Chapter 94 The Paradise for the Rich Starts with Tax Avoidance
Xiao Peng took back the phone and said, "I'm friends with you two, so I won't hide it from you. I got these jewels by being a 'vulture'."
Fabian suddenly realized, "Oh, it's the goal of 'Winning the Mediterranean'?"
Xiao Peng nodded.
Fabian said, "So what? It's your ability that you can find it and they can't! People only see your wealth. Who cares how you got it?"
Xiao Peng sighed and said, "Actually, there's another question about how to salvage all this wealth. It's a secret of mine. Don't ask, and I won't answer you."
Fabian, upon hearing this, looked disgusted and said, "Who doesn't know your little secret?"
"Huh?" Xiao Peng's face immediately turned black and questioned. Do you know my secret?
Fabian said, "When we were sorting through the footage we filmed on the seabed when we first met, we stumbled upon a momentary shot of you having the nurse shark, 'Nightingale,' dig up the seafloor. Considering the coins you took out that night, I think 'Nightingale' was helping you search for the shipwreck, right?"
Xiao Peng was dumbfounded after hearing Fabian's words, his mouth hanging open for a long time. "Wow, you foreigners have really good brains! You can even think of this?"
Why the hell can't I think of such a reason?
Fabian saw Xiao Peng's expression and thought he had guessed right. He said smugly, "Richard of 'Decisive Mediterranean' has been asking the association to let you be an observer. This made me curious, so I went to inquire. Now someone is willing to bid 1.4 million for 'Nightingale'! Richard asked you to be an observer because of 'Nightingale'. But I don't understand. Why is he, a submarine salvage expert, targeting 'Nightingale'? Unless he also knows 'Nightingale' can help search for sunken ships!"
Xiao Peng scratched his head. Why did he feel that the guy named Richard was just trying to capture Nightingale and sell her for money? How could Richard possibly know that Nightingale could help him find a shipwreck?
You are the boss and you have the final say!
But he would never explain anything. This was just a beautiful misunderstanding, so let it continue to be a misunderstanding!
Fabian said proudly, "So, Xiao, you don't have to worry about your secret at all. We've all guessed it. You bought that incredibly expensive diving suit just to cover it up, right? I tell you, it's not necessary! If you have that money, you might as well consider submersibles and underwater robots... But I'm still very happy to hear you say it yourself. It shows that you truly consider us friends."
Xiao Peng really wanted to ask him: What did I say? You're just talking to yourself, okay? But he was happy that Fabian and the others were just guessing, saving him from wasting his breath.
"That Fabian, actually, that's not the most important reason why I'm not planning to take action." Xiao Peng said helplessly: "I'm just afraid of the French tax."
Fabian and Pascal looked at each other and suddenly laughed together.
Xiao Peng was confused: "What are you laughing at?"
Pascal said: "As long as the 'Double Irish' and the 'Dutch Sandwich' exist, you will never have to worry about taxes. Leave it to me. I said I would introduce you to the best accountant!
Xiao Peng breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
The "Double Irish" and "Dutch Sandwich" aren't the names of any particular delicacy, but rather tax avoidance methods in Europe. One method is related to Ireland, while the other is related to the Netherlands, hence the names.
There is a saying that capitalist countries are a paradise for the rich, which is actually absolutely true. Here, the richer people will become richer!
Take paying taxes for example. An ordinary person may pay more taxes than a Fortune 500 company.
This is no joke.
In 2013, Facebook's UK branch earned £49.28 million! It ended up paying £3,169 in taxes! That's less than the average British person earning less than £30,000 a year would pay in personal income tax. Even more ridiculous, they also received a credit of nearly £190,000, meaning they not only paid no tax but also made a fortune. That year, Facebook employed 208 people in the UK, and the personal income tax paid by any one of them would have been more than the entire company paid.
The tax avoidance method they use is the "Double Irish," which simply means transferring assets between different countries until the effective tax rate is as close to zero as possible! The "Dutch Sandwich" is also a similar tax avoidance method.
This tax avoidance method comes with costs. For example, a "Dutch sandwich" would require establishing three wholly-owned subsidiaries in the Netherlands, then arranging royalties between them, and finally establishing another wholly-owned subsidiary in a tax haven like Bermuda. This entire process would cost millions, making it unaffordable for ordinary people. However, for large corporations, it's a drop in the bucket.
This is what is called 'legal tax avoidance'.
A large company with an annual profit of 50 million pounds pays less tax than a cleaner in a year. This is very unreasonable, but the frustrating thing is: this is indeed legal!
Xiao Peng is not willing to criticize them for avoiding taxes in this way. What's wrong with that?
Pascal once said that he has three offshore companies in the Netherlands. It seems that he is using the "Dutch Sandwich" method to avoid taxes. If nothing unexpected happens, he will also use a similar method to avoid taxes.
Xiao Peng's view on this tax avoidance method is simply this: If you can make my wallet more money, then you are good!
As for others? None of my business!
Pascal continued, "But the prerequisite for doing this is that you must establish a salvage company! I also agree that it's best not to release these jewels until your company is established! Fabian, you keep an eye on the bankruptcy and liquidation of 'Neptune's Asylum'. Xiao, send me the photos of these jewels and I'll check the relevant information. We can take multiple actions simultaneously!"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng said, "It won't take a while! Let's eat first! I'll order room service!"
He was just about to pick up the bedside phone when it rang by itself.
Xiao Peng answered the phone and looked confused after just a few words.
"What's wrong?" Fabian asked, puzzled. "Who called you? Why do you look like that?"
Xiao Peng replied: "The front desk called and said someone gave him an address and asked me to go there to meet someone."
"Are you crazy?" Fabian complained bluntly, "Why bother with someone like that? If he wants to see you, just let him come! You're acting like you're some big shot and you need him to come over!"
Xiao Peng said helplessly, "The person who left the note said he was the one who bailed us out!"
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