Chapter 470: Loopholes in Tax Laws and Changes in Elections
The Evil Queen was no longer so vicious after she arrived in prison. She had a good chat with her publicist, calculated for a long time, and finally gave Ronald a one-day shooting permit, including filming on the top floor and aerial photography by helicopter.
license.
"So easy to talk to?" Ronald looked at Pat Kingsley in disbelief.
"She was hit by the hatred of rich people..." Kingsley, wearing glasses, took out a copy of Mrs. Helmsley's court documents and a briefing of the news reports, and explained to Ronald
.
This evil queen, do you think she has done anything particularly evil? Not really. Her so-called tax evasion is actually done by many rich people, but they are not as arrogant as she is, talking nonsense to her assistants.
.
Among her charges, tax evasion is actually relatively minor, while the more serious charges include forging documents and defrauding the government.
Her biggest sin is being mean. After George Sr. took office, there was a period of economic contraction. Economic stagnation did great harm to the living standards of the people at the bottom. In the previous eight years of Ronald Sr.'s reign, although the economy was booming,
But it has also resulted in an extremely widening gap between rich and poor.
In court, the assistants, gardeners, lawyers, and maids around her (who were all fired by her) repeated the harsh words she said. The jury had already made up its mind to sentence her according to the maximum sentence.
The media is hyping up these contents, which has also caused public pressure on the judge and dare not cancel the jury's verdict.
However, the sentence in the first instance obviously exceeded the appropriate range, leaving room for an appeal to the second instance. By then, she had already been in jail for some time. With this flaw in her appeal, there was a high possibility of a lighter sentence in the second instance.
Of course, the prerequisite for this is that the Evil Queen can no longer say anything vicious and satirical about the poor. On the contrary, she should try to make some friendly gestures, preferably do something that makes the public feel better, and let her image be improved through the media.
Reversal, so that everything will be foolproof during the second trial.
"Want to thank her in the movie subtitles? This is impossible..." Ronald saw the Evil Queen's proposal, but it also came with conditions. She wanted a line of thank you subtitles.
"So what's your counteroffer?" Of course Pat Kingsley knew that this kind of thing would bring trouble.
"I can only thank the Empire State Building. Tell her whether she wants love or not. If not, I will build the scene myself..."
…
"Today's rich people are no longer willing to appear in the media. Many rich people in the financial circle did not make their fortunes in a sunny way, so no one wants to become Rudy's trophy..."
Little Douglas was sitting opposite Ronald. He happened to come to see Ronald with Donna, and they talked about the unfortunate evil queen.
The Rudy he was talking about was the Southern District prosecutor who failed to run for mayor of New York City last time. In his hands, he successfully sent several Wall Street billionaires and Italian family members to serve their sentences.
In the past few years, the public's favorable impression of him has become stronger and stronger, and they have become more hateful towards rich people who greedily use illegal means to get rich. In the movie "Wall Street" back then, the character played by Michael Douglas said "Greed is a good thing."
It seems like a thing of the past century that the bankers and villains have gained the recognition of the people.
We are all rich people, so we all feel a little chilled by this change in social atmosphere. Regarding the evil queen, the three of us are also thinking about how to prevent it. Do charity, fund scientific research, or do some other things.
The good things that make people appreciate you will be an excellent protection when problems arise.
"Well, you have to donate some money to charity. It's best to spend a small amount of money and get a relatively big impact." Douglas Jr. concluded.
"Help me think about it..." Ronald handed over this image project to his cousin Donna.
"Are our seats in Staten Island secure?" Ronald asked little Doug about the House of Representatives election. The election of House of Representatives will be held at the same time as the general election at the end of the year.
Some things, for rich people like Ronald, are as protective as doing good deeds, and that is these elected politicians. As long as these people still need their votes on Staten Island, then they will still have a lot of power.
utilization value.
"There is no problem with the election, but some people are still clamoring for redistricting to separate our Staten Island and southern Manhattan..."
The so-called "some people" are the current New York Mayor Dinkins. After this black man came to power, among other things, he would only pursue his racial reconciliation and turn Manhattan into a colorful platter of various races.
People of different races have huge differences in income and crime rates. The result of forcibly combining them is the rapid deterioration of public security, and the rapid decline of real estate prices in New York City where new public housing has been built nearby.
The most disgusting thing is that in midtown Manhattan, Times Square, which used to be a classic must-see for tourists, has now become a place for tourists to visit. It is like moving the block from the movie "Pretty Woman" to this most famous tourist attraction
Attractions come.
In addition to the beautiful women who surprise multinational tourists (especially Japanese tourists), there are also an increasing number of black and Latino thieves. The new gangs growing up in these public housing estates do not include the old Italians, Irish, or Chinese.
Those gangs who enforce the rules and attack tourists without any regard have caused the entire city's tourism industry to decline rapidly.
However, Dinkins has the support of blacks and Latinos. From the northern Bronx to Manhattan, "business" is booming, and these people have vowed to vote for him.
In order to stabilize his vote base, Dinkins has always wanted to separate Staten Island and South Manhattan, so that the Elephant Party's stable vote bank will be demolished and become the Donkey Party's vote bank.
Several people agreed that they should continue to support their Congresswoman Susan and let her resist the redistricting proposal.
"How is the general election going now?" Compared with the mayoral election that will only be held next year, the general election at the end of the year is more urgent.
"There are no competitors within the party, not even the governor of the Donkey Party. There are only a few high-ranking leaders sitting in the White House who have failed to be re-elected. In addition, after winning the Cold War and the Gulf War, I think no one can
Let’s challenge him. We can just wait until the New York primary election to support him.” Little Doug said that this is not a problem.
"When the governor comes to New York State again, I will donate money to his PAC." When the two left, Donna whispered to Ronald behind him. Don't offend these politicians unless you know
There is definitely no room for relaxation.
"When I get back to Los Angeles, I have something to trouble you with..." Ronald then called Diane. He lived in Los Angeles for more than half of his time, and the politicians there couldn't forget to support him.
The congressman near Beverly Hills, as well as the candidate for the Senate by-election, all asked Diane to come forward to support and donate money. As a female actor, it is normal to support a female competitor, right?
?
…
"How can the Evil Queen counter-offer?"
On the plane back to Los Angeles, Ronald asked Pat Kingsley.
"You can just thank the Empire State Building, but you only have half a day..." Kingsley adjusted his glasses. This evil queen really refused to suffer any losses. No wonder the assistants and maids who couldn't take advantage of them were all
She fired him ruthlessly.
"Ha, it seems that she is in urgent need of public relations exposure. If I can take advantage of her, can I be considered a successful businessman?" Ronald said with a smile. This evil queen, Mrs. Helmsley, can
She is not the kind of woman who gains wealth through marriage. Before she married her current husband, she was a business woman who built a hotel chain from scratch.
"You can say that, but you also took advantage of her situation." Pat Kingsley also laughed. As expected, this Ronald was different from other Hollywood clients. He actually took advantage of a small business opportunity.
He is happy to get a little advantage from other entrepreneurs, rather than getting carried away because of dating a popular female star. No wonder he can achieve a successful career.
"Thank you very much, Pat, I have to... you know..." Ronald made a gesture of putting his hands beside his head. The staff around him knew that he liked sleeping on the plane.
"Please, we can talk to you about your image problem after we get to Los Angeles."
Pat Kingsley was in New York this time, and she also accepted a job. It was a business given to her by Ed Bastian, the president of Ronald's TV, radio and newspaper business.
On the surface, he gave her the crisis public relations work order for this business to use his professional talents to help the New York Daily News Group gain a better reputation. In fact, it was to give her crisis public relations company an annual settlement.
Consulting fees, find ways to create a good reputation for boss Ronald among the people.
After she understood Ronald's plan, she also formulated a plan. In general, it was to create various seemingly accidental encounters. Ronald would help some poor people with whom the public could sympathize, and at the same time, not appear in the newspaper.
It was actively promoted and treated as an urban legend, which was eventually discovered and reported by the media.
Her first idea was to find some actors from movies directed or produced by Ronald, and start from there to create some stories that the public would like to hear.
"Huh...ah..."
Pat Kingsley made a plan for the first case, and when he turned around, he saw that Ronald had already fallen asleep sweetly under the smooth takeoff of the pilot Bono of the special plane.
…
"So the taxes you mentioned are just deferred, aren't they?"
In his sleep, Ronald saw a familiar character appear on the screen again.
"It's actually Weintraub. This guy's guest appearance as a businessman is quite classy..." Ronald recognized it. The person who played the role of asking the lawyer for details of tax avoidance was actually his friend, Longwei Boy.
Producer, Jerry Weintraub.
This movie also seems to be about the issue of tax avoidance, which was not common in Hollywood movies in the past. Maybe in the next few years, the public's perception will shift again, and there will be some doubts about the fact that these rich people are brought to justice.
More recognition?
"The dollar of the future may be only half as valuable as the dollar of today." The camera turned to the opposite side of Weintraub. It was Gene Hackman, the actor who sold Silence of the Lambs to him.
lawyer.
"Who said that?" Weintraub held a cigar in his hand and disagreed.
"After the election..." Gene Hackman tried to start his understanding of politics and finance.
"Are you telling me that you know who will be sitting in the White House in the next four years? If you know, that is very valuable information..." Weintraub interrupted the other person's nonsense without hesitation.
, he acted in his true colors. When I met him back then, he looked like this.
"Sir, what he means is that no matter who occupies the White House in the next four years, you will be able to benefit from it..." The camera turned and a third person interjected. Playing this person in a tailored suit, he looked very much like a fledgling lawyer.
The young man in question is actually Tom Cruise. Nowadays it is rare to see him playing a character who lacks confidence like this.
"Let him say, Hey, who the hell are you? Who is this, your lawyer?" Weintraub was annoyed that a young man dared to interrupt his tax issues.
"This is a very sensitive issue, so we will not involve outside lawyers. This is our own lawyer."
"Hey, did you hear that? This guy is threatening me in a subtle way. I'm a good guy, you see, you guys are different from those guys in Chicago. As long as I make money, I don't care who the fuck gives me tax trouble, you guys
Those who get paid directly, those people in Chicago still have to do business with me to make money."
Weintraub suddenly changed his face again. He faced Tom Cruise's confused face and said, "You don't know me. I'm a good man. As long as you can save me a million in taxes."
, I will not break your legs..."
"Hey, let's not change the subject..." Gene Hackman quickly interrupted. This topic was getting more and more scary. Don't frighten the fledgling Tom Cruise.
"Hey, what did I say? What did I say?" Weintraub looked like someone from the movie who said something illegal.
"Maybe you didn't say it..." Tom Cruise seemed to have found a God-given opportunity to convince this customer.
"What the fuck didn't I say? What the hell didn't I say?"
"Thank you. What my colleague said is that there are no risks or legal problems when you use this to avoid taxes..." Tom Cruise still had the youthful spirit and impulsively said what he thought he could do to customers.
If you are satisfied.
"Are you saying that the worst-case scenario is that it will take many years for me to pay taxes?"
"No, the worst result is that next year they will close the loophole in the tax law and you will no longer be able to buy it, and then you will feel like you regretted eating an elephant's dung..."
"Ronald, Ronald, we're here..."
"Ah? Why so fast?" Ronald was dreaming hard when he was woken up by Pat Kingsley. Everyone was waiting for him, but Pat came up and shook him awake. We can't all wait for you to dream.
Bar?
"Hmm... um..." After Ronald picked up his luggage, he listened to Pat Kingsley's perfected plan on the plane all the way. How he helped a poor actor and started his career
of career.
"Sir, sir, could you please sign Ross Perot's autograph?"
"Who?" Ronald suddenly heard an unfamiliar name. "Oh, a politician? I have a congressman I support." Ronald looked at the picture of a personable man on the display board, with the Stars and Stripes and the
From his name, you can tell that this is a fundraiser.
"No, we just need to sign. Mr. Perot is running as an independent, so he must win the support of voters in all states. He is the best candidate and has not been tainted by any wealthy people. He is a billionaire and financed by himself.
money campaign”
Ronald waved his hands and walked forward quickly. Isn't this a joke? How is it possible to run independently from the two parties?
"He is a self-made billionaire. He once went to Vietnam to bring back prisoners of the Vietnam War. He said he would reduce the deficit and protect the people. He would never break his promise to raise taxes during his term.
He also told all his supporters not to donate more than five dollars. Would you like to see his campaign platform?
Take one and take a look. You can call this number to express your support. Do you want to know about it? In the week since the hotline was set up, more than one million support calls have been received..."
"What?" Ronald stopped and took the promotional card. Don't donate more than five dollars, have no party platform, and still get more than a million support calls?
This momentum of enthusiastic participation from ordinary people reminded him of the enthusiasm of Ronald Sr. when he ran for election more than ten years ago.