United states tax collector
Chapter 230 Sharpening the Knife
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the auditorium was stunned.
This trial of big names is about judging big names. Why is it suddenly involved with Fuchs Film Company?
But soon, everyone suddenly woke up. They now seemed to realize that David's 'making a big fuss' at the Oscars and arresting so many big names probably didn't really mean to do anything to these big names.
Rather, I want to use these big names as an introduction to target the eight major electronic giants in Hollywood!
While thinking, Nicole on the stage spoke up and asked: "Director McCartney, do you have any explanation for this?"
"Your Honor, Director David's talk is pure nonsense. Our supervisor, McCartney, is completely unaware of any exaggerated contracts or yin and yang contracts, and there is absolutely no such thing in the movie [Independence Day]. Phenomenon!"
McCartney did not speak out immediately. The person who spoke out was Uriah, a lawyer sent by the legal department of Fox Film Company.
David winked at Bucky who was in the gallery. Bucky immediately took out a stack of documents from his briefcase and handed them to him in front of the court. He then lifted up the stack of documents and said, "Your Honor, Judge." , I have collected information that can prove that the total cost of the movie "Independence Day" was only 50 million US dollars, but in the end, it was reported to be 75 million US dollars. Where did the extra 25 million US dollars go? Already?"
“Why is not a single cent reported or any information entered into my IRS tax system?”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was another uproar in the auditorium.
If what David said is true, it means that the 25 million US dollars in extra funds for the movie "Independence Day" did not go through the IRS tax system, so this matter is serious.
Here, the court staff presented the information in David's hand, while Nicola checked it carefully.
After watching carefully for ten minutes, Nicola put down the documents and looked at the defendant's dock: "According to the information submitted by Director David, the overall calculation of the movie [Independence Day] It is true that there are 75 million, but at least 25 million of them have not been tax declared or entered into the tax system. How do you explain this to Director McCartney?"
"Your Honor, I wonder if you can let me see this information?"
This time it was Uriah who made the request.
"Can."
The staff handed the information to Uriah, and Uriah looked at it carefully for more than ten minutes, but in the end he looked relaxed and said: "Your Honor, these information are only obtained through oral narration and the purchasing information at that time. I got it, and it took less than a day to get it. It was too long ago at that time, so it is normal for there to be discrepancies, and I am afraid it cannot be used as ironclad evidence."
"It doesn't matter. Your Majesty, I still have witnesses. Please allow me to appear in court to testify."
David continued.
"allow!"
Among the people on the left, there were five people walking out this time. After these five people came to the witness box, one of them, a slightly older one, said: "Your Honor, my name is Graf, and I am the director of the props department of the 'Independence Day' crew. , the props and scene layout of this movie cost approximately US$20 million.”
"Your Honor, I am a member of the Independence Day Props Department and I can confirm this."
"I also confirm it."
"And I……"
The five people who came up all gave unified testimonies.
At this time, Uriah frowned.
"Your Honor, please apply for another batch of witnesses to appear."
"allow."
David waved his hand, indicating that they could go down, and soon, another group of witnesses walked out of the passage.
"Your Honor, my name is Bei Liqi. I am the makeup team leader of the movie "Independence Day". Although 15 years have passed, I still remember clearly that the budget given to our department at that time was 5 million US dollars. I A copy of the cashier details at that time has also been retained, please check..."
"Your Honor, my name is Thompson, and I was a member of the makeup team at the time. I can also testify that the budget is indeed 5 million."
"Your Honor..."
After Beiliqi finished speaking, the other witnesses in the makeup team also agreed.
After saying this, David waved his hand to indicate that they could go down, just like before.
Then, another group of witnesses came up.
In the next forty minutes, almost all departments of the film's photography department, lighting department, and special effects department came to the court to testify.
As these people finished testifying and handed over some of the financial information they had retained at the time, McCartney's face gradually turned pale in the dock, and his body trembled unconsciously.
There is no other reason.
At present, various departments on [Independence Day] have reported their own expenditures, and all the expenditures added up are about 50 million, no more, no less, so where did the remaining 25 million go, and how to explain it?
When the information appeared before, it could be said that the age and the amount of information were inconsistent, but now that so many people have come forward to testify, and it is so detailed, it cannot be that everyone has remembered it wrong, right?
And since it is confirmed that there is an extra 25 million gold, and there is no tax declaration record, based on this alone, not to mention him, even the Fuchs Film Company behind him may not be able to clean it up.
"Defendant McCartney, based on the witness testimony and the combined information, the reported amount of funds is indeed only 50 million. How do you explain it?"
Nicola asked loudly again, but McCartney remained silent, not knowing how to explain.
The lawyer Uriah standing next to him also lost his voice when faced with such testimony and evidence.
But actually you can't blame her.
Because the IRS arrested the person just last night and sent them to court today, she didn't have much time to prepare.
What's more, how did she know that the IRS actually had so much information? In the face of so many witnesses and evidence, no matter how rich her experience, top-notch eloquence, and quick thinking she was, she could only seem to be trapped in a trap. It's a swamp, with nowhere to go.
Seeing that the other party did not speak, Nicola did not intend to care about him. She planned to deal with these big names first, then turned to look at Will and asked: "Mr. Will, from the [Independence Day] crew just now Judging from the testimony of some witnesses, although you were not informed, the remuneration you received at the time was exaggerated, so it seems that you were informed..."
"Your Honor, I really didn't know. Moreover, they offered me a higher salary at the time. I'm not a fool. How could I not refuse it? As for the part they exaggerated after they offered me a higher salary, they didn't pay taxes. That's their business, you can't blame me, I'm really completely ignorant!"
Will was anxious, because he knew very well that in his case, the so-called knowledge or ignorance was basically a vague concept.
It can be said that if the judge subjectively thinks that you are informed, then you are informed; if the judge thinks that you are not informed, then you are ignorant.
This is why many prisoners will take desperate measures to bribe judges, because sometimes the judge's preference is too important.
Nicola turned to look at David, and David came under the judge's seat and whispered a few words to her before retreating.
Only then did Nicola speak out: "Mr. Will, based on the stability of the tax law, as long as you plead guilty, you can be exempted from criminal punishment, but you need to pay a penalty. In addition, the same goes for you, Ms. Zhuli." , do you agree?"
When Will heard that he could be exempted from criminal punishment, he was instantly overjoyed. Without any hesitation, he said directly: "Your Excellency, if I can be exempted from criminal punishment, then I admit the crime and I am willing to pay the fine!"
"Your Honor, I agree too!"
Zhuli is not a fool. Now that the crime has been determined, there will be no good fruit if she continues to resist. Now she only needs to pay a fine to avoid criminal punishment. This can be regarded as unfortunate. Fortunately.
"Okay then. Each of you will pay a tax evasion penalty of 30 million yuan. Is that okay?"
When they heard the number 30 million, the corners of their mouths twitched.
Although they are top celebrities, US$30 million is definitely not a small amount of money for them.
In pain, Will couldn't help but said: "Your Honor, 30 million...isn't it a bit too much? Can it be less?"
Nicola looked cold and scolded: "You have to understand that the taxes you did not report back then have been over ten or twenty years, and you have been in arrears for so long, and now you are exempted from criminal punishment, 30 million Is it too much?"
"This...that's okay."
Although it still hurts, when I think about spending 30 million to avoid criminal penalties, it is quite worth it.
After all, for a celebrity like them, this little money can be made back in just half a year. If they are really punished, their careers will be ruined.
"Okay, since you agree, you can leave now, but remember, the tax must be paid within 3 days."
Hearing that they were released in court, Zhu Li and Will breathed a sigh of relief. However, after leaving the dock, they did not choose to leave. Instead, they sat in the auditorium. After all, they had suffered a heavy punishment. If they could Seeing that the rest of the people will end up with the same result as them, the mentality will naturally become more balanced.
"Mr. Hugh Jeckman, I now suspect you of tax evasion. You..."
"Your Honor, if you can give me the same punishment as Will and Zhuli, then I can plead guilty immediately!"
Before Nicola had finished speaking, what was shocking was that Uncle Wolf Jiekeman didn't even want to argue, and immediately planned to admit defeat.
But soon, everyone felt relieved.
Again, few of the old movie stars who became famous in Hollywood in the last century were completely innocent.
And since David can dig out the tax evasion history of Zhu Li and these big names for many years, it is normal for him to be able to dig out Jie Keman.
Therefore, with the lessons learned from Will and Zhuli, it is reasonable for Jie Keman to retreat despite the difficulties. .
"this……"
Nicola was a little undecided and turned her attention to David.
"Mr. Zuckerman, there is no rush to plead guilty. Let us go through the process first. Come on, invite witnesses..."
"..."
after an hour.
After the display of countless witnesses and evidence, one fact was once again confirmed.
That is the movie "X-Men". Like the previous "Independence Day", the production cost was exaggerated by 25 million US dollars.
As for the exaggerated cost of US$25 million, Fuchs Film Company had already obtained funds from investors at the time, but it had not gone through the tax system.
So it's obvious.
This movie also touches on the issue of a tax evasion structure that exaggerates costs.
Although the previous Independence Day and the current "X-Men" starred Weir and Jackman respectively, the producers and producers of these two films were Fuchs Film Company.
And now that the two leading actors have been severely punished, how can we, as producers of the film, not be implicated?
Of course this is impossible!
Everyone in the auditorium realized that David's knife against Fuchs Film Company seemed to have been sharpened, and blood would probably come next!
"Mr. Jeckman, you can plead guilty now!"
Seeing that the knife had been sharpened, David stopped talking nonsense.
"Okay, I plead guilty, Mr. Judge, and I am also willing to pay the fine!"
"Well, next one..."
"..."
Fuchs Films.
"Fake Squid, what's going on? How could they find such detailed information and personnel on these two movies?"
"Although I don't know how the Western Suburbs Bureau figured out so many things that happened so far ago, the punishment for these two movies and the two leading actors is obviously trying to scare us. I think he will definitely be charged with crimes next. It’s all about us!”
"Now these two films have been charged with crimes. As the producer, our company will definitely not be able to clean up the matter. The trouble is a bit big..."
Although there was no live broadcast of the trial, many people were invited to observe it, so it was not difficult for the executives of Fuchs Film Company to know the real-time situation of the trial.
And when they learned that [Independence Day] and [X-Men], two movies produced by their company, were charged with crimes, everyone became nervous.
In addition to Fuchs, the other seven major film companies also learned the outcome of the trial immediately, and they were also nervous.
But the most tense among them is undoubtedly the Disney Film Company.
The eight major Hollywood film companies are actually the collective name of the last century. After so many years of changing times, the eight major film companies are no longer the real big eight.
It's just that due to their historical status and influence in Hollywood for many years, the outside world still calls them the eight major film companies.
For example, the two major film companies, United Artists Film Company and Rice Cake Film Company, were once merged into one company, but were later operated separately.
Another example is Fox Film Company, which was acquired by Disney in 2019 with a huge sum of money. It is a subsidiary of the Disney Group together with Disney Film Company.
And it is precisely because Fuchs Film Company and Disney Pictures are currently both subsidiaries of the Disney Group, so once Fuchs suffers, Disney Pictures is also likely to be directly implicated. Therefore, Disney Shine's current senior management is more nervous than other companies.
The situation of the major film companies was not known to those present at the trial at this time.
After the trial of Jie Keman's case, in the following time, many big names such as Tom Hanks, the eldest cousin, the widowed sister, and Cameron were also tried one by one.
However, as soon as their names were called, they were very sensible, just like Jie Keman before. They stopped talking nonsense and did not defend themselves. They all chose to plead guilty and accept the fine.
Obviously, they are also aware of their own affairs.
What's more, there is Zhuli's example there.
Zhu Li was not only fined a huge sum of money because of David's insistence, but the most embarrassing thing was that such a big scandal broke out, which was a loss to her grandma's family.
Although these big names are usually glamorous, the water in the entertainment industry is messier than anywhere else, and everyone has a dark history to one degree or another.
They didn't want to be exposed in court by David like this, which would be a huge embarrassment.
However, it is worth mentioning that if they plead guilty and accept a fine, they will be fine.
But because a series of films such as "Independence Day", "X-Men", "Titanic" and "Star Wars" all have exaggerated funds, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the focus is on Fuchs. On the film company.
However, this also caused doubts among many people who did not know the truth.
What is Fuchs Film Company’s intention to produce so many films with exaggerated costs?
If it's used for money laundering, this doesn't seem right.
After all, as time goes by and enters the modern era, Fuchs has grown stronger, and supervision has gradually become stricter. Why should such a large company take such risks?
But they didn't let them think for long, and then David gave the answer.
"Your Honor, after looking at these personal and material evidences and the guilty pleas of big names, the result is very obvious. Before and in the following years of the 20th century, Fuchs was suspected of serious crimes in order to achieve rapid development. financial fraud, tax evasion and other cases.”
"So I even have reason to suspect that in 2018, Fuchs Film Company was acquired by Disney for US$71.3 billion in order to increase its market value. There were definitely major violations and illegal operations!"
David's words can be said to have stirred up a thousand waves with one stone.
Forget it when it comes to Fuchs Film Company.
And now it actually involves the Disney Group.
You know, the Disney Group currently not only owns the leading subsidiary in the American film and television industry, but also is known as the leading company in the world's entertainment industry because it involves many comprehensive entertainment projects such as Disneyland.
So far, this giant ranks 145th among the Fortune 500 companies, with a market value of US$270 billion.
If such a giant company is also involved in tax evasion and financial fraud, it will definitely be a big earthquake for the entertainment industry.
But then again.
Many people instantly understood why Fuchs chose a film with a lot of fakes and exaggerated costs.
Because that's all.
Only then can the company's accounts look good, and then it can achieve rapid development, then go public, and finally be targeted by a giant like Disney and acquire it for US$71.3 billion.
But the US$71.3 billion is very intriguing.
Have you paid any taxes?
Have you paid in full again?
Or what methods were used to avoid tax laws?
If it is really suspected of tax evasion, then Disney, a giant company, will be at the forefront of the storm.
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