At Helen's restaurant, Ronan returned just in time for dinner.
"I heard Hollywood actresses are willing to do anything to get a role. Is that true, Ronan?" Tony Koch, Helen's son, asked eagerly.
Ronan didn't give a direct answer, only saying, "There are always some people with bold ambitions."
Though Tony Koch was older than Ronan by a few years, he was far less mature. "Take me with you next time you shoot a film," he said.
Helen, swallowing her food, interjected, "Tony!"
"Mom! I spend all day dealing with a bunch of old men in Munich," Tony complained. "It's so boring."
Ronan didn't outright refuse, saying, "Tony, you should come to Los Angeles with me."
Tony scratched his head. "Didn't you come to Berlin to film?"
"I'm handling some film-related business," Ronan replied, cutting a piece of grilled meat, savoring it, and then giving Helen a thumbs-up. "Auntie, your cooking is excellent."
"Thank you," Helen looked pleased.
Tony Koch interjected, "Ronan, let's talk about something interesting, like celebrity scandals and secrets."
Setting down his utensils and wiping his mouth with a napkin, Ronan said, "Tony, you're curious, huh?"
"Yeah," Tony nodded eagerly.
Ronan chuckled. "You'll know everything once you start your own film company."
Tony Koch shrugged. "I couldn't manage a film company."
Thinking Ronan was joking, Helen said, "Tony deals with finance, not the film industry."
Ronan looked at Helen and said seriously, "Aunt Helen, Tony, would you like to start a film company?"
Tony was puzzled, but Helen stared at Ronan, who remained straightforward. "This isn't a joke."
"I'm telling you, Ronan," Tony, though immature, wasn't stupid, "your suggestion is a bit outrageous."
Helen shook her head. "Dear, we don't understand the film industry or how film companies operate. We're complete novices."
Ronan said earnestly, "What I mean is to register an empty shell film company... By the way, Aunt Helen, are you the legal representative of the meat company?"
"It's me," Helen confirmed.
"I can have Tony register a film company," Ronan smiled, "and collaborate with my Sahara Entertainment. Then, we can legally minimize taxes for both your personal and meat company."
Helen, unfamiliar with the film industry, still perked up at the mention of legal tax evasion. "Really?"
Ronan explained directly, "According to German tax laws, if personal or corporate income is invested in films, that portion can be exempt from taxes, while the returns on investment are treated as regular post-tax income, which means they can be tax-free."
Tony chimed in, "I get it. For example, if I earn $1 million, I'd have to pay the highest personal income tax rate, which is $510,000, leaving me with only $490,000. But if I invest this $1 million in a film, any returns from it will be tax-free."
Ronan, having researched numerous cases and consulted extensively with Mueller, a lawyer, knew more about this than most Germans.
"That's correct. Your $1 million income would evade the tax authorities," Ronan explained calmly. "It's a completely legal way."
Helen, being a businesswoman, said, "It's a legal tax avoidance method," then shook her head. "But the combined annual income of my personal and company isn't even close to $40 million."
Ronan countered, "Aunt Helen, your friends or partners could also use this method to avoid taxes. I own a Hollywood production company, giving you an advantage others don't have."
Helen considered it seriously.
Ronan continued, "If Tony's shell company can attract $40 million and purchase the rights to my two projects, I can guarantee Tony recovers the $40 million. Initially, Sahara Entertainment will prepay $30 million as rent for the films, then pay $10 million for the investment returns. Tony's $40 million investment won't lose a penny."
"It's indeed a good method," Tony nodded repeatedly. "Just tax avoidance alone could equal the operating profits of a company for a long time."
For any company or high-income individual, taxes were always a headache.
"Ronan, you could have come to Berlin specifically to help Aunt Helen with tax avoidance, right?" Helen suddenly spoke up.
"Of course not," Ronan replied truthfully. "I also benefit from it."
He continued, "According to German tax laws, film investors can receive a tax refund in advance before the film starts shooting. This applies not only to German films but also to foreign films invested in by Germans. German law doesn't require films to be shot in Germany or that German filmmakers be involved, only that the German film company owns the film's rights and corresponding profits."
"If I sell the film rights to Tony, it fully complies with the law. Then Tony leases the film rights to me for 20 or 50 years, and when the project is completed, I buy back the film rights at a symbolic price."
"These two projects shift between Sahara Entertainment and Tony's company, effectively adding a refund from the German government to my income. The refund amount is roughly ten percent of the estimated income of the film project, which needs sufficient actual data to support it and cannot be too high."
Helen saw through the essence of it. "If you get a $10 million refund and the film hasn't started yet, your $40 million could potentially become $50 million."
Ronan smiled. "Getting $10 million is unlikely."
There were intermediary agents involved in the process, which all required money. Getting a few million dollars was already good. However, this money belonged to the tax refund and didn't need to be included in the income of the two film projects.
Helen picked up her glass, took a sip, and said, "Are you sure those two projects can get a refund?"
Ronan spoke honestly, "I've found an intermediary who has successfully completed this business many times. There's about a seventy to eighty percent chance."
Helen put down her glass and said, "I'll think about it seriously."
After dinner, Ronan continued the conversation with Tony in the living room, while Helen went into the study and called the company's lawyer, "Hans, come to my office tomorrow. There's something I need to consult you about."