Chapter 2 Part9 (1/2)

「Is there a proble? Did I just hear so taxes』? 」

Erica rubbed her teaze and sized up the mountain of valuables stacked up on top of one another in the rooe'

「… … Kouta? 」

「Ah, sorry To be honest, I have only scored a 『2』 in ood about these paintings At the very least, I know that they are worth quite a sum of money 」

「Your knowledge about arts is not importantCan you please explain? You just said, 『stop collecting taxes』, right? 」

「Yes 」

Kouta answered nonchalantly as if nothing rong Seeing this, Erica sighed

「… … Kouta Do you understand what you just said? If we stop collecting taxes, hoe be able to live? Do you want us to starve ourselves? 」

「I have no intention of doing that 」

「Then-」

Kouta raised his hand and interrupted Erica's question She was upset for being interrupted but decided to let Kouta continue

「It seeood What Itaxes using theby number of individuals』 」

「… … Sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean 」

Kouta looked at Erica, who had a question ers

「There are two kinds of taxes Of course, I don'ttaxes 」

「Not the nao on 」

「Up till now, the a here is equal However, it is that 『equality』 that is the problem… …」

He counted doith his fingers

「Absolute equality and true equality 」

The former is 「equality for all no matter the individual」, while the latter is 「equality based on an individual's abilities and responsibilities」

Let's take sales tax as an exa oods or services must be paid in the same amount by everybody, no matter if it's a idein the streets Soely different, this can be regarded as true equalityHowever, from the perspective of 「everyone pays the saarded as an absolute equality On the other hand, true equality is largely different from absolute equality - 「the burden of each individual is dependent on the individual's ability」 In other words, the rich pay more taxes, the poor pay less

「Currently, the taxes in Rarkia are based on absolute equality Of course, not only Rarkia but other places too 」

「Of course This form of tax is used in every territory Isn't it fairer? 」

「At first glance this form of tax seems fairer, but it also has its share of problems Think about this, even the people in poverty must pay the same amount of tax as everyone else For the richer people, this isn't an issue However, for the poorer people, this is a massive headache for them 」

「So what you're saying is that the 『true equality』 method is better? 」

「There's uine that a Chamber od Commerce wants to set up business in Rarkia If the yearly tax is 2 thousand platinum coins, then they would have to earn at least 2 thousand platinuet any profit, correct? 」

「Yes 」

「This sort of thing… … Is it possible? Is it possible to earn at least 2 thousand platinu up business here? 」

Erica turned her head to the side

「… … Am I correct? 」

「It… … is impossible 」

「Even while ignoring profit, earning 2 thousand platinum coins is pretty much impossible If itch the tax rates, this problem will be solved Plus, if we collect taxes based on how , we are able to collectless from those who aren't 」

「Eh? Then, this method-」

Erica found a slight problem in Kouta's plan

「-Wait a second Isn't this strange? 」

「What is? 」

「If we used yourmore money have to pay more taxes? If that's the case, wouldn't they be at a disadvantage? They worked hard to earn more money, but because of that they have to pay more taxes? Wouldn't they rather not work then? 」

A question mark appeared above Erica's head as she cocked it to the side quizzically Under her gaze, Kouta closed his eyes, raised his hands, and applauded

「W-why did you start clapping? 」

「Wow, good job You actually ed to notice this 」

「… … Are you looking down on me? Plus, isn't this rather obvious? 」

「No, quite the opposite What Miss Erica just noticed is a pheno is quite literal- because they can't escape taxes no matter how much they work, some people will feel like they'd rather not work instead 」

In japan, the tax systeressive tax system, where those who earn more pay more taxes In summary, it is a system where even if a person were to increase their workload by tenfold, the amount of taxes they must pay also increases by tenfold In the eyes of salary positive, because what they earn has decreasedThis will cause people to not be incentivized to work, of course, not to the extent of beco a second Ishi+kawa Takuboku

「Right? Then? Is there a way to solve this problem? 」

「No 」

「Good Then let's- Eh? No? Really? There really isn't any? 」

「There is no such thing There are many inherent problems about taxes Someone once said, 『if one is able to solve the problems of taxes, then there wouldn't be a need for economics』 Both tax systee the people to set up businesses, we must decrease their fixed expenses first If we use the current syste a business with a 2 thousand platinue deficit, wouldn't it beco up a business? What do you think? 」

Kouta looked at Erica

「… You have a point That's not a bad idea 」

Erica nodded her head She now understood the part about tax collection h Kouta's explanation, it is quite clear that this is a step forward they could take However-

「However, it's impossible 」

She shook her head Kouta furrowed his brows at her reply

「May I ask the reason behind that decision? 」

「This place is Terra, though? Not only isn't there any special produce, the population here is also quite small, not to mention the distance from the royal capital is quite far If it were me, I would not open a branch of my business here… … At this unattractive place It would be the same no matter how cheap the taxes are 」

Erica's words are the cold hard truth At the countryside with low spending power located so far away from com to set up their businesses here, no matter how cheap the taxes are This is also the reason why the land in Marunouchi is so expensive while the land in Hokkaido is so cheap This is the undeniable truth

「That is indeed true Then let's start by gathering a crowd then 」

「Wait aa crowd… … You, how easy do you think it is? 」

「You mentioned it just now, didn't you, Miss Erica? That this place is 『unattractive』 Then we just simply have to make this place into an 『attractive』 one 」

「… … That's the probles way too much How is it possible to create attractiveness of Terra? 」

Erica glared at Kouta, contempt and disappoint, the greater the disappointment in the end

「Creating attractiveness? 」

Kouta returned Erica's gaze with a relaxed manner and cocked his head to the side

「Attractiveness isn't soician that can produce so out of thin air 」

「Eh? Didn't you say that you will create a miracle? 」

「I apologise I am not a conjurer, but a banker So- 」

If I can't create attractiveness, I will simply have to obtain it from somewhere else

「Then where? Where can we get it from? 」

「Do allow me to stray fro is the influence of the monarch? 」

「How big, you say… … Since it's the 『monarch』, it's natural the monarch would have the most influence in the country- '

Erica stopped

「Then let her say this: 『It see forward to it』 」

「To be honest, I don't quite understand the internal workings of this country, but getting thewould norative effects? 」

「… … Yes Spot on, Kouta 」

「Then… … Can't this be turned into the 『attractiveness』 you mentioned? 」

By doing business in Terra, one can please Liz Just by opening a shop, one can please the person holding the highest authority in the Flaain the favour of the person in power, countless forms of benefits can be anticipated It is because of this line of thought that the act of bribery will never truly disappear

「Furtherive out some projects to those who decide to set up businesses in Terra to undertake Allow them to have some 『accomplishments』 One or two is sufficient The rest will follow after them 」

「Is that it? Are things that simple? 」

「In h chance it will succeed Because, while earning the favour of superiors is i side of them is equally so 」

This is a place that has garnered the Queen's 'interest' If every other cohness think of the one who hasn't? Some would even attempt to use 'have they ever put themselves in our shoes? 」 as an excuse

「… … If that's the case… …」

Erica put her hand under her chin and pondered for a while Kouta's words were not wrong, but even so-

「Impossible 」

「Please tell me the reason 」

「Her Highness has no reason to help Terra 」

「Even if we use 『Miss Erica is Her Highness' elder sister』? 」

「He is not someone who shows favouritism 」

(T/N Erica was using a gender-neutral noun, which Kouta interpreted as a 'she')

「You hness? 」

「I don't plan on insulting her but… … When it comes to family matters, she becomes as meek as a lamb and listens to whatever I say like an idiot I meant Lotte 」

Kouta recalled Lotte's kind and friendly face It seems that Lotte is indeed quite capable in his field after all

「If we allow gaht turn a blind eye However, allowing a select few businesses to gain unfair advantages over the others is so he will not overlook 」

「Is it because he hates bribery? He is a politician, though? 」

「Those two short lines totally give away your impression of 『politicians』 However, Lotte's faround, and is very richIt sounds a bit weird in hindsight, but it is because of how Lotte rejects favouritism that the country is able to operate in such a 『clean』 way 」

「Then shouldn't it be fine if we also let Lotte have soain from this? 」

「Let hiain? 」

「Yes In short, playing a card that wouldTerra so? 」

「This… … You're right If we are able to play such a card, he ht actually say that… …」

But we don't have such a card

Erica shrugged, i Kouta

「Miss Erica Miss Erica 」

「What is it? 」

「Who is it that stands before you? 」

「Who? … … Isn't that just you, Kouta? 」

Kouta nodded

「That is correct Then, do we not have that 『card』 in our hands at this moment? 」

Kouta pointed to hiht stopped

「… … Do you think that Mr Lotte will regret notme stay? 」

A chill ran down Erica's back

「N-no way! Impossible! 」

After a few seconds, Erica broke out of her stupor and shouted reflexively

「Mr Lotte once said this tounnecessary trouble to us, so please leave the capital』 In other words, to Mr Lotte… … no, to the entire Fadom, I am a troublesome 『weak point』 And currently, this 『weak point』 is here… … Next to Miss Erica If there's so useful that can be used, there is no reason not to capitalize on it Anyhow, Miss Erica doesn't have the liberty to choose anyars can't be choosers, after all 」

「Impossible I can't do this! I may not have a choice in this matter, but please show some restraint! Listen well! Liz entrusted you toher-」

「This type of reliance, just discard it 」

「D-discard! I would never do such a thing! P-plus… … T-this… … T-this sort of action is equal to treason! How can I do such a thing! 」

「Treason? 」

「Yes! Because, Kouta, what you have said is threatening the Fladom! 」

「Threatening is such an ugly word I prefer the phrase 『 a deal』 」

「This is not about the appropriate usage of words! In reality-」

「In reality, the develop wealth to Flame You said it yourself too, didn't you? That you pay back old debts bynew ones Debts are also considered liabilities Most ihness Normally, it is alest person in the country 『lend me some money』 In this case where it is the ht be easier 」

Erica bit her lip To be honest, the country had never requested Erica to repay her debts She understood clearly, that the reason why they didn't do so was because 'Erica was the Queen's elder sister'… … And she used this to her advantage

「Our first step is to liquify our fixed assets, transfor ter so… … while we're still currentlythe decision to sell off our non-essential assets, do you need me to explain more about it? 」