American Tax Officer

The words were uttered, and a wave of astonishment swept over the spectators.

These trial celebrities, how come Fox Film Corporation was suddenly being implicated?

But soon, everyone seemed to have a sudden realization, perhaps David's causing a scene at the Oscars, bringing back all these celebrities, was not really intended as punishment for them.

Instead, he sought to use these celebrities as a starting point, aiming straight for the giant predators of Hollywood!

In the midst of these thoughts, Nicola spoke up, asking, "Director McCauley, do you have an explanation for this?"

"Your Honor, what Director David is saying is completely baseless, our Director McCauley is utterly unaware of any exaggerated contracts or Yin-Yang Contracts, and such a phenomenon certainly does not exist in the movie 'Independence Day'!"

McCauley did not respond immediately; it was Eulalia, the lawyer sent by the legal department of Fox Film Corporation, who spoke up.

David gave Bucky a look from the gallery, and Bucky immediately took out a stack of documents from his briefcase, walked to the front of the court, handed them to him, and he, in turn, raised the stack of papers and said, "Your Honor, I have collected a set of documents that can prove that the total cost of the movie 'Independence Day' was no more than 50 million US dollars, but the final reported amount was 75 million US dollars.

Now, where did the extra 25 million US dollars go?"

"Why is there no record of it filed in our country's tax system, nor any information entered?"

As the words fell, the gallery stirred once again.

If what David said was true, then the extra 25 million US dollars reportedly spent on 'Independence Day' was not reported to the national tax system, which would make this a grave matter.

On this side, the court staff presented the documents from David's hands, and Nicola started to scrutinize them.

After looking closely for ten minutes, Nicola put the documents aside, turned her gaze toward the defendant, and said, "According to the documents submitted by Director David, 'Independence Day' indeed accounted for 75 million, but at least 25 million of the funds were not declared for tax purposes, nor were they entered into the tax system. How do you explain this, Director McCauley?"

"Your Honor, may I take a look at these documents?"

It was Eulalia who asked to see the documents this time.

"You may."

The court staff handed the documents to Eulalia, who inspected them carefully for about ten minutes, but eventually, he relaxed his expression and said, "Your Honor, these documents are based on oral reports and procurement information at the time, and they were obtained in less than a day, it's not unexpected for them to be inconsistent since so much time has passed.

I'm afraid they cannot be considered conclusive evidence."

"No matter, Your Honor, I have a witness. Please allow him to testify in court," David continued.

"Granted!"

From the left side, this time five people emerged; after arriving at the witness stand, one of them, who was slightly older, said, "Your Honor, my name is Glaf, and I was the head of props for 'Independence Day.' The props and set decorations for the movie cost about 20 million US dollars."

"Your Honor, I am a member of the props department for 'Independence Day,' and I can confirm this," another chimed in.

"I also confirm."

"And me..."

The five who had come forward gave a unified testimony.

Eulalia, at this point, furrowed his brow.

"Your Honor, I request another set of witnesses be called to the stand. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

"Granted."

David waved his hand, signaling them to step down, and shortly after, another group of witnesses walked out of the passageway.

"Your Honor, my name is Belichick, I was the head of the makeup department for the film 'Independence Day.' Although 15 years have passed, I remember very clearly — the budget given to our department was 5 million US dollars. I still have a copy of the cashier's detailed statement from that time, please review it..."

"Your Honor, my name is Thompson, I was a member of the makeup department then, and I too can testify to this — the budget indeed was 5 million," another stated.

"Your Honor..."

After Belichick finished speaking, the rest of the makeup department witnesses also endorsed her statement one by one.

After they were done, David waved his hand again, signaling them to step down.

Then, another group of witnesses took the stand.

In the next forty minutes or so, nearly every department of the film including photography, lighting, and special effects, took the stand to testify.

As these people finished their testimonies and submitted some of the retained financial information, McCauley's face on the defendant's bench grew increasingly pale, and his body involuntarily began to quiver.

The reason was simple.

By now, each department of 'Independence Day' had reported their expenditures, and the total combined was just about 50 million, give or take. So where did the remaining 25 million go, and how could this be explained?

The documents presented before could be dismissed due to being dated and inconsistent, but with so many witnesses now testifying in such detail, surely not everyone could have misremembered, right?

And considering the confirmed excess of 25 million dollars which lacked any tax declarations, merely this point alone would be damning, not just for him, but it seemed likely that even Fox Film Corporation behind him wouldn't be able to clear its name.

"Defendant McCauley, based on the witness testimonies and these documents together, the amount of capital reported was indeed only 50 million. What is your explanation for this?"