Empire of Shadows

Gold Diamond Law Firm is one of the best law firms in Goldport City. Whether it's the best in the entire Federation is unclear, but they claim to be.

Today, Johnny changed into a slightly more presentable set of clothes. Although his appearance in a wheelchair was a bit… well, at least he didn't look strange.

His daughter pushed him into the Gold Diamond Firm, where he was greeted by a beautiful blonde woman.

She was dressed in a formal suit, the wide neckline and white shirt making her look very capable. Two semicircles bulged slightly from the downward-sloping neckline, giving people endless fantasies.

Her sweet face always calmed people down at first glance, especially the gentlemen.

"Welcome to Gold Diamond Law Firm, sir. What service do you require?"

"If you have an appointment, I can check for you."

Looking at the exquisite decoration and luxurious materials, Johnny suddenly felt a little awkward. "I… I want to find a lawyer to consult about some tax matters. I don't have an appointment."

The beautiful receptionist checked the appointment book. "Mr. Gus is available now. He is one of the most outstanding tax lawyers in Goldport City, with a win rate of over ninety-five percent."

"I highly recommend him. If you wish to choose another lawyer, I can recommend one for you, but they are all unavailable at the moment."

He sounded very impressive, and Johnny didn't make any further choices. "I'll take Mr. Gus. Can I ask how much his consultation fee is?"

"Sixty dollars per hour, sir."

The beautiful receptionist did not look down on them because of their ordinary clothes. Although a sponge is loose and floppy, as long as there is still moisture inside, you can still squeeze water out of it.

These two people didn't seem to be wealthy, but the fact that they were able to come to a law firm meant that they could at least squeeze an hour's consultation fee out of them.

"Sixty dollars, my goodness, that's much more expensive than over there!" the fat daughter whispered in Johnny's ear.

Over there?

That bastard over there told him not to hire a lawyer, causing him to make a fool of himself in court. He heard that he could have gotten more compensation!

Johnny turned his head and glared at her, then looked at the receptionist with a smile. "He's the one. Can I go over now?"

The receptionist made a note in the appointment book, then picked up the phone. "Mr. Gus, someone has some questions they want to ask you… Okay, I'll take him over right away."

She hung up the phone. "Please follow me."

Mr. Gus's office was a little far from the entrance. Federal tax cases were not the law firm's favorite, nor were they the cases with the most "traffic."

They preferred economic disputes and divorce cases, so the office was arranged to be a little further away.

After walking for about two or three minutes, they arrived outside Mr. Gus's office. The receptionist knocked on the door, and when a response came from inside, she smiled, opened the door, and invited them in.

"Send in three coffees for me and my clients," Mr. Gus had the very typical appearance and attire of a federal middle-class elite: slicked-back hair, meticulously groomed, a slightly bluish chin, and sideburns that looked as if they had been measured with a ruler.

He was wearing a light-colored suit with a blue and purple striped tie and a Gold Diamond Firm badge on his chest.

"Please…" he originally wanted to say "Please sit down," but Johnny was already seated. He moved the chair away from the desk and said with a slightly apologetic tone, "Sorry, I didn't realize."

Johnny didn't care about this; he just wanted to start his consultation as soon as possible.

When Mr. Gus sat back down in his seat and the receptionist brought in the coffee, he took out a pen and a few pages of stapled paper and began his work.

"Mr. Johnny, what do you want to consult us about?"

Johnny was silent for a few seconds. "They told me that the IRS sued me, saying that I was suspected of tax evasion."

Mr. Gus looked very surprised. His original slightly forward-leaning posture, where he was planning to record some things, also changed. He leaned back, and the pen was placed back on the desk.

"Mr. Johnny, tax evasion is a very serious charge. First of all, I assure you that I am professional, and I will not reveal the content of our conversation to anyone."

"Here, I want to ask you a question first: did you evade taxes?"

Johnny shook his head, his voice slightly louder. "I have never evaded taxes!"

Mr. Gus raised his hand to signal him to calm down. "You don't need to be so loud; I can hear you. Then, have you filed taxes?"

"Yes, I filed taxes, business tax."

The lawyer frowned. "May I ask, are you an operator or a shareholder?"

"I am the operator myself. I run a bakery."

Lawyer: "Then it seems that your business should be good, after all, you can attract the attention of the IRS, at least you won't lose money."

Johnny did not deny it. "That's right."

Lawyer: "Can you tell me how you determine your monthly income and how you file your taxes?"

Johnny glanced at his daughter. "My daughter and I are both employees of the bakery. Our salaries are fifty dollars each, and the bakery's monthly profit is about one hundred dollars."

Mr. Gus immediately grasped the point. "So, in your tax return, you only submitted the business income, and ignored the salary you paid yourself?"

Over the past few decades, federal tax laws have been changed repeatedly. Some presidents used "individuals do not need to pay taxes" to win votes and come to power.

The financial health of the federal government is one aspect, and the reason for the birth of the federation is also related. Tax issues have been sensitive for a long time.

So, during this time, the tax laws were very chaotic. Until recently, according to the "Tax Law Amendment," new policies were promulgated, which determined that a person does not have to pay taxes if their monthly income does not exceed one hundred dollars.

This is also why many people have work permits, but they are only willing to provide work for two people.

If a third person works, it is possible to exceed one hundred dollars, and they must pay taxes!

And enterprises, no matter how much income they have, must pay taxes.

However, Congress is actively discussing and promoting the passage of a new tax law amendment. The senator who presided over this amendment believes that as long as the income is higher than thirty-five dollars, it is necessary to collect taxes.

But this proposal is difficult to pass in a short period of time because the resistance from the people is too great.

But in any case, from Gus's point of view, Johnny did evade taxes.

"I am not a professional accountant. I am not very clear about how much tax you should pay specifically, but if you only declare taxes according to your revenue and profits without registering a company, and ignore the part of your income that you and your daughter receive, honestly, Johnny, you are in trouble."

He paused. "Have you and your daughter signed an employment contract?"

"For example, did you promise to give her a certain amount of money each month?"

Johnny shook his head. "Never, who would do such a thing, but I can swear that I give her money every month!"

The fat daughter also quickly spoke up. "Yes, sir, my dad gives me fifty dollars every month."

Mr. Gus still had no intention of recording anything. "But the IRS doesn't believe it, the court doesn't believe it, the judge doesn't believe it."

"They can say that the money you gave to your daughter was a voluntary gift, and you probably haven't registered a company, such as… Johnny's Bakery or something like that."

Johnny shook his head. "Never registered."

"The state's laws clearly stipulate that the business tax and individual income tax of individual operators are declared together, but you only declare taxes based on your business situation, and ignore at least an additional one hundred dollars of income each month."

"Regardless of whether you tell the court that your daughter served you for pay, or other circumstances, you cannot produce strong evidence to prove these things."

"In my opinion, there is no disagreement about the outcome of this lawsuit."

Johnny's head was about to explode. "No one has ever told me this!"

Mr. Gus was not interested in whether he knew. "If the IRS is going to sue you, there is a high probability that they have already grasped clear evidence, so…" he shook his head, "If you plan to find a lawyer, it is best to do so as soon as possible."

Seeing Johnny's expectant look, Mr. Gus shook his head directly and decisively. "I will not take this case. First of all, I mainly take corporate cases, not individual cases."

"Secondly, I personally do not take cases that are bound to lose, but I can recommend a lawyer to you, if you need it."

He looked at Johnny. There are actually many such cases in the Federation. Federal tax law, state tax law, local tax law, who the hell knows how many different tax laws there are in the Federation.

Moreover, state tax laws and local tax laws will also be different due to different states and regions. The same is true for other laws.

It is possible that this state encourages a certain industry, does not levy taxes, or provides partial tax exemptions, but in other states, this is an unencouraged industry and there are no preferential policies.

Therefore, in the Federation, there are basically no lawyers who can handle cases nationwide. Almost all lawyers are only proficient in the laws of one state. If they want to cross states, they need to contact the superior firm or find colleagues.

Johnny's case does not need to find colleagues. He just evaded taxes. There is no dispute about this. The only thing that can be done is to see how to minimize his losses as much as possible. This is also the only thing that lawyers can do in this matter.

Tax cases are not easy to take because once a tax case reaches the point of going to court, the IRS has basically grasped conclusive evidence.

Johnny was a little desperate. Mr. Gus, in consideration of the forty-five dollars (the law firm has to extract a 25% commission), said softly, "The lawyer I recommend has been interning by my side."

"He can help you change tax evasion, which is subjective, into tax avoidance as much as possible, so that the court will give you a correspondingly lighter punishment."

"And his agency fee is very cheap, it won't exceed two hundred dollars."

For a trainee lawyer, this price is not too low, and it also gives him a chance to go to court and deal with the tax bureau. This kind of opportunity is not available every day.

Analyzing a hundred cases is not as good as directly fighting with the tax bureau's lawyers in court. This is the most efficient growth plan!

Johnny doesn't have much money now. His bank account has also been frozen, applied for by the tax bureau, on the grounds that the money may have been stolen by him and belongs to the tax bureau and the federation!

Suddenly, the whole life has become a mess. Bad things happen every day for the past month. He feels terrible!