Land Tax Reform (Japan 1873) has effect land tax
The Japanese Land Tax Reform of 1873, or chisokaisei (地租改正) was started by the Meiji Government in 1873, or the 6th year of the Meiji period. It was a major restructuring of the previous land taxation system, and established the right of private land ownership in Japan for the first time.Taxes were calculated as a proportion of the cash value of the land based on harvest potential, rather than the actual crop yield.
A cash-based system over payment with crops.
A uniformly set tax rate at 3%; a reduction from the previous system.
The landowner, confirmed by the issuance of land bonds, was liable for the taxes instead of the farmer.
The system was standardized across Japan.Reform effects
Stabilization of tax revenue
The government could be assured of a steady income because the tax was set at a constant rate against the value of the land, and revenue did not fluctuate with crop yields since tax income became independent of crop fluctuation. Essentially, the risks of crop fluctuation were pushed from the government to the farmer.
The land tax reform ended up increasing the burden on villages with hunter-gatherer lifestyles in uncultivated lands, and resulted in several farmer insurrections against the Meiji government, including the Ise Revolt (伊勢暴動, Ise bōdō) and the Makabe Revolt (真壁暴動, makabe bōdō). The discontent also helped fuel the Freedom and People's Rights Movement (自由民権運動, jiyūminken'undō). The Meiji government lowered the tax rate to 2.5% in 1877 in fear of further revolts.Commerce and circulation of currency
In the previous system, rice and crops collected from each fiefdom were sold and distributed by wholesale dealers via daimyō storehouses in Edo or Osaka. The reform allowed farmers to sell their crops for cash directly to local merchants, and had a large effect on Japanese commerce.
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