Darkstone Code
Chapter 177 - 0175 Paying Taxes and Adoption

There once was a wealthy man who proudly told others that he always declared his full income to the tax authorities, and his main source of income was employing himself and paying a barely acceptable salary.

Some even wrote articles praising the actions of this wealthy man, treating him as the conscience of society.

But these people never disclosed to the public how much this wealthy man actually paid in full taxes, because they were embarrassed to speak up, and it wasn’t beneficial for the wealthy man’s image in public eyes.

Paying fewer taxes would harm one’s social image, and Lynch didn’t want to become someone abandoned by the society’s "mainstream group," namely the lower and middle classes, so he wouldn’t do it that way.

He always believed that more ability and wealth bring greater responsibility, and one should set an example.

Vera knew what Lynch wanted from the start; he initially even wanted to truly pay all his taxes.

At this point, she was a bit curious, "How much income do I need to manage? Maybe I should have a plan ahead."

"Not much!" Lynch casually replied, "Over a million in cash and some shares."

Those words were really infuriating. If that isn’t considered "a lot," then what is?

Vera rolled her eyes; she enjoyed interacting with Lynch this way, free of strict hierarchy between superiors and subordinates; sometimes they even joked with each other.

They seemed to share intimacy beyond normal friendships, but not too much; she enjoyed this feeling which brought her comfort.

Using her expertise, she proposed a comprehensive legal tax avoidance plan that was most beneficial to Lynch. The general idea was to convert "income" into "capital gains," which are considered investment income and don’t require tax payment if not personally benefited.

Additionally, the company does not need to pay taxes since it is not sales or operating income, hence the absence of tax issues.

Surely, some legal tricks were needed, and once completed, this money could be deposited into the corporate account of Lynch’s personally owned company. Interestingly, from top to bottom, this company had only Lynch himself.

Then Lynch could freely spend the company’s "public funds" on various personal expenses in the name of the company, without holding himself accountable as the sole shareholder.

When he felt it was time, he could even make the company go "bankrupt" through other means and sign an agreement to acquire all the company’s property at a very low price and license, under his personal name.

Most of the time, the property owner would eventually become the bank.

Legally and reasonably, a large sum of taxable assets entered people’s pockets through a few processes which were not mysterious to some, and they didn’t need to bear any excess legal responsibilities; even the Federal Tax Bureau found it challenging to deal with them.

There might be some moral issues in doing this, but for capitalists, morality only has room at charity dinners meant to save money.

In daily life?

That’s impossible; morality doesn’t sell for money, so they wouldn’t keep those things!

Lynch didn’t express anything, and Vera naturally understood that her somewhat idealistic tax avoidance plan had not gained Lynch’s approval. This situation actually happened several times, and initially, Vera found it a bit unusual, but now she was getting used to it.

Lynch’s assertiveness was different from others and more acceptable, although perhaps only Vera thought so.

Latterly, she proposed a new plan; Lynch would need to pay taxes on the transaction roughly divided into two parts: cash and cross-shareholding. Overall, Vera could help him legally and reasonably reduce the tax rate.

"Based on a rough estimate, you’ll pay at least a sixteen percent tax rate for this transaction," which could be lowered further, but Lynch disagreed.

Lynch finally nodded with satisfaction, "Please take the trouble to ensure the tax proof is preserved well."

"Of course!" Vera was accustomed to Lynch’s detailed requirements; he always demanded no receipt be missing or lost and preserved neatly as if someone might unexpectedly check his accounts.

After discussing these, Vera quickly returned to work; both the company’s and Lynch’s personal finance accounts were managed by her. At first glance, the company seemed small with not much matter, but it wasn’t.

Branches are being established everywhere, with various expenditures and income continuously occurring; mostly, she has to review them.

Not long after Vera left, two fourteen or fifteen-year-old kids knocked on the door of Lynch’s office.

They looked rosier than before, their days were reasonably good recently, and Lynch had reached an agreement with the welfare institute regarding adopting these children.

Under Federal law, someone who isn’t married cannot adopt children. People might question whether the adopter has the necessary knowledge to raise children or doubt their motives.

Especially after a single middle-aged man continuously adopted and murdered numerous girls, shocking the entire world, stringent standards for adoption conditions emerged.

However, these only apply when people have the time and energy to focus on these marginalized groups, which clearly isn’t the current circumstance!

The welfare institute agreed to Lynch’s request ultimately, and among the children he adopted, there weren’t any girls, which avoided the most sensitive social bottom line. Though harm to boys wasn’t low, people always subconsciously ignored these issues.

Those two kids came to convey a message to Lynch; the welfare institute’s director invited him to discuss the remaining matters.

Then Lynch took a car with the two half-grown kids to the Saint Sunlight Welfare Institute in Sabin City. It was originally a monastery, later converted into a welfare institute, and such welfare institutes were abundant in the Federation.

Many monasteries also carried out welfare work, gradually changing form in the commodified capitalist market, but some things remained, such as the director wearing a habit and the nuns acting as employees.

"You’re very welcome, kind Mr. Lynch!" The director of the welfare institute hurriedly emerged from the office, slightly out of breath.

He appeared over fifty, bald, wearing a pair of round black-rimmed glasses, with pronounced nasolabial lines, making him look severely formal and somewhat intimidating.

Although his face showed some smiles at the moment, it was hard to feel those smiles, appearing more like an inexplicable odd expression.

The ancient monastery was covered with moss and vines, rich in historical ambiance. Some people stood in the distance secretly observing the situation here, not daring to approach; they even fled quickly under the nuns’ gaze.

It was evident that the director and his nuns held considerable authority here.

Lynch reached out to shake hands with him, and guided by the director, they entered the director’s office where photos of past directors and perhaps celebrities hung along with donation documents.

"Please, have a seat!" The director appeared formal, and a young nun delivered light tea to them—a simple floral tea with mild aroma, liked by many while being modestly priced.

After a brief pause, the director began talking, "Mr. Lynch, honestly, even now, I’m against your adoption proposal; you’re still young and don’t meet the standards..."

He paused, possibly because Lynch’s face didn’t reflect the expected feedback or perhaps because he considered his words somewhat boring; he sighed.

Just as he was preparing to say something else, Lynch pulled a check from his pocket and placed it on the table.

During moments like this, no words have the power comparable to a check’s heft; the director’s attention immediately drew toward it, reaching out but retracting, while Lynch gently pressed it with a cup.

"Cash check, any bank can directly cash it and transfer the money to any account per the check holder’s request!" Lynch casually spoke, looking at the director, "All those meaningless dialogues we know can be omitted. Just hand me the documents; nobody will know the number on the check."

This time Lynch would only leave with the adoption documents, which were foundational to the children obtaining social insurance. Without them, they would struggle to acquire social security numbers, explaining why they owned freedom but remained dependent on the welfare institute.

The director feebly retorted, "It’s not what you think!" But swiftly returned to his desk, handing over the organized adoption papers to Lynch.

This was an undisclosed secret transaction; Lynch would appear to adopt one child but actually more—merely a facade for others.

The children worked as child laborers outside and rarely returned to the welfare institute; after turning sixteen, they would leave, creating manipulation opportunities because those in the welfare institute wouldn’t know whether the children were adopted or staying outside working, except for the director himself.

Spotting the stack of adoption certifications, Lynch held it, inspected to confirm no major issues, and casually sipped from the cup, releasing the pressed corner of the check.

The check immediately landed in the director’s hand; he gazed at the figures, his eyes reflecting satisfaction.

Of course, even a welfare institute director needed certain acting skills. He discreetly tucked the check into his clothing pocket, removing his glasses, rubbing his nose bridge, squeezing out some tears, "So hard to part with these children!"

A slightly ironic smirk surfaced at Lynch’s mouth corner, "You’re truly a merciful person!"