American Tax Officer

Yet he was a battle-hardened politician and wasn't discouraged. Collecting his thoughts, he continued with a stern question, "The privileges of the revenue service are indeed derived from the administrative powers granted by President Lincoln, but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. How do you explain your recent case with the Human Rights Organization member?"

Senator Phipps threw another trump card, and this move was now widely regarded by the entire nation as the most exemplary abuse of power by the revenue service.

"They were found guilty of tax evasion, and afterwards, the head of the Human Rights Organization even came forward to acknowledge the punishment. I don't understand what there is to explain?"

David had long ago discussed numerous response strategies with Michelle's team for this question, so he answered without hesitation.

"Their so-called acknowledgement of your punishment may not be a genuine acceptance, perhaps it's just succumbing to your tyranny..."

"Wait a minute..."

It was now David's turn to interrupt with his hand out, objecting, "Senator Phipps, what kind of talk is this? Our revenue service is a legal official institution, and as said before, operates under the permission of the Presidential power. We serve our country and our people wholeheartedly. How come when it gets to you, it sounds like we're some kind of gang?"

"It's possible my wording was a bit inappropriate, but the meaning I want to express is just one thing, and that is, as for the sentencing of these three individuals, myself and many people across the nation do not accept it. Take for instance one of them, who just received a 20 US Dollar tip, but ended up with a 30-year sentence.

Considering their previous protests outside the court, do you dare to say there is no suspicion of retaliation?"

When he reached the last sentence, Senator Phipps intentionally used a heavier tone, his expression becoming aggressive.

"Senator Phipps, I think you need to understand something about retaliation. Retaliation means you have hatred for someone and use your power at hand to exact revenge. As for the three members of the Human Rights Organization, before this, I had no quarrels with them. It's just that they came to cause trouble before me, and causing trouble would be fine, but they were not clean on their taxes.

Why wouldn't I punish such blatant tax evaders who came knocking on my door?"

This question was actually much easier to answer than the previous one about the judicial authority Senator Phipps had brought up. Although it was clear to any bystander that there was an element of retribution in David's actions against these three individuals, who asked them to cause trouble before him?

In the eyes of most people, there certainly was an element of revenge, but it was largely a matter of reaping what they sowed.

"Alright, then let me ask you a question. In the eyes of your revenue service, are all suspects of tax evasion treated equally?"

The revenue service has a well-known slogan: whether you're a high official in the Presidential Cabinet or an ordinary citizen, if you're involved in tax evasion, then we will apprehend you!

Thus, on the surface, Senator Phipps's words seemed easy to answer; a simple yes would suffice.

But at this moment, David did not respond immediately but narrowed his eyes instead because he had already sensed that the other side was laying a trap for him again.

Meanwhile, below the live broadcast location, Michelle, fearing David would fall into a trap once more, kept making hand gestures to him. Regrettably, David, deep in thought, did not notice.

"Don't say yes at all costs, otherwise that damn Phipps will use this to attack others, accusing us of not chasing down other people involved in minor tax on tips!"

At the Washington D.C. Headquarters, many senior officials had also seen through Senator Phipps's next move, repeatedly muttering under their breath, hoping David wouldn't fall for it.

At the live broadcast, after some contemplation, a light reappeared in David's eyes, and he calmly replied, "The phrase 'all men are created equal' is actually just a slogan, and it's very difficult to achieve in this world.

Of course, for our tax bureau, composed and led by people, there will be oversights and omissions since humans are not perfect, so we can only do our utmost to uphold this principle."

As his words ended, supporters within the tax bureau system and those supportive of David applauded loudly at the response, but although Senator Phipps remained composed, he cursed silently in his heart.

Indeed, he was setting a trap for David.

Had David just answered that, to the tax bureau, everyone would be treated equally, Phipps would have seized the opportunity to expand on the subject, pointing out that apart from that member of the Human Rights Organization, there are tens of millions of people who have received tips.

Yet, your tax bureau only targets that member of the Human Rights Organization, turning a blind eye to the countless others who have accepted tips and evaded taxes—is this not deliberate targeting and revenge?

What Phipps didn't expect was that David's mind remained sharp, even admitting the existence of oversight and omission within their own tax bureau.

In this way, if Phipps were to shift the conversation to those millions of people who had received tips and not paid taxes on them, David could use the excuse of oversight and omission to deflect.

Quickly recalibrating his thoughts, Phipps soon found another point of attack, and he asserted, "Well then, Director David, since this precedent has been set regarding the member of the Human Rights Organization who must declare their tips to your tax bureau, aside from this member, there are tens of millions of Americans who have received tips.

These people, I believe, should also pay their taxes to your bureau, right?"

As he finished speaking, everyone within the viewing tax bureau system frowned, because once again, they detected an underlying threat in Phipps's words.

Requiring tips to be taxed was merely a pretext to accuse the Human Rights Organization of provocation, and of course, the tax bureau could not possibly conduct a tax inspection on tens of millions of people over such an issue, as this would antagonize this large group.

And now Phipps was clearly trying to lead the tax bureau into this pit, making them antagonize these tens of millions of people.

And yet they could not afford not to jump in because if they stated these people did not need to pay taxes on their tips, it would negate the ruling against the Human Rights Organization and undermine their own authority.

"According to the Black Tax Act's profit provision, tips are considered taxable income, and naturally, everyone must pay taxes on them. Of course, the Black Tax Act was primarily aimed at criminals in principle, and for this group of people, we do not have the manpower and resources to conduct a large-scale general survey; we can only hope everyone will be proactive about it," David explained.
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David was also aware that this question was a trap and that stepping into it could potentially provoke the dissatisfaction of tens of millions of people who received tips, but there was no choice. Even if it was a trap, the tax bureau had to make its stance on taxation clear; it was a matter of principle.

However, his last comments did offer a bit of damage control.

That was to suggest to these people not to be upset; his current position was just due to Phipps's persistent questioning. In reality, the tax bureau would only selectively use this law to target criminals and enterprises involved in large-scale tax evasion; they certainly wouldn't bother with these minor cases unless absolutely necessary.

"Well, I believe the audience in front of their TVs has heard that. Those of you who have received tips since the Black Tax Act was released, please promptly declare and pay your taxes to your local tax bureau. Do not waste the bureau's resources in having to carry out a general survey; we hope everyone will be a law-abiding citizen!"

On the surface, Phipps's statement seemed to promote tax collection for the tax bureau, but his real intention was to provoke opposition between the tax bureau and the tens of millions of citizens who had received tips—a sinister motive.

Meanwhile, everyone in the tax bureau system naturally despised the fueling behavior of Phipps as seen on the big screen.