American tax officials

Chapter 12 Free Shopping Isn't Illegal

Before anyone could react, David looked at another Black man: "And you, Barron..."

Ten minutes later, everyone in the room could no longer remain calm; they all looked like they had seen a ghost.

Because during this period, David exposed everyone's background and income.

Has the IRS's investigative capabilities reached such a point that no clue can be hidden?

Terrifying...

However, Osborne and his group were alright, since they assumed that David was able to investigate so much detailed information because of the powerful national machinery of the IRS.

Only Nissen, who works for the IRS, knows that the IRS doesn't have that much detailed information about these zero-dollar shoppers.

In other words, David found all this information by himself!

But how could that be!

It would be difficult to investigate even just one person with such detailed information, let alone a whole room full of people!

First there was the Enkar robbery case, and now this zero-dollar purchase case. For a while, Nissen felt he couldn't understand his partner anymore.

"What's wrong, fellow law-abiding citizens? Don't you have anything to say?"

David's slightly sarcastic voice finally brought the Black people, who were still immersed in shock, back to their senses.

Even now, they are still unwilling to accept it.

I risked being beaten and shot to earn these hard-earned profits, and now the IRS comes knocking on my door demanding a share. This is just too much of a bullying!

"Inspector, since you know so much about it, I have no excuse. Yes, we were involved in many zero-dollar purchase events, but..."

At this point, Osborn paused, his expression calm as if he had come up with a solution, and slowly said, "According to the new laws enacted in 2020, zero-dollar purchases are not considered illegal as long as the amount does not exceed $950. In other words, this is not considered illegal income, and therefore we don't need to pay taxes to your IRS!"

Osborne did not want to use this policy to fight against the IRS.

Firstly, by introducing this policy, they confirm their status as zero-yuan purchase participants.

Who knows if the IRS will collude with the police? If that happens, they'll be under police surveillance. Although the police can't do anything to them, their future operations certainly won't be as smooth.

However, now that things have come to this, in order to avoid being ripped off by the IRS, he has no choice but to do it, even if it hurts.

"That's right. Although we're freebie hunters, our personal profit from each robbery never exceeds $950. Legally, that's not a crime!"

"Haha, Mr. Inspector, it's not that we don't want to pay taxes to your IRS, it's just that the law doesn't allow it!"

"..."

The Black people inside the room began to feel smug.

Upon hearing this, David didn't rush to say anything. Instead, he looked at the group of smug black men who thought they had found a solution with an expression as if they were idiots.

Strictly speaking, they are right about one thing.

According to current laws, their zero-dollar purchase behavior of not exceeding $950 does not constitute a criminal offense.

This would be outrageous in any other country in the world, but it's almost normal in the United States.

Actually, this story goes back to 2014.

At the time, California prisons were overcrowded, so a new rule was introduced: purchasing items under $950 for free would at most result in a minor offense.

If the person shows a good attitude in admitting their guilt, they can go home after receiving some education and community service activities, and basically won't have to go to jail.

In May 2020, the death of George Floyd due to police brutality sparked nationwide Black riots in the United States.

Black people took advantage of the chaos to loot numerous stores, overwhelming police and prison systems across the United States.

Ultimately, this law, which originally existed only in California, was applied to all states across the country. Even more outrageous, misdemeanors were abolished this time.

In other words, as long as you purchase less than $950 worth of goods for free, it is not considered a crime.

This can probably be seen as compensation for the Floyd incident, in order to quell the anger of Black people across the country.

However, the regulation regarding zero-yuan purchases was only introduced in May 2020.

Their IRS black tax law was introduced on December 3, 2021.

Therefore, the IRS officials who drafted and introduced the black tax bill had already anticipated the legal conflicts and loopholes surrounding zero-dollar purchases.

David took out his phone, went to the IRS website, found the Black Tax Act, flipped to Section 236, and then turned the screen towards the Black man, saying, "According to Section 236 of the Black Tax Act, regarding zero-dollar purchases and our tax policies, it's explained here. Regardless of the amount, it takes precedence over tax policies!"

"What do you mean?"

The Black men, who had been happy, suddenly sensed something was wrong and frowned in unison, asking the question.

"That means your zero-dollar purchases under $950 aren't illegal, but you still have to pay taxes to the IRS!"

"This...this is impossible!"

The Black people finally understood, but most still found it hard to accept.

"Sir inspector, what if we don't pay?"

One of the Black men replied, sounding slightly angry.

"Not paying?"

David's face turned cold, and he said in a chilling tone, "We will freeze all your accounts. Furthermore, all your welfare payments, unemployment benefits, and other benefits will be suspended!"

"No, by what right do you stop paying our welfare and unemployment benefits? These are government subsidies; you have no right to do so!"

Most of the Black people present were either unemployed or jobless, and besides the zero-dollar purchase, their most important source of income was welfare and unemployment benefits.

Hearing that these sources of income would be cut off was tantamount to taking their lives.

"hehe."

David sneered, "Why should we stop your welfare and unemployment benefits? Because you bunch of bastards refuse to pay taxes!"

"Where do you think your welfare payments, unemployment benefits, and other benefits come from?"

"Isn't it all the taxes collected by our IRS that we then allocate to you?"

"If everyone were like you, evading taxes and refusing to pay them, where would the government get the money to allocate funds for all the welfare benefits it provides?"

These words left the group of Black people present speechless.

Although they were unwilling to pay taxes, they had to admit the truth in David's words.

The IRS is, after all, America's purse strings. If the IRS were to stop receiving funding, not only would they be affected, but the welfare of the entire society would also be destroyed.

(End of this chapter)