Chapter 2056 - The Directors' Meeting

Ever since the Tax Bureau started auditing his family's accounts, Young Master Lin hadn't been idle, inquiring everywhere for information. The general gist was that the short-hair bandits were "lawful" and "punished crimes but not hearts." This reassured Young Master Lin somewhat. Though he'd had some dealings with Young Master Liang and was vaguely aware of certain matters, it had all been just talk—precious few written records, let alone actually doing anything concrete. He'd given some silver, but all of it went to "Yuyuan Society"—that should be harmless. The short-hairs had been in the city for nearly two years now. Back when they first arrived, there'd been scholars cursing them on the streets, yet they all seemed fine now. Some had even become fake short-hair cadres... absolutely shameless.

Thinking of this made Young Master Lin rather indignant. But on reflection, business had actually been quite good this past year or so, and he'd been spared the usual tributes and "etiquette payments." When you thought about it, doing business honestly under Australian rule didn't seem so bad. As long as the short-hair bandits didn't engage in mass guilt-by-association, his family's resources should be enough to weather this storm. A new dynasty just beginning—consider it paying for peace. Young Master Lin let out a long breath.

That night, the Guangzhou Tax Bureau Director's office was convening a directors' meeting.

Ai Zhixin set down the National Tax System Tax Collection and Enforcement Provisional Regulations compiled by Zhang Xiaoqi and grimaced. "Sister Xiaoqi, you've really strengthened a lot of this..."

"Adapting to local conditions, adapting to the times."

"Isn't it a bit too harsh?" Ai Zhixin pointed to a section. "'...Penalty of five to twenty times the amount'—I have no objection to you raising the penalty standards there. And raising the late-payment surcharge from the old timeline's 0.05% daily to 0.5% daily, I think is also acceptable. But this part after that... 'In serious cases, penalty of thirty to fifty times the amount, and imprisonment, life imprisonment, or death sentence.'"

"Is there a problem?"

"By your earlier definitions, evading fifty yuan in taxes means reporting to Fu Youdi's place. This isn't the old timeline—once a man goes in there, even if it's just for a month, the whole family collapses completely with no chance of recovery. You're pushing people to their deaths."

"To their deaths? My dear Director Ai, do you know how much we've set as the maximum fixed tax for mid-size merchants in Guangzhou? Only thirty-two yuan a year. Fifty yuan is nearly two years of evasion. Anyone capable of pulling that off is most likely one of those big households. This rule is made for them!"

Ai Zhixin turned to Wang Qiyi and noticed his face twitch unnaturally twice, then asked meaningfully, "Brother Wang, I recall you participated fully in these penalty regulations?"

"She mainly did it. We discussed some points, and I remember sending telegrams to solicit your opinions at the time." Wang Qiyi kept his head down, continuing to flip through the lower volume of the Regulations.

"Director Ai, let me put it this way. After you assigned the task, Qiyi and I ran around to various counties in Hainan. We asked cadres we've trained ourselves and retained clerks from the old system—all front-line collection and enforcement personnel. If you don't believe me, I have notes back in my dorm that I can bring..."

"No need, no need." Ai Zhixin waved his hands repeatedly.

"Before the draft took shape, Qiyi also reminded me to make the Tax Bureau's work into the Executive Committee's work." Zhang Xiaoqi picked up her cup, took a sip, and continued as if to herself. "I also consulted separately with Cheng Dong, Ma Jia, Ran Yao, Wu De, Li Mei, and Ma Qianzhu, laid out the general direction, and got their thoughts. Everyone more or less gave this 'female Elder' face, and their responses were quite honest. I incorporated their reasonable suggestions. Also, when we finalized the draft, you yourself said these regulations did an excellent job embodying the fundamental principles of 'strict and severe' and 'heavy punishment in troubled times.'" Zhang Xiaoqi was somewhat annoyed that Ai Zhixin was now picking holes in an already promulgated document, and her words carried barbs.

"Haha, Director Zhang, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that I was alone in Guangzhou at the time, with all sorts of miscellaneous matters piling up. I completely forgot these details in the chaos. You're right—these damn landlords need a good thrashing to put them in their place. My memory failed me, my memory failed me!" A flicker of displeasure crossed Ai Zhixin's face before quickly being replaced by an earnest "I was wrong" expression.

The less-than-harmonious discussion in the conference room stemmed from how to handle the Luo, Lin, and Shi families, now firmly in their grasp. The Luo family needed no discussion—on economic issues alone, they had seven or eight verified charges including forged documents, informal IOUs, and fictitious debts. Steward Liao had even used Luo Zhixiang's personal notes to participate in underground anti-Executive Committee groups and provide funding. Any one charge was enough for property confiscation and family extermination. The Shi family, meanwhile, was nearly spotless on economics; the only suspicious points—the large brokerage fees' destination and the Hong Kong warehouse issues—were obviously not the Tax Bureau's concern. They could only wait for Wu Mu's news. Comparing the two, the Lin family—which had practically been running around naked under the Executive Committee's nose and was the first the Tax Bureau had dug up—became the focus of contention.

First, Political Security had already indicated that Lin Zunxiu was a peripheral figure with no evidence of actual participation in the underground group's activities. Second, Young Master Lin had officially separated from the main household last year and established his own branch. Though not officially registered, most street-front shop shares had already been transferred to his name, with only the family residence and rural properties remaining with the main household. This made the Tax Bureau's seizure of all Lin family assets look like guilt-by-association. Third, the Lin family had an excellent attitude toward their crimes, accepting all penalties without question. Given these circumstances, Ai Zhixin felt the Lin family should pay their way to survival. With the Luo and Shi families as chickens to slaughter, that was enough. Handling the Lin family this way could demonstrate the Executive Committee's "legal precision" and "measured severity."

"But Director Zhang, let me be honest. The Lin family doesn't just have Lin Zunxiu as a son. He's separated now, and everything discovered falls under his name. If you insist on going after him, they might just stiffen their necks. Then all we could do is seize and auction off Lin Zunxiu's assets and hang him from a lamppost. How much would that scrape together? Liu Xiang urgently needs cash, not these real estate assets. Let him off, and the old Lin patriarch will surely pay to fill his son's hole—that's liquid money. Like the old timeline, there were plenty of examples of paying for victim reconciliation to get reduced sentences. I think we could learn from that."

"You just want their silver and can't bear to give up the pretty 'rule of law' facade?"

"Exactly. Being 'mountain bandits' is satisfying, but doesn't that violate our spirit of 'rule by law'?" Ai Zhixin spread his hands, looking like he was all ears for a better idea.

"Heh, 'rule by law.' Tsk tsk. And lawful concubine-taking, and lawfully sleeping with secretaries—the Executive Committee's 'law' really covers everything, so thoughtful." Zhang Xiaoqi, apparently triggered by something, started ranting again.

Now, before Ai Zhixin's expression could even change, Wang Qiyi's face had already turned quite ugly. Though her words seemed to make sense, they were actually an attack on the Executive Committee's heart—and unavoidably carried a hint of insulting Ai Zhixin by implication. If Ai Zhixin wanted to make trouble, spreading this around in Lingao would guarantee neither of them would come out well.

Right now they were important technical cadres, so naturally no one would do anything. But tax work wasn't exactly high-energy physics—naturalized citizens could master it in a few years. This kind of talk, once spoken, couldn't be taken back. Who knew if ten or twenty years from now, someone might dig up this record to settle old scores with them!

"Oh my, Director Zhang," Ai Zhixin remained unruffled, "please don't go off on tangents. This 'rule by law' business—it's state policy, passed by the Executive Committee. Let's not get too off-track. Let's stick to the matter at hand."

His reaction made Wang Qiyi even more uneasy. Swallowing insults without reacting—that wasn't a good sign.

"Lin Zunxiu played games with the shops, running them into the ground daily, long since insolvent." Zhang Xiaoqi picked up the Lin family ledger and flipped through it. "Seize directly and auction. Isn't he trying to be clever with us? This time we'll show him what 'too clever by half' really means. The auction proceeds won't go into the treasury yet—keep them as temporary deposits. Let's see how those conjured-from-thin-air master craftsmen and head managers come to claim this debt. After the one-year deposit period expires, balance the accounts straight into the national treasury. As for the unpaid taxes, late fees, and penalties—the auction money is sitting there waiting to pay debts. Where would there be anything left for back taxes? Large amount, not paying a single fen of back taxes—Young Master Lin absolutely qualifies as 'serious circumstances'... Lin Zunxiu is the Lin family's most promising son, and the eldest at that. If there's even a sliver of a chance, would the Lin family not try to save him?"

"There we go. You've gone around in a big circle, but isn't that just what I said—having the old patriarch pay to save his son?"

"Ha! Pay to avoid disaster?" Zhang Xiaoqi laughed triumphantly. "Without this detour, if we directly auctioned Lin Zunxiu's assets, the auction proceeds could offset taxes according to regulations—he'd only need to pay out a portion more. But this way, he gets nothing. His old patriarch has to cover the whole thing. Doesn't this protect our Tax Bureau's lawful reputation while squeezing out a much larger sum for you?"

...

Zhang Xiaoqi usually gave Ai Zhixin the impression of a busybody middle-aged auntie who loved gossip. Today's sudden twists and turns gave Ai Zhixin a sense of unfamiliarity. But after a brief silence, he put on a smiling face again. "So this is turning their own plan against them."

"Haha, thank you, Director Ai. Paying to avoid disaster? We're going to make the Lin family pay to buy disaster." Quite pleased with herself, Zhang Xiaoqi pointed out several figures in the ledger for Ai Zhixin to see. "Director Ai, see these numbers? Very important—Young Master Lin's unpaid taxes, late fees, and penalties, plus the assessed value of property taxes the Lin family normally declares. The amount the Lin family has to pay for Lin Zunxiu far exceeds what they've been declaring... Doesn't that constitute false declaration with suspected tax evasion? The Tax Bureau never lies. We don't do double punishment for one offense. But we..." Zhang Xiaoqi smoothed her hair and said leisurely, "prosecute every violation to the fullest."

Next update: Volume 7 - Two Guangs Campaign Section 169

(End of Chapter)