Value Added Tax Silver

Stephen Tai
Feb.08, 1998

The Shown silver, inscribed with Loong Jiu Tsai Li Jin Ju, means the 'Value Added Tax Bureau in Loong Jiu Tsai' (located in Shensi Province). 44x34mm. 158g (4 taels).

Li Jin, formerly, was a kind of temporary local duty initiated by a few local governments in Jiangsu Province, in the 3^rd year of Hsien Feng (1853, 1851-1861 AD), during the period of Tai Ping Tien Kuo rebellion wars, with a view to seek for financial aids as war fund, by charging on goods passed through in-land local customs and/or their branch offices, for 1% from values of the goods . Li, in Chinese, also has its meaning for 'one percent'. Before long it had been adopted by other provinces throughout China, and become a regular tax of the Empire. Even though the wars were ended, the tax still had been enforced, until the Republican Government abolished it, late in 1931.
The shown silver, are such kind of value added tax collected in Shensi, during the late Ching period, and was cast into the typical oval sycee used in the province, named as Chaoding or Chaoyin.

A Legendary Currency in Late Ching Dynasty - A Study on Yunnan Pai-Fang-Ding