American Tax Officer-Chapter 587 - 296: Selling oneself to the tax bureau

Chapter 587: Chapter 296: Selling oneself to the tax bureau

As the documents poured in, David’s gaze shifted from indifferent to sharp, and he then fixed Changpeng Zhao with a direct stare, asking, “Mr. Zhao, are you certain there’s no mistake in the amount calculated on this tax document?”

It wasn’t that the amount was short—in fact, he thought it was a bit higher than expected.

The current market value of Binance was close to 400 billion, yet according to the data on these documents, the amount related to illicit transactions and the taxes due totaled up to an astonishing 15 billion.

From the Illuminati crowd, he had only calculated a tax bill of 20 billion.

Yet, considering the market value of Bitcoin, which was more than double that of Binance, the difference between the tax amounts of the two was only a quarter, which hardly seemed normal.

This meant either Zhao Changpeng had made a mistake in his calculations, or he had voluntarily paid more.

But then again, businessmen are by nature profit-driven; even under duress, they would generally hope to pay less in taxes. So why pay more?

While he was puzzled, Changpeng Zhao chuckled and said, “There’s no mistake, because when we were calculating, we discarded many legal tax avoidance regulations. Besides, Director David, you mentioned that proactive reporting would result in a 3 percent discount, which we did not take into account. We calculated based on the full amount of taxes needed to be paid.”

“Oh? And why is that, Mr. Zhao?”

David finally understood why Binance had reported more than 15 billion in taxes, but he was even more puzzled and didn’t understand why the other party would act so benevolently.

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.

“I think we, as part of America, earning this money on this land, should give back to the people and contribute more to society by paying more taxes!”

Looking at Changpeng Zhao’s righteous demeanor, a ripple of doubt spread through David’s mind. Could this guy really be so enlightened?

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

A person who became the wealthiest Chinese in just a few years, if he really had that kind of social responsibility, would have shown it long ago, and wouldn’t have needed a nudge from him to demonstrate it.

So there was only one possibility left, Changpeng Zhao might need something from him!

With this in mind, David spoke directly, “Mr. Zhao, it’s rare to see such willingness to cooperate with our Tax Bureau. If there’s anything you need help with, within the scope of my duties, I wouldn’t mind assisting.”

Changpeng Zhao’s heart leapt. He had been wondering how to broach the subject, but to his surprise, David had taken the initiative. He then said, “Without pretending, Director David, our Binance… we really could use your help with something.”

David internally exclaimed ‘as expected,’ and then said indifferently, “Let’s hear it.”

Changpeng Zhao exchanged a look with Lin Huaiwei, and then, with a touch of anxiety, said, “To be honest, the Justice Department has been investigating us recently, and we are under a lot of pressure, so…”

“Wait a moment…”

Before Zhao could finish, David interrupted, “Mr. Zhao, when I mentioned help, I was referring to within the scope of my authority. If it involves the Justice Department’s investigations into you, then I have no power to intervene. Sorry!”

Taxes are one thing, but matters involving other departments’ responsibilities were definitely not something he wanted to meddle in.

Changpeng Zhao became anxious and quickly said, “Director David, the Justice Department is coming at us hard, clearly intending to bring us down. If Binance collapses, not only will your Tax Bureau no longer be able to collect taxes from us, but the revenue will also be greatly reduced. That would be a loss for you too!”

“A loss is a loss, but that’s ultimately the Justice Department’s concern. Our Tax Bureau has no reason to intervene. I hope you can understand this, Mr. Zhao…”

Seeing that David still refused, Changpeng Zhao’s face fell with disappointment. After exchanging a glance with Lin Huaiwei next to him and confirming some of his friend’s thoughts, he seemed to come to a decision and said through gritted teeth, “Director David, I believe the Tax Bureau needs me!”

David looked up and asked, “How so?”

“I dare say, Director David, even though you settled with Satoshi Nakamoto for 20 billion US Dollars, that figure is not accurate, but rather a rough estimate. Am I right, Director David?”

“You’re right, what of it?”

The scale of the Bitcoin market was immense, involving various encryption technologies, and naturally, the Tax Bureau couldn’t tally an exact figure.

The 20 billion was arrived at after David scrutinized the Illuminati, supplemented by analysis from the intelligence department, eventually arriving at that figure.

As for any omissions?

There certainly were some.

But since it met his rough expectations, he didn’t bother to investigate further.

It would not only take a lot of his effort, but also, with the time spent, he might as well deal with things like the current situation with Binance and Ethereum, which would be more valuable.

“Given the current environment, the underlying value of cryptocurrency has not been fully tapped, and it will inevitably continue to climb in the future. Consequently, the market cap and revenue of each company will also surge. Whether they will play tricks with their taxes then well, who can say? And you, the Tax Bureau, and you, Director David, do you really have the energy to keep an eye on the cryptocurrency field constantly?”