American Tax Officer-Chapter 545 - 276: The White House Is in a Dilemma_2
Chapter 545: Chapter 276: The White House Is in a Dilemma_2
“That’s right, if they’re going to make a big fuss over this issue, even to the point of shutting down all our branches in America, that’s clearly an overreaction!”
After being reminded by the head of the legal department, the other senior executives’ minds also immediately shifted.
“No, I think that if David dares to shut down our branches nationwide, it’s definitely not just for this reason. He must have another important leverage. Everyone, think carefully where else we might have slipped up!”
Mr. Jace, being the CEO of the UBS Group, naturally had a brain unmatched by ordinary people.
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At present, it seemed that David intended to use the branch manager’s improper lending as a pretext to rectify Swiss Bank.
But he was well aware that, at most, this could only be targeted at the Los Angeles Branch.
David and the higher-ups at the America Tax Bureau were also undoubtedly aware of this.
And if they were to target the nationwide branches for closure, that simply wouldn’t be a strong enough justification!
Hearing Mr. Jace’s words, the other executives seemed to have regained some sense, their expressions growing troubled.
“Mr. Jace, the President has called, requesting that you report the situation!”
Just as everyone was deep in thought, a staff member from the UBS Group walked in to remind them.
“I’ll be right there!”
Hearing it was the President, Mr. Jace did not dare to delay and quickly got up and walked out.
An hour later, under the scrutiny of countless eyes around the world, the Swiss government officially lodged a formal protest with the American government.
In the protest announcement, they sharply criticized the America Tax Bureau for its unruly law enforcement and even used terms like “jeopardizing the relationship between the two countries.”
The America Tax Bureau was now in the midst of a huge storm.
In the White House, in the Chief of Staff to the President’s office.
“Mr. Klement, as you know, it has always been difficult for us at the White House to intervene in the affairs of the Tax Bureau. This was certainly not a directive from our side,”
“Mr. Wylder, as the Chief of Staff to the President, can’t you control the Tax Bureau?”
“You can’t put it that way. The Tax Bureau in America has a somewhat special status, not comparable to tax bureaus in other countries. Here’s what we’ll do, Mr. Klement. I’ll immediately have the Director of the Tax Bureau come over and have a good talk about what exactly is going on!”
“Mr. Wylder, you’d better act fast to get our Swiss Bank back in operation, or this could trigger a new financial crisis, and America will suffer just like everyone else.”
The person speaking with Mr. Wylder, the White House Chief of Staff, was none other than the current President of Switzerland.
He wasn’t just trying to intimidate Mr. Wylder. The UBS Group currently controlled 26% of the global cross-border assets. Any volatility in that area could indeed trigger a financial crisis.
This was precisely why he dared to protest so strongly in front of Mr. Wylder!
Hearing this, Mr. Wylder felt a wave of frustration.
America is the only superpower in the world today, and as the Chief of Staff to the President of America, he was one of the most powerful people on the planet.
In theory, no one should have the audacity to disrespect him like that.
But Switzerland was indeed a tricky case.
First of all, the amount of assets that Switzerland controlled was indeed enormous.
And among those assets, American tycoons had contributed a significant portion.
And what kind of country is America?
A capitalist country.
If he didn’t show respect to Switzerland, it would be the same as disrespecting those tycoons who placed their money in Swiss banks.
So, this is exactly where the confidence of the Swiss president lies, and why even the White House Chief of Staff feels so suffocated.
“All right, Mr. Klement, I will settle this matter as quickly as possible,”
After hanging up the phone, Wylder called his assistant over and instructed him to immediately notify Obadiah to come over.
The America Tax Bureau is not far from the White House, just about a twenty-minute journey, and soon Obadiah and Donald arrived at the Chief of Staff’s office.
“Obadiah, Donald, what on earth are you playing at? It’s one thing for David to act impulsively, but why would you recklessly order the seizure of all Swiss Bank branches?!”
Wylder had received an earful from the Swiss president, so naturally, he took out his frustration on these two.
“Mr. Wylder, David is not acting without sense; he is protecting our American interests from harm!”
Donald could not stand Wylder accusing David and immediately stood up to defend him.
“What nonsense about protecting America from harm, that’s the Swiss Bank we’re talking about. Do you realize what the Swiss president just told me over the phone? If this situation continues to develop, a financial crisis could even be triggered. By then, no matter how much money your America Tax Bureau has, how much can you actually dispense in relief and unemployment benefits?”
Wylder’s continued accusations did not change the expressions on Donald Obadiah’s faces.
Donald then calmly replied, “Mr. Wylder, please hear me out, this is the situation, after our Director David’s investigation…”
A few minutes later, after listening to the details of the CUUI and CUUO financial products, Wylder paused for a moment of thought, then with a contemplative look, asked, “Are you saying that Swiss Bank used these two products to attract domestic deposits, thereby gaining a substantial profit?”
“Yes, these two products, due to exploiting loopholes in the tax law, offer much higher returns than many bank products, and after Swiss Bank attracted our people’s funds, the returns on their investments kept flowing back to their own country, which is tantamount to them siphoning our blood. That’s why I said earlier that David is saving our interests from loss!”
After hearing Donald’s detailed explanation again, Wylder could no longer find the words to accuse them.
He had always thought that as the world’s only superpower, America only ever harvested other countries’ financial ‘crops’.
But to his surprise, now it seemed that someone dared to harvest theirs?
That indeed sounded infuriating.
However, after a period of thought, he voiced his concern, “Deputy Director Donald, according to what you’re saying, the CUUI and CUUO products should be legal and legitimate, right? So how can they be defined as tax evasion?”
“According to what David and the rest of us have discussed, first, the operation of the CUUI product mainly takes advantage of the tax difference between domestic and foreign investors to avoid taxes. Foreign investors face higher dividend taxes, but they can temporarily sell their stocks to the related banks, avoiding relevant taxes, and then buy them back, saving an amount that is then shared among the parties.”
“CUUO, on the other hand, acts as a strategic product for stock trading. It involves selling and repurchasing the stocks on the same day dividends are distributed. Because the transaction time is very short, tax authorities can’t determine who the rightful owner of the stock is. As a result, both buyer and seller can claim a capital gains tax refund.”
“Indeed, this does not violate tax laws but still exploits loopholes. If we can identify who the owner of the stocks is and gather some related information, under the current Black Tax Act profit clause, it can be classified as tax evasion”
Donald shared the details he had learned from Director David.
“Is that so, well alright then…”
Despite not fully understanding, since tax matters were not his expertise, and since Director David and the top echelon of the America Tax Bureau seemed to agree, there likely wasn’t much of a problem.
Wylder relaxed from the tension he had felt before.
“If that’s the case, then Swiss Bank’s actions indeed constitute a harm to our American interests. Although seizing all their branches may be a bit extreme, it can be understood…”
As Chief of Staff, his job was to assist the president with the nation’s major political affairs,
and now the background and the trajectory of the current issue had become clear.
While David certainly had intentions of retaliating against the Swiss Bank, according to his current explanation about the two products, Swiss Bank was indeed exploiting them to harm American interests, which, both morally and logically, required intervention.
“Alright then, quickly put out a notice about the two products to contain the public opinion first!”
“That won’t do, Mr. Wylder. According to Director David, if this matter is made public now, Swiss Bank will certainly do everything in its power to cover it up, collude with related personnel, and fabricate evidence. Therefore, he believes it’s better to first secure relevant personnel and evidence before making it public!”
Wylder frowned but, after a moment, nodded in agreement and said, “Anyway, get this settled quickly. The diplomatic pressure from Switzerland is quite significant.”
“Understood, Mr. Wylder.”
