"Wait, wait. I have a question. Is this kind of operation legal? Won't they voluntarily pay taxes?"
Carter was a bit confused. To withhold tax collection notices from the tax department, isn't that too audacious?
If we talk about the most powerful departments in the United States, or rather authoritative departments, the tax authorities are definitely one of them. Who dares to withhold their collection notices? Moreover, even if they withhold them, what if the person pays taxes on time? I don't need you to collect, I'll pay it myself. What can you do to me?
"Naive. Have you ever read the federal tax code? National tax, state tax, local tax, there are countless types of taxes. Generally, people wait for the tax collection notice to arrive before paying taxes. Moreover, it's legal for them to withhold these collection notices because the tax department has sold the right to collect taxes to them. Why can't they withhold them?"
Goodman snorted coldly, obviously somewhat disdainful of this operation. But he wasn't outdated. When it comes to using something, he might as well use it. Using legal means to ruin an enemy's family is much better than resorting to shady methods.
"After receiving the notice and payment demand, there is a grace period of 21 days. Do you know about this? Within 21 days, if you pay the taxes, interest, and fines, there will be no problem. After 21 days, the tax authorities can initiate enforcement procedures."
"These financial, no, they should be called tax-inclusive companies, use this method for small amounts of taxes, to begin with. I'll withhold it first. When the interest and fines accumulate to a point where you probably can't afford it, they notify the tax authorities to initiate enforcement procedures and then buy your property at a low price, sell it at a higher price, and profit from it."
"Is this plain robbery?!"
Carter was shocked. He seemed to understand why this felt familiar.
While the Mongolian leaders who had been wronged for many years shouted, they couldn't help shedding tears of grievance!
Many people say that the Yuan Dynasty implemented a tax-inclusive system, but actually, the true tax-inclusive system should be in the Song Dynasty, called "Pu Mai Shang Shui." During the Yuan Dynasty, it was explicitly prohibited. Those leaders were wronged, but saying that about Tylenol isn't!
"This is looting, blatant looting! But they are legal, they comply with the provisions of the federal tax code. Wait, let me find it for you."
In no time, Goodman came back with two hefty volumes. He flipped to one page in the first book and pointed to one of the judicial interpretations.
"See this? It says they can use any means to seize property and simultaneously gain the right to sell and dispose of the property!"
"Look at this, the Supreme Court's judicial interpretation of tax enforcement procedures: This is a simple non-judicial procedure, authorized by law. Pay attention to this, it's a self-help method authorized by law. It helps the federal tax authorities and state tax authorities to more quickly and conveniently recover overdue taxes."
By the time Carter got here, he had nothing more to say. This self-help method is quite brilliant.
Indeed, it's self-help. Not even notifying the principal himself, or if notified, it's like a life-threatening notice: Can you pay? If you can't, I'm sorry to inform you that your house no longer belongs to you, and your car may not belong to you either.
We'll take it ourselves, we'll auction it ourselves, no need for the principal to worry. Carter carefully thought about this process and suddenly realized an equation: Authorized by law = Royal Charter; Enforcement procedure = Cut first, explain later.
It's said that there are no wrong names, only inappropriate nicknames. The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is undoubtedly worthy of the title! For ordinary people, tax police are no better than the henchmen of the Western Factory! The IRS's reputation isn't something that can be established by just one Al Capone!
There have been numerous reports related to this in the future. For example, in 2014, in Pennsylvania, someone was auctioned off by the state tax bureau for not paying $6.3 in taxes without the knowledge of the principal.
In addition to this case, under the feet of Washington, DC, the nation's capital, there have been cases of elderly people having their tax bills withheld by these so-called financial companies, allowing interest to accumulate to a point where they couldn't afford it, then issuing notices and forcibly selling their property.
What's even more terrifying is that, according to an investigation report by The Washington Post, between 2005 and 2013, in Washington, DC, a place with only 300,000 properties, over 13,000 properties had their liens sold to these so-called financial companies by the tax authorities. The ratio reached an astonishing 30 to 1.
"Then let's do it this way. Do you know anyone from these so-called financial companies?"
After knowing that this operation is legal, Carter was no longer worried. Compared to his uncertain operation of possibly getting their parents fired, this method seems more direct, or rather, he's not doing it himself, at most, just pushing it. If it works out, great, if not, he won't lose anything.
Suddenly, Carter felt a chill down his spine:
"Wait a minute, let's not talk about them. Have our taxes been checked by an accountant? Property taxes, capital gains taxes, wait, estate taxes! After taking over Blake Bank, it seems like we haven't paid estate taxes yet. Will they use this trick against us?"
"Don't worry, we've always handled our taxes very well. Old Blake always emphasized this, and we take it seriously. As for estate taxes, you can thank the new regulations from two years ago. The exemption limit for generation-skipping has been raised to $750,000. The money in the bank belonging to your family, the value of the bank's building, land value, and vehicles added together don't exceed this amount, so you don't have to pay estate taxes."
Goodman smiled and reassured Carter, helping to ease his worries:
"When you were still in the hospital bed, we had these assets accounted for. We also invited people from the state tax bureau to help supervise and notarize the estate tax declaration and estate notarization, which have been submitted to the IRS. So you don't have to worry about us being targeted."
"And these jackal-like financial companies usually only use this trick against ordinary people, mainly targeting lonely old people. Middle-aged people with the ability to work don't usually get involved much because they have jobs, can take out loans, and have stable income, so they can afford their regular taxes. Not to mention us, if they target us, it will ruin the rules, and they won't survive in this industry."
"So, I'm not sure if this trick is applicable now, but I can go and find out. I have a classmate who works in one of these companies in Atlanta. There may be records of Geen's family's tax arrears, or there may not be."
"I just don't want you to have any contact with those people, you know what I mean? Those street guys, they cause trouble and often don't play by the rules, they're not good partners. Even if this method doesn't work for now, we can always think of other ways, within the rules. America is a country of capitalism, and capitalism values rules the most. It's best to do everything within these rules, don't cross the line."
"I understand, thank you for your concern, Uncle Goodman."
Feeling Goodman's genuine care, Carter nodded earnestly and assured him. He's not an ungrateful person, and Goodman's words were a bit circuitous, but he probably understood some of it. The gist is to try not to get too involved in the dark side and not always think about using physical means to fight enemies. Because doing so may offend people in the same class.
"I'll keep my distance from them. Just on campus, given the current situation, I just want to quietly study. It won't work if I don't have someone to help me, at least, I can't let today's incident happen again, right?"
"And, they have a benefit. Some dirty work that we're not good at handling can be left to them to do, like that Eric guy!"
"If you're really broke, we can understand. But if you clearly have money and still dare to default on payments! Dealing with such deadbeats, being too rule-abiding makes it hard to solve problems. Sometimes, not following the rules is a rule in itself!"