Imperial Treasury
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 680 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Packilvania |
| Agency executives |
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| Website | lukhazan.gov.pax |
The Imperial Treasury (Packilvanian: luKhazan luShahitishme), formally known as the Imperial Department of Finance (Packilvanian: luBawaab luShahitishme aluKhazan) is an executive department of the national government of Packilvania that is responsible for managing the finances of the government and overseeing various agencies and institutions such as the Packilvanian Central Bank and the Imperial Revenue Service. The head of this agency is the Minister of Finance, currently Prince Binhamin, who sits on and is among the most influential members of the Council of Ministers of Packilvania.
History
The Imperial Treasury first existed as the private collection of the taxes and other assets amassed by the High King of Packilvania in the 7th century. At the time, the wealth of the state (to the extent that it existed) and the personal wealth of the High King were indistinguishable and the High King expended those resources and collected taxes from his subjects at his discretion. Given the logistical constraints of collecting taxes across such a large area as the Iktanite dynasty governed, a system of private contractors who were given a commission on the taxes that they collected (in both previous metals and in kind) was established. This outsourcing of tax collection and the weak system of accounting of the funds used by the Imperial Court including on frivolous projects such as wars and public works, gave rise to the High King borrowing money from the wealthy aristocrats and merchants.
With fluctuations in the produce of the nation due to weather phenomena that gave rise to droughts and frustrations over the high rate of taxes and the brutal methods of collections by the High King's tax collectors, massive revolts arose especially in larger settlements namely cities where tax collection was easier and tax collection practices were brutal. With many people leaving villages to reside in the wilderness, aristocrats found themselves struggling with labour shortages and merchants struggling with the fragmentation of logistical systems,gave rise to arguments with the Imperial Court that culminated in armed revolt which forced the High King to introduce sweeping reforms of the system of currency management and tax collection.
Over time, officials were appointed within the Imperial Court who were responsible for keeping and maintaining records of the expenses and collections of the state and administering the collection of taxes. These officials eventually became a department within the Imperial Court. The term Imperial Treasury began to serve as a synecdoche for them until it became their official name. As new monarchs came in, the kept changing the officials. However, as institutions became complex and officials became entrenched, they became more difficult to dispose of. These officials introduced guideline, frameworks and methodologies for the management of the resources of the Imperial Court and subsequently the entire state that gave rise to the professionalisation of the Imperial Treasury.
The collapse of the Iktanite dynasty, and the loss of much of its territory significantly dismembered the revenue collection and management institutions. Nevertheless, the standards and laws introduced under their regime remained robust and were administered across the territory including in the subsequent Kingdoms and other polities that arose in its place. The Kingdom of Bingol inherited many of the institutions of the Imperial Treasury which were incorporated into the Royal Treasury of Bingol. With the passage of time and the deaths of many officials, institutional memory was lost and systems of taxation were fragmented, eroded and discarded. So grievous was the erosion of these institutions that attempts by the Rulhanite dynasty of the Kingdom of Bingol to collect tribute from their vassals led to Ishak the Great defeating them and reestablishing Packilvania through the conquest of surrounding Kingdoms and establishing the Zubraynite dynasty.
The Zubraynite dynasty introduced innovations in the management of funds through the introduction of a budget that was communicated to the nobles to give an idea of the financial goals of the monarchy and outline the expectations upon them and their vassals. The Zubraynite dynasty also laid the foundations of the banking system through the formation by merchant guilds of merchant banks. The Imperial Treasury gradually sought to regulate their financial operations through comparably primitive methods such as requiring them to mint gold coins that had the stamp of the Crescent. With the scope of the duties of the Lord Chancellor, the general manager of the Imperial Court, growing to expansive and complex for him to directly oversee the Imperial Treasury, an official known as the Keeper of the Imperial Treasury was appointed to administer this role.
As the Keeper was required to be educated and to have passed the Imperial State Examinations, these officeholders were typically capable civil servants on whose advice other officials including the Lord Chancellor leaned on for advice. More of these officials were appointed with scope over specific areas of policy and management such that the most senior among them was the Chief Keeper of the Imperial Treasury. With the role becoming fashionable and its holders cultivating stronger relationships with the Imperial Throne, the office was renamed the Lord Chief Keeper of the Imperial Treasury and made equal to and therefore no longer subservient to the Lord Chancellor. This gave this official the rank of Vizier within the Imperial Court.
As the scope of his power expanded and the general influence of the Viziers increased within the government, they were proclaimed Grand Viziers to distinguish them from similarly titled officials who existed both within and out of the Imperial Court under the Crown. In this positions, they formed part of a proto-Cabinet that advised the High King and subsequent Sultan (upon the ascension of Saidun the Conqueror and the establishment of the rule of the Demirite dynasty). With the rise in prestige of this office as well as the growing power it had to manage, propose, and dispense taxes, and to oversee the functioning of the banks and other financial institutions that were arising, the institution and its various manifestations grew too powerful and unwieldy. Following in the steps of Great Morstaybishlia which established the Bank of Staynes out of the Royal Treasury, the Sultan decreed the formation of the Packilvanian Central Bank and its takeover of the powers concerning banking that were once held by the Imperial Treasury. Moreover, with various political reforms, the Sultan's wealth was separated from that of the nation and managed by the Lord Master of the Imperial Accounts within the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court itself became entirely separate from the rest of the government with its functions restricted to overseeing matters concerning only the Sultan and the Imperial Family.
As a result, the Imperial Treasury became part of the now separate government. However this was merely a formalization of a gradual process that by that time had resulted in an Imperial Treasury that was an entirely political and bureaucratic body. The Imperial Treasury began delegating tax collection duties to individual provinces and severed the tax collection functions from itself with the passage of a law to that effect. The Grand Viziers became renamed to Ministers of the Crown, chief among whom was Prince Abdir. When the Demirite dynasty and the Packilvanian Communist Party took over following the First Packilvanian Civil War, the Imperial Treasury was dissolved and its officeholder was removed from office.
At the time, the radical ideology of the party, attempted to phase out the capitalist economic model. This entailed nationalising the banks and consolidating of the banks under the direction of the People's Reserve Bank (the renamed Imperial Reserve Bank). The People's Commissar for Manpower and Resources was a position created to bring about this policy and made the Chairman of the People's Executive Committee of the People's Reserve Bank. He was also made the Chairperson of the People's Executive Committee of the People's Contribution Collection Council. With so much power and affiliations with the banking establishment, this official began to be perceived as a threat to the General Secretary of the Packilvanian Communist Party.
The first big political disaster was when the People's Manpower and Resources Commissariat attempted to introduce a token system that determined the goods and services that each person was to get. The rate of inflation in the country increased significantly resulting in hyperinflation. Coupled with the failure of various land reform programs such as land expropriation without compensation, and communal farms that gave rise to famines as well as the loss of intellectual capital and manpower through the genocide of the human population, the economic also experienced stagnation and decline that saw the country become poorer than when it was ruled by the Demirite dynasty.
With revolts being put down with growing violence and repression, the disappearance and extrajudicial killing of intellectuals and perceived capitalist apologists, many state institutions including ration collection collapsed. Chaos ensued that saw mass deaths that numbered in the millions over several decades and made Packilvania one of the poorest countries in the world and poorer than it had ever been. The Commissariat was subsequently broken up, professionalism and oversaw the implementation of policies to liberalise the economy and introduce modern systems of financial management. The attempts saw some benefits with Packilvania becoming a major sponsor of Communist and other radical left-leaning ideological groups and able to pursue large infrastructure and technological projects such as the development of nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, the country was impoverished and its economy tightly constrained and heavily controlled by the party through the Commissariates within the Political Bureau of the Packilvanian Communist Party that managed the financial and economic affairs of the state.
When the Packilvanian Communist Party was defeated by the Carriers of Mercy following the Second Packilvanian Civil War, the Constitutional Assembly of Packilvania passed a constitution that created a Council of Ministers as the highest executive body of the government whose officeholders including the Minister of Finance were to be appointed by the re-established Sultan of Packilvania. The Minister of Finance was placed in charge of the Imperial Treasury which was created from various Commissariates with the role of managing government finances. As a primarily policy formation and oversight body it was at the apex of a system of government financial controls and mechanisms that included a largely independent Central Bank, Revenue Service and various Provincial Treasuries for the provinces of Packilvania. The Ministry of Finance has been held by a Prince of the Bedonite dynasty since it was founded.
Leadership and Composition
The Minister of Finance is the executive head of the department. He is appointed by the Sultan at His Imperial Majesty's Pleasure, which basically means he can be removed from his position at any time without explanation by the Sultan alone. The Minister is a political appointee who is a full member of the Council of Ministers of Packilvania. Under him is the Director-General of the Imperial Treasury, currently Hudeyna Nakhmoud. This is a professional civil servant whose tenure is independent of the Minister and is responsible for management and the daily running of the department. The Department consists of various offices such as the Office for Budget, the Office for Monitoring and Planning, the Statistics Bureau of Packilvania, the Imperial Mint, the Packilvanian Security Printing Corporation, Office for Combating Financial Terrorism and Crime, the Office for Economic Policy, and the Imperial Revenue Service.
Function
The Imperial Treasury keeps a record of all the monies spent, accumulated by and dispensed to the various bodies of the government to prepare financial statements for the entire government. It collects data on the economic affairs of the country. It sells and purchases bonds and issues treasury bills, and raises loans. It collects and accounts for taxes. It oversees the various government investment bodies. It drafts and proposes legislation for matters such as the budget, new taxes, financial reporting, financial terror and crime, etc. It prepares notes and reports to advise the government in its financial decision-making. It holds departments and agencies of the government accountable for the management of funds.