Shadow Empire

Chapter 1266 No Merit
The tax bureau's investigation into Lance and Wanli Group continued until October, gradually concluding just before the Sacramento festival.

The entire investigation process was subsequently compiled into a report of over 500 pages, along with some evidence, which was sent to the IRS.

After the IRS rechecked the results, they were sent to the President's Office.

President Terry has been doing relatively well lately, with some breakthroughs in diplomacy. Under his leadership, a "team of advisors" has been dispatched to the Republic of Makan (a small country in the Alam region) to help the Makan government carry out some reforms.

While it's called assistance, it's actually a form of control. The ruling class of the Republic of Makan still consists of ministers and similar figures on the surface, but the people who can actually make decisions have been replaced by federal advisors.

This was demanded by the ruling class of the Republic of Makan, a country with a population of only a few million, whose official population is less than that of the city of New Gold.

In a sense, the president of the Republic of Makan has less power than the mayor of New Gold City, nor does he enjoy as many resources.

So the local ruling class decided to hand the country over to the Federation, and their ruling class has now basically all moved to the Federation, except for showing up when necessary.

In the federal government, they can enjoy privileges and receive dividends through cooperation with the federal government and federal corporations, which is much happier than continuing to be a poor president and poor minister in a poor place.

President Porter also regards this as an important achievement of the federal government's expansion of territory, and he plans to talk about it in his year-end speech at the end of his first term.

Apart from that, everything else is progressing very well. The Liberal Party is gradually eroding the government departments and institutions left by the Socialist Party, and a series of power transitions without bloodshed are slowly taking place.

Although slow, it is proceeding without gunpowder or conflict.

If there's anything he's not entirely satisfied with since taking office, there's not much.

The knocking at the door drew his attention away from the children playing on the lawn outside; these were the children of some officials.

His aides suggested that he select a few days each month to allow the children of some presidential officials to participate in weekend activities. This would not only demonstrate his love for children but also strengthen the close relationship between him and these presidential employees.

People tend to prefer a tough president during wartime and a gentle president during peacetime.

Since it's not wartime, he needs to possess qualities that make people like him.

"Who's there?"

The aide by the door opened the door a crack, said a few words to the person outside, and then turned to President Porter and said, "The IRS has sent over some documents."

President Porter seemed to have thought of something, and his originally peaceful expression became a little unnatural. Just thinking about that person gave him a physiological, heartfelt disgust and a deep loathing!
He had never hated anyone so much before!

"Let him in."

The door opened, and the deputy commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, accompanied by two staff members, entered the president's office carrying a briefcase.

The suitcase has already been inspected from the outside to ensure that there are no dangerous items inside, only paper.

Furthermore, staff with classified access examined the documents and confirmed that there was nothing toxic or harmful on them.

"Please sit down, gentlemen. I hope you can bring me some good news."

It's common knowledge that President Porter doesn't seem to like Lance or Senator Cleveland and his group. Like all branches of government, the head of the IRS can only be nominated by the president and decided by a vote in Congress.

The tax bureau is a special department; the current director was not nominated by the previous federal president, but by the president two years before that.

He has been in this position for over twenty years and has many friends in Congress.

After taking office, President Porter attempted to replace the IRS with his own people. He submitted a nomination for a new IRS chief to Congress, but it was rejected.

The reason given was that the Senate did not believe there was a need to replace the tax commissioner, and this included some Liberal senators.

President Porter was somewhat displeased by this, feeling that the Liberal senators who voted against it had betrayed their pure political friendship, but he did not emphasize or demand anything more, and the matter was left unresolved.

Fortunately, the tax commissioner was fairly impartial. He handled both the complaints from the Liberal Party and the Socialist Party, which meant that President Porter didn't have much dissatisfaction with him. He just felt that since he hadn't nominated the person, the person might not be on his side in crucial moments.

However, within the entire federal government system, this is not the only department head nominated by him, so for now, this is the only option.

When he reaches the pinnacle of power in his next term, he will try to replace these positions with his own people and put his own mark on them.

For now, we can only wait and bear with it.

The deputy director gave an awkward smile as he listened to President Porter's words. He wasn't as assertive as the director, who didn't even come in person to report on his work. Moreover, the results of this investigation were somewhat unexpected.

His stiff smile gave President Porter a glimpse into the outcome of the investigation, and his mood was no longer as high as before.

"Tell me, what did you find?"

The deputy director opened his briefcase, took out several file folders, and placed them on the table.

"Regarding the whistleblower about the Wanli Group..." He glanced cautiously at the president. They told the others that someone had made an "anonymous report," but in reality, the whistleblower was President Porter.

He called the tax bureau and said that someone had reported Wanli Group to him for suspected tax evasion, and asked the tax bureau to investigate.

As for who reported it, they wouldn't keep pressing President Porter for answers. They knew that it must have been President Porter himself, so once they had the results, they would report directly to the President.

He looked at President Porter, who was sitting back in his chair expressionlessly, waiting for him to continue, before saying, "...After a thorough investigation, we found no evidence of tax evasion."

As he spoke, he unfolded the files in the folder. "These contain the evidence we obtained from them, as well as the process and results of our investigation. We took the report very seriously and assigned our best personnel to investigate the case."

President Porter picked up several documents and began to read them, while the deputy director rambled on about the investigation process.

After putting down the documents in his hand, he frowned. "Are you sure you really investigated this thoroughly?"

"This document says that Wanli Group didn't even do the most basic tax avoidance!"

This sounds unbelievable!

Almost all capitalists in the federal government, even those running small roadside shops, are trying to find ways to legally avoid taxes.

Professional tax accountants will help them with tax avoidance activities, even if it only reduces their taxes by a few dozen dollars.

Tax avoidance has become one of the most basic means for business owners to ensure their own interests, much like... a glue maker needs to find something that gives him a certain feeling before applying glue.

Whether it's pictures, novels, movies, or anything else, there has to be a process like this.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be so abnormal; they would just sit there blankly, applying glue without any emotional engagement.

President Porter himself, as well as the Porter family businesses, engaged in extensive tax avoidance, some of which may have been illegal, exploiting legal loopholes.

But what are the current survey results?
Wanli Group does not engage in any tax avoidance practices. They pay taxes on the exact amount of money they earn, without missing a single penny!
Is this preparation to bring down Wanli Group, or an investigation to commend them?
Meeting President Porter's angry gaze, which seemed to suggest he had been deceived, the deputy director could only grit his teeth and say, "This is the result of our investigation. Every single transaction is very clear, transparent, and traceable."

"Their level of detail in bookkeeping is among the highest in the entire Federation."

"Of course, we did consider that such detailed accounting might be the problem, but the materials and evidence they provided were so abundant that we couldn't find any problems even with a microscope!"

President Porter was so angry he laughed. "I doubt your competence!"

This made the deputy director's face flush slightly. He pursed his lips, forced a smile, and remained silent, but everyone could see his disapproval. President Porter tossed the file back. "And what about the personal investigation into Lance White?"

"His wealth far exceeds what Wanli Group can provide for him, don't fucking tell me that's not a problem either!"

The deputy director tidied up the scattered documents on the desk and began to open another file folder. "I'm sorry, Your Excellency, our investigation into Lance White personally... has not found any loopholes or problems."

"He himself paid taxes strictly in accordance with the standards of federal tax law."

He handed over some documents, saying, "This is our review of his assets, which includes the process and some supporting evidence."

President Porter remained silent for a long time while looking at the documents. He even put on his glasses and actually looked at them for a while before taking them off with a large movement, tilting his head back, closing his eyes, and resting for a moment.

"Tell me, I don't want to watch anymore."

The deputy director had already figured everything out before he arrived. He said softly, "Lance White's income consists of several parts, the largest of which comes from the Golden Casino and Golden Harbor Casino, followed by his winery..."

President Porter interrupted him, “I remember we were still under Prohibition. What’s the deal with his distillery?”

The deputy director patiently explained, "His winery is a cooperation project with the Department of Defense, making him a defense provider. The Department of Defense and Congress specially granted him a license, allowing him to legally produce, store, and transport alcoholic beverages."

After hearing this, President Porter couldn't help but laugh a few times. He remembered this incident and had previously mocked it, calling it a typical case of power-money transactions.

But this matter involves the military and the Department of Defense, so even as president, he couldn't get involved.

His appointed Minister of Defense is currently just a figurehead, sitting in his office doing nothing. It's virtually impossible for him to get the Ministry of Defense and the military to cancel their cooperation with Lance!

He heard that Lance knew many generals in the army and maintained good relationships with them.

The federal system looks...good, splitting power among different groups, but in reality it's just a way to fool people.

The ruling class of the federal government has always consisted of the same people, the same people whose ancestors appeared in that famous painting.

The military, like the federal government, appears to be without problems, but in reality, it has always been controlled by a few families.

This is actually a very simple matter, even easier to handle than the federal government's approach.

The military is a dictatorial place where absolute obedience to superiors is required. As long as a general isn't too stupid, there are many ways to ensure that his children and family members monopolize the high-ranking officers and generals in his faction before he retires.

The entire army, navy, and air force have become the private domains of these military families, forming one interest group after another, firmly controlling the power of officers from the company level all the way up to the level of military region commander.

Presidents change every few years, while these political and military families have existed for two or three hundred years, making it difficult for them to interfere in each other's territory.

For a president to want to interfere with the decisions of the Department of Defense and the military is basically a joke.

If this war hadn't also presented a huge opportunity for the military, they could have easily refused to fight when the president said so.

Just like when the Emperor declared war on the Federation, the President stated that he would fight back, but the Ministry of Defense and the military simply ignored him and said they would not fight.

Therefore, Lance, as a defense provider, is not someone the president can simply replace at will.

He sat there in a daze for a while. He always found it hard not to get angry whenever Lance's business was involved. He couldn't help but curse a couple of times before continuing to ask, "He sells alcohol to the public in several states. Does he pay taxes on that income?"

The deputy director remained silent for a long time, until President Porter asked the question again, at which point he seemed to come back to his senses, "Your Excellency... I don't know how to say this."

He then pulled out some information from some documents and handed it over, saying, "When we were investigating Lance White's personal assets, we found that some of his money came from art auctions, not from the sale of alcoholic beverages."

"Then regarding the issue of alcohol, although we are not the Prohibition Board, we have conducted some investigations."

"According to our investigation, their liquor is frequently stolen by robbers during transportation, and the amount is quite large. They call the police every time, but it is very difficult to catch these robbers."

As he spoke, he produced a file containing records of over a hundred police reports and their final outcomes.

President Porter shook his head as he looked at the documents, not because he didn't acknowledge their authenticity, but because he was amazed by Lance's cunning.

The document states that "Golden Lion Wine" is a common type of homemade liquor, but it is not sold by Lans.

Lance only shipped out barrelled wine; he never sold bottled wine. The bottled wine was stolen by robbers who then bottled it themselves and sold it as Golden Lion wine.

Lance reported the incident to the police multiple times, but to no avail.

Without a doubt, the entire law enforcement system was Lance's man. Of course, they wouldn't arrest themselves; he simply used some very simple methods to extricate himself from the situation.

You're saying all those drinks belong to them?
He directly denied it, saying those were all fakes, counterfeit, and that the law is about whoever makes the claim must provide evidence.

If you assert your point of view that this wine is sold in Lans, then you need to find the people who sell these wines and get them to admit that these wines come from Lans.

Moreover, minor roles are not enough; they cannot form a closed loop of evidence and witnesses. We need higher-level roles, those who can cover the entire sales system.

But if you catch this kind of person, he will just admit to all the crimes. He will admit that he is a fake liquor dealer and that his products are counterfeit and shoddy. What else can you do?
Only those whom Lance trusts can access the core family business. These people's interests, and even their lives, are highly intertwined with Lance's. They would never betray Lance, because betraying Lance would be tantamount to betraying themselves.

Convicting someone of selling alcohol will at most result in a ten or twenty-year sentence, but betraying Lance means the extinction of the entire family.

Besides, even if they go to jail, Lance has ways to get them out.

Therefore, everyone knows how to choose.

By this time, President Porter had fully realized that this was an unsolvable problem, with everyone from top to bottom colluding together, plus a group of people who would never betray him.

This method won't get rid of Lance at all; he's practically flawless when it comes to crime!

Those dirty money can be laundered cleanly through some simple methods, and there are hardly any fees involved, because he can launder it himself.

Casinos and other businesses often make false reports, making it impossible to investigate them.

A gambler entered a casino and left an hour later. The casino said he had lost a certain amount of money, and that amount was exactly what he had lost.

If Lance puts some artworks up for auction, you can't expect anonymous sellers to refrain from buying his artworks.

The president sighed, looking somewhat helpless. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, put the things away. I understand."

The deputy director cautiously probed, "So, should we continue the investigation?"

President Porter opened his eyes and glanced at him. "No need."

"Take your things and get out of my office!"

He knew very well that dealing with Lance could no longer be done by directly confronting him; the task was to deal with the Socialist Party.

Only when the current Socialist Party members fall will Lance fall!

(End of this chapter)