American tax officials

Chapter 81 You're Not Leaving Today (Seeking First Subscription)

Seeing the two escalating the situation, Brod quickly tugged at Jerome's sleeve, signaling him to calm down.

But Jerome was blinded by rage and didn't care about anything else.

His gaze was fixed on David as he said, "Do you know how many CIA officers have died in the US because of that damned spy?"

David shrugged, replying emotionlessly, "What does this have to do with the IRS?"

This answer infuriated Jerome. He gritted his teeth and retorted, "Don't forget, you're an American too! All we're asking is for you to provide a little information, and that will rid the country of this major threat. Why should we care about your damned tax revenue?"

"Heh, those damn taxes?"

David sneered and replied, "Without our damned IRS taxes, would your CIA have so much weaponry and high-tech equipment?"

"Without the taxes collected by our IRS, would your CIA have so much funding to operate globally?"

"Without the tax revenue from our IRS, how would we feed a bunch of good-for-nothings?"

"You call yourselves the world's number one intelligence agency, yet you can't even uncover a mere spy? I think you might as well quit and go home to farm!"

His words made Broad Jerome and the other man's faces turn pale and then purple.

The fact that the IRS beat them to it to the punch and dug up Coverdale and the spy was embarrassing enough.

Now they've come to the IRS wanting this information, and then David gives them a dressing down like this—it's utterly shameful!

At this moment, Brod began to resent Jerome, thinking he shouldn't have come here!

But just as he was about to pull Jerome away, Jerome seemed unwilling to swallow his anger, glaring at David and demanding, "Are you really not going to provide us with any information at all?"

David shrugged and replied, "I've already made myself very clear; according to the rules and regulations, we can't do that!"

"Fine, since you're so uncooperative, then I don't think we need to give you any face either!"

David's gaze turned cold as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"While our CIA may not be able to uncover that spy for now, uncovering all sorts of criminals in your Lake District is still quite easy!"

"What do you think would happen if we provided the information on these criminals to the local police or the FBI?"

At this point, Jerome grinned maliciously, tapping his fingers back and forth on the table, and continued, "I know you've just been promoted to tax commissioner. Without some tax achievements, you probably won't be able to command respect with your seniority!"

Upon hearing this, Brod was completely stunned.

He knew his partner had a short temper and was stubborn, but he never expected that someone would dare to threaten the IRS chief like that, even on IRS territory.

At this moment, David also felt a surge of anger.

The CIA has no law enforcement authority within its own country, and apprehending ordinary criminals is not its responsibility, but that does not mean they are incapable of punishing or bringing criminals to justice.

On the contrary, with the CIA's intelligence capabilities, it would be incredibly easy for them to identify ordinary criminals!

If the other party really does this and is determined to hand over the criminals' information to the FBI and the police, then the Lake District will lose a lot of tax revenue.

This is a blatant threat against him!

Unexpectedly, before he could even make his first move as a new official, he was already getting burned by the CIA!

David didn't want to get into a conflict with the CIA.

But the other party has already pushed him too far. If he doesn't fight back, he might as well quit being the tax chief!

"So, Chief Tax Officer David, if you're willing to provide me with the spy's information, the CIA will reward you in return."

"If you need it, we'll use our channels and resources to provide you with detailed information on the Lake District's criminals, helping you secure your position as tax commissioner!"

Jerome thought David was hesitant to act rashly, and his previously dark face showed a hint of smugness.

David was amused by his words.

I have a system, why would I need your lousy data?

Jerome's expression hardened, and he asked, "What are you laughing at?"

David replied, "Even if I give you the spy's information, you won't be able to investigate!"

"What do you mean?"

The two were somewhat puzzled.

"Because you won't be leaving this area of ​​the Lake District Police Station today!"

Upon hearing this, the two were startled and instinctively reached for the guns tucked into their waistbands.

But the next second they suddenly came to their senses.

This is the IRS, not some warlord territory. David wouldn't dare to detain or kill them, would he?

Jerome said confidently, "Heh, we're from the CIA, not some bunch of criminals you can just bully!"

"Whether you're from the CIA or the FBI, if you evade taxes, you're a criminal in the eyes of our IRS!"

Broad realized something was wrong and said in a deep voice, "Inspector David, what do you mean by that? What taxes have we evaded?"

David smiled slightly and looked at the two of them, asking, "Where were you on the 7th of last month?"

"On the 7th of last month..."

The two thought for a moment, and realized that they had been in Ukraine on the 7th of last month.

Why is David asking this?

What does this have to do with David?

Broad replied, "We're on a mission, and the specific details need to be kept confidential; we can't disclose them at this time!"

"It's okay, I'll say it for you!"

"On the 7th of last month, you received a tip that you had located an agent from the Xiong Kingdom's security bureau in a warehouse in the suburbs of Zaporizhzhia, Uzbekistan."

"In the final fierce battle, you killed him and seized $23 in cash. You each took $2, and handed over the rest. Am I right?"

Upon hearing this, Jerome and Brod were stunned, their faces showing expressions of utter disbelief.

CIA operations and funding are matters that even Congress has no right to interfere with.

This operation by Ukraine was a closely guarded secret within their organization. How did David know about it?

Before they could even react, David continued, "And on December 23rd, you received a mission to go to the Bear Kingdom to recruit an engineer."

"Your superiors allocated you 13 yuan for defection, and you each embezzled 2 yuan. Am I right?"

"And January 29th..."

The fact that the operation in Ukraine had been leaked had already caused a huge uproar between the two of them.

Unexpectedly, in addition to the operation in Ukraine, David also learned about the subversion operation in Xiong and some of their recent top-secret operations.

Even the two, who had seen countless storms, couldn't sit still any longer.

Broad, slightly annoyed, questioned, "Is your IRS wiretapping us? Or have you hacked into our database? Or have you planted spies within our ranks?"

These were the only explanations he could think of.

But he still couldn't figure out how David had done it.

Eavesdropping, intrusion, planting spies—these are all CIA specialties!

How did the IRS manage to get away with their entire system and investigate them so thoroughly?

David, mimicking Jerome's earlier gesture, leisurely tapped his fingertips on the table and slowly said, "Do you think any of this still matters?"

"According to the Black Tax Act, any illegal gains must be taxed in full to our IRS!"

"You two, as senior CIA agents, embezzled over $40000 a month without reporting it to the IRS. This is knowingly breaking the law!"

The two were speechless, and their faces were grim.

After a full 30 seconds of silence, Broad argued, "According to CIA Rule 76, the CIA has the right to dispose of illicit funds, and the funds you've pointed out all involve overseas transactions; your IRS has no jurisdiction over them!"

"According to Section 98 of the Black Tax Act, the 'personal jurisdiction principle,' it is clearly stipulated that any American citizen who incurs taxes, anywhere in the world, must pay them to the IRS. What you're referring to is merely a CIA regulation. Can a regulation supersede a law?"

Broad was only making excuses at first, but as soon as David brought up the provisions of the Black Tax Act, he was immediately overwhelmed and didn't know how to answer.

(End of this chapter)