近代盐务就场征税制改革与官商博弈

The Reform of Taxation at Production Place in Salt Industry and the Game Between Officials and Businessmen in Modern Times

近代以来,通过改行就场征税进而推行自由贸易的盐务改革,因其旨在破除专商引岸,常常被认为是盐务近代化的重要内容。但从晚清就场征税被提出,到新盐商张謇为拓展盐业销路、抗争传统盐法束缚而逐步推向全国的盐务就场征税改革,再到丁恩引入印度经验,试图废除专商,推行就场征税、自由贸易改革,都反映了商人的利益需求如何作用于政府、官员而影响盐务改革的走向。南京国民政府《新盐法》的通过,可谓是就场征税实现了国家立法,但伴随着中央与地方、政府与商人之间不断的利益博弈和共谋,最终将就场征税限定在立法层面。不同时期,政府本着盐务改制以挽救财政,却不断因官商利益的结合或冲突等制约因素使改制偏离轨道。在官商博弈过程中,终因国家政权尚未高度统一而使实际掌握盐业经济的旧盐商暂居上风。

The reform of taxation at production place has often been regarded as an important part of the modernization of salt affairs,because it aims to break the monopoly of the sale of salt.It was put forward in the late Qing dynasty.Zhang Jian,a new salt merchant,gradually publicized it nationwide in order to expand the sale of salt and resist the constraints of traditional salt law.After that,Dean tried to introduce Indian experience,abolishing the salt dealer monopoly and promoting taxation at production place as well as free trade reform,which reflected how the interests and demands of businessmen affected the direction of salt reform by acting on the government and officials.The adoption of the"New Salt Law"by the Nanjing National Government was to realize national legislation in terms of taxation at production place.But with the interest game and conspiracy between the central and local governments,as well as between the government and the businessmen,the reform of taxation at production place was limited to the legislative level and never put into operation in the government departments.In different periods,the government tried to change the system of salt affairs to raise revenue,but the reform was constantly deviated from its original track due to the combination or conflict of government and merchant interests and other restrictive factors.Finally,owing to the insufficient unity of state power,the old salt merchants who were the actual controllers of the salt industry economy temporarily held the upper hand in the game between officials and businessmen.