquisition of large quantities of raw materials in the colonies at low prices, coupled with dumping of industrial products and re-export trade, this series of exclusive trade policies together constitute the so-called'imperial preferential system'. The benefits the mother country obtains from this system are ultimately imposed on The colonial people constitute an invisible tax burden."
"Therefore, it is obviously unfair for the imperial authorities to criticize colonial subjects for not fulfilling their tax obligations."
"For the above reasons, the colonial people have the right to boycott direct taxes, which also includes'land taxes.'"
For the same reason, Rebecca hates the colonial smuggling group headed by the "Free Sons Association".
"Rampant smuggling activities have disrupted the tacit understanding of trade between the empire and the colonies. It is tantamount to putting into their pockets the indirect tax that the colonial people should pay to the imperial government. What is even more annoying is that the smugglers get cheap and sell well. It is absolutely shameless to incite the people to make trouble and to call themselves the leader of popular opinion!"
Speaking of this, Rebecca could not hold back his indignation, and made a bold and gunpowdered assertion:
"Suppose one day in the future, the prices of goods sold in the empire to the colonies are lower than similar smuggled goods. It stands to reason that this is a good thing for the public. But believe it or not, the'sons of freedom' will still make trouble?"
"This is the selfish nature of smuggling groups!"
"The high-sounding slogans in their mouths are but selfish lie to hold the public opinion!"
After blasting the "Son of Freedom", Rebecca once again pointed the finger at Alexander Jefferson, and her words became sharper and sharper.
"There is excuse for the fact that ordinary people do not understand, but it is impossible for our knowledgeable principal to not understand."
"But instead of exposing the truth and educating the people, he took up a clear pretense, and went with gangsters, smugglers, and careerists. He used his reputation and writing to clean up this selfish criminal group and incited the mob to smuggle. The traffickers screamed and shouted, so I had to doubt his character, suspect that he was a hypocrite."
"If you think I'm slandering Mr. Jefferson, you might as well take another look at his ambiguous and self-contradictory hypocritical position on slavery."
Rebecca stood up, picked up the "Summary of the Rights of the Empire's Overseas Colonies" on the table, and opened one of the pages to show it to the people in the living room.
"In this pamphlet, Mr. Jefferson accused the top empire of indulging in the slave trade based on local interests. In addition, slavery was an evil system imposed on the colonial people by corrupt monarchs."
"From the above conclusions, we can see that Mr. Jefferson is a clear-cut stand against slavery and can be a moral model for the colonial people."
"However, not long ago, when the'reformers' headed by Prince Frank completely abolished the serfdom system in the empire, people of insight in our colony also responded by calling for the liberation of slaves and inviting Mr. Jefferson to come forward and support. In the end, how did our'moral model' respond?"
"Allow me to help you recall that our esteemed principal not only refused to speak out for the abolition of slavery, but also criticized the imperial government's efforts to liberate serfs in the parliament, and accused Prince Frank and his reformist colleagues. It has a very bad impact on the social order of the colony, which is equivalent to inciting black slaves to oppose their masters, and seriously harming the interests of the slave owner class, including him."
...
Historical materials: The "Navigation Regulations" of the British Empire ("A Brief History of the American War of Independence" [English] Stephen Conway)
The Maritime Regulations directed valuable colonial goods to Britain and allowed Britain to impose tariffs on these goods.
The punitive tariffs under these bills also prevented manufacturers from many continental European countries from entering the colonies, thus making the colonies a paradise for British goods.
Perhaps more importantly, the "Navigation Regulations" stipulate that products transported by sea between the kings' territories must be transported by ships with mostly British crews.
This is done to ensure that there is a sufficient reserve of skilled seafarers who can be called up to serve in the Royal Navy during wartime.
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