America 1881: Legend of the West

Chapter 600 IRS Head

Instead of looking for anyone else, McKinley went to the IRS.

The so-called IRS refers to the United States Federal Internal Revenue Service.

The organization was founded during the Civil War.

The great Mr. Lincoln, the president of the United States at that time, found that government revenue could not cope with the huge military expenditures of the Civil War and when the national treasury was already empty, he decided to levy a personal income tax.

During the war, it is obviously unrealistic to collect a small amount of taxes through calm communication.

In addition, the American people have a tradition of resisting taxes since ancient times.

Strictly speaking, the trigger for American independence was tax resistance.

Therefore, this organization has quite a lot of martial virtue and its members are also very wild.

Basically, what the military has, they also have, and the methods of taxation include but are not limited to arson, kidnapping, seizure, etc.

After the war, due to legal considerations, the federal government stopped collecting personal income taxes, but still retained customs duties and excise taxes.

The IRS also remains.

Although the staff was once reduced to 200 people, the fine tradition of being domineering was still maintained very well.

In recent years, calls for the reintroduction of personal income tax have become increasingly louder.

Because people believe that tycoons and wealthy people in various industries are amassing money crazily, their wealth has skyrocketed, and they are also using various methods to evade consumption taxes and tariffs.

In addition, the federal government's Civil War debts have not yet been paid off, and not long ago it owed another debt due to the Spanish-American War.

The federal government tried for a time a progressive personal income tax, but it was quickly declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

However, the federal government did not give up and began to try to levy an alternative "consumption tax" that would be levied on a company's net income.

This approach bypasses the Constitution.

The IRS has regrouped, armed itself again, and is always ready to fight tax evaders.

Danny Green, the then-director of the IRS, was summoned to the Oval Office by McKinley.

"Is the job going well?" McKinley asked straight to the point. "I mean corporate income tax."

It's okay if I don't ask, but when I ask Greene, he bursts into tears:

"Big companies, well, we will review their declarations for large companies. Maybe there is tax evasion. Small companies, well, small companies will either lose money or be quickly swallowed up by big companies."

Isn't it? Under your policies, Mr. President, the monopoly has become more and more intense, and there is no room for small companies to survive.

"We should not be afraid of the power of large companies and not attack them." McKinley said earnestly. "If this continues, corporate income tax will not be implemented and federal fiscal revenue will not be increased."

If it weren't for McKinley being president, Greene would have rushed up and punched the fat man in the face.

How could this guy say such high-sounding words?

"Then which one do you think we should start with?" Green suppressed his nausea and asked McKinley with a smile.

"I think we can start with Chen Jianqiu's company." McKinley adjusted his sitting posture. "I have the best relationship with him, but because of this, from a federal perspective, he also has to pay taxes."

"Who?" Green thought for a moment that he didn't hear clearly.

"Chen Jianqiu, what's wrong?" McKinley looked at Danny Green strangely.

Green turned and ran away.

Not even a word of greeting.

It stands to reason that this is a very impolite and ungentlemanly behavior, which is very rare among McKinley's government team.

Except Green.

He himself was first a peace officer in the west, and then became a state legislator in California. Strictly speaking, he came from a rough background.

No one knows better than him what Chen Jianqiu's name represents in the southwestern frontier.

Mr. President simply does not understand the value of the title "King of the West".

Let him check Chen Jianqiu's taxes? Might as well let him die!
McKinley's left cheek trembled.

How could I choose such a person to be the head of the IRS? I never thought he was so cowardly before!

"Mr. Green! Mr. Green!" The presidential secretary ran out and stopped the tax director who was about to walk out of the White House.

Green turned his head and saw his secretary chasing him out. He waved to him:
"If Mr. President insists on asking me to trouble Chen Jianqiu, let him hire someone else. If that doesn't work, I am no longer the director."

"Mr. Green, don't be nervous, things may not be what you think." President McKinley walked out with his hands behind his back.

He opened the door of a room near the main entrance, stood at the door and tilted his head towards Green, gesturing for him to come in and talk.

Greene reluctantly entered the small room with the president.

"Mr. President, it's not that I'm unwilling to perform my duties." He spread his hands toward the president, "I don't think making a motion at this time is a good choice."

"Listen, Green, I have no intention of having a showdown with Chen. We are still friends." McKinley said to Green, "But no matter how good friends are, they must abide by federal laws because they are American citizens."

"I just hope you can understand the actual situation. Then, I will find a suitable time to talk to him. You don't need to be violent."

However, the IRS director is not a fool and is not easily circumvented.

Failure to show off his cards means that he cannot get permission from the court.

Obviously, the president is not sure about this matter. If something goes wrong, he may not be able to turn around and sell himself out.

Unreliable, so unreliable.

"Forgive me, Mr. President, I can't think of any way to get to know the specific situation without checking the accounts." Green couldn't help it.

The president had a look of disappointment on his face.

"I originally thought that my IRS chief should be a strong man who is not afraid of power. It seems that I was wrong."

However, his provoking method was still useless against the veteran Green.

The latter threatened to resign.

McKinley suddenly felt that he had failed as president.

He wished he could have approved Green's resignation on the spot.

"My next election partner, the nomination of the vice president is still open." The president sighed, "I had great expectations for you."

Green originally planned to open the door and go out, but when he heard the president's words, he hesitated.

McKinley put his hands behind his back.

He is giving the IRS chief a chance to think and hesitate.

It is dangerous to piss off Chen Jianqiu, but the nomination of vice president is also extremely tempting.

If he could really reach the top in one step, his life would be complete. After struggling for a long time, Green finally said:
"Okay, I'll try."

The lack of court approval means that we can only conduct unannounced visits.

But it is not easy to conduct a covert interview, and it is even more impossible to obtain enough evidence.

Chen Jianqiu's "Financial and Legal Center" is not a place that ordinary people can enter.

After Green returned to the IRS, he locked himself in the office for the entire afternoon but couldn't think of a better solution.

He decided to talk to his deputy, Alan Jackson.

"What? You want to investigate Chen's company?" Jackson raised his eyebrows when he heard his leader say this.

"Yeah." Green raised his head from his hands.

He found his deputy looking at him with a smile.

Green couldn't understand his deputy's expression. He felt that Jackson was gloating.

"What? You think it's interesting?" There was some dissatisfaction in the Director of the IRS's voice.

"No, no, no, Mr. Director, what I mean is that we can talk directly to the people in their company!" Jackson said.

Green took a deep breath.

He looked at Jackson as if he was looking at a fool:

"Do you think people in their company will tell me the truth?"

Jackson bent down, leaned close to Green, and said to him mysteriously: "We have an undercover agent in Chen's 'Financial and Legal Center' who can get what we need."

Green's lifeless eyes suddenly began to light up.

"We have an undercover agent? When did this happen? How come I didn't know about it?"

"In our country, what's the difference between working in taxation and being a spy? Let alone being undercover, our predecessors have even engaged in shootouts," said Jackson.

Green was overjoyed.

"Okay, it's settled. You will be responsible for this matter and try to get the internal reports and stuff like that." He said.

Jackson turned around and was about to walk out of the office when he was suddenly stopped by Green again.

He changed his mind:

"No, I'll come in person. After you find a way to make an appointment, I'll come and meet him."

According to Jackson, the IRS undercover agent in Chen Jianqiu's company was an accountant from the "Financial and Legal Center."

Although this person is not at a high level, he is familiar with the company's internal accounts.

Jackson was extremely efficient.

Four days after Green issued the order, good news came to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue from New York.

The undercover is willing to meet.

The meeting place was a cafe on the northern coast of Long Island, New York.

Green was a little confused as to why they chose to meet in such a place.

However, according to Jackson, the undercover agent thought that this place was sparsely populated and secluded, and would not be easily discovered.

The day of meeting soon came.

Green had arrived in New York by train from Washington two days in advance.

He himself has a small house in New York.

This morning, Green went out.

A carriage carried him across a bridge toward the north side of the island.

They soon saw the sea, and then headed east along the coastline. The scenery was beautiful.

It didn't take long for Green to reach his destination.

He quickly realized why the undercover had chosen this location as a street location.

This is a beautiful beach.

During holidays, wealthy people from New York would come here to play in the water and vacation.

So there are many supporting buildings behind the beach.

Because it is a weekday today, there are not many people here, and it is quiet and peaceful.

Green found the cafe called "Midsummer".

At the door of the cafe, the IRS director held his bag in one hand and took out a note from his arms with the other.

This is what Jackson wrote to him.

"Um, table 9, what's the code?" Green frowned, silently reciting the contents of the note as he walked into the cafe.

There really weren't many people in the cafe, just a few people chatting leisurely.

Green's attention quickly focused on table number 9.

There was indeed a man in a brown suit there.

At this moment, he was leaning against the back of the chair, his hands folded across his chest, his face covered with his hat, and he seemed to be taking a nap.

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue stepped forward.

"The emperor in heaven is suppressing the tiger on earth?" He whispered the difficult code.

The man in the suit responded.

He reached out a hand and took off the hat that was covering his face.

An angular yellow face appeared in Green's eyes.

Green was stunned.

He knew this person.

In other words, many Americans have known this man since the photos of the Battle of San Juan Heights appeared in the newspapers.

"Pagoda suppresses the river demon!"

Chen Jianqiu looked at him with a smile.

(End of this chapter)