During lunch, both Lena and Tina were astonished by William's enormous appetite. He devoured three large pieces of grilled salmon, two big slices of bread, a vegetable and fruit salad, and a glass of juice before he was finally satisfied.
Lena, filled with concern, asked, "William, are you sure it's okay for you to eat this much? Shouldn't we go to the hospital for a check-up?"
William wiped his mouth with a napkin and replied, "There's nothing to worry about, Mom. I've been eating like this for the past few months. Look at my arms; I've gained muscle. I'm much stronger now." He then rolled up his sleeve to reveal his bulging arm muscles, flexing them for emphasis.
Lena was taken aback by the sight of William's well-defined muscles. Previously, although tall, he had been as thin as a reed with little muscle. Now, seeing his robust arms, she nodded approvingly. "Much better now. You used to be so skinny, like a bamboo stick. As long as you're okay, then I'm relieved."
Tina, meanwhile, was busy pinching William's arm and then feeling his chest, looking star-struck.
"Tina, sit properly and act like a lady. If you keep this up, I'll send you back home," Lena scolded, annoyed by Tina's behavior.
"Alright, Auntie Lena, I understand. I'll behave like a lady," Tina quickly responded, frightened by Lena's reprimand. She then sat primly, elegantly sipping her juice, looking like a model of propriety.
William watched Tina with amusement, giving her a playful wink and making a funny face, causing Tina to burst into laughter.
But when she saw Lena glaring at her, Tina quickly composed herself and, with a pitiful expression, said, "Auntie Lena, it's not my fault. William made funny faces at me. He's so annoying, making me laugh on purpose and embarrassing me. You must help me teach him a lesson. He's the one to blame."
"Then just don't look at him," Lena responded, rolling her eyes at Tina.
"But I can't help it. I love looking at William. He's so handsome," Tina pouted, casting a pleading look at Lena.
"Oh my God, why do I let you stay in my house? William, have you finished eating? If so, get out and wait for your guests in the hall. I'll be taking Tina to tidy up the garden and check the woods for mushrooms this afternoon. I don't have time to deal with you," Lena said, exasperated, but also amused by Tina's antics. Lena really had grown fond of Tina over the past few months. Having her around at the old Oxford castle had kept her company and less lonely.
Seeing that he was in the hot seat, William had no choice but to put down his utensils, wipe his mouth, and say, "Alright, Mom, I'm done eating. I'll head out now. Bye, Mom. Bye, Tina."
As William was leaving, Tina, giggling and blushing, blew him a kiss.
"Alright, he's gone. What are you staring at? If you're done eating, let's go and tidy up the garden," Lena said, shaking her head in resignation at Tina, who was clearly smitten with her son.
By 1:30 PM, William received word from Christmas that the guests had arrived. Standing at the castle's entrance, he saw Anthony and the group of over ten people arriving punctually. He greeted everyone with handshakes and cordial smiles.
Barney and Christmas scanned the guests and their bags with detectors before nodding to William, indicating that everything was clear. William then led the group to the reception room on the first floor, while Barney and the others stayed outside the door. Once the servants had brought in drinks, William said, "Let's start by signing the non-disclosure agreements."
William carefully reviewed the NDA handed over by Anthony and, finding it satisfactory, asked everyone to sign. Afterward, he began, "Anthony, here are my earnings from the futures market and the other income statements for this year. Please review them and help me come up with a reasonable tax plan."
Anthony took the reports, distributing some to two middle-aged lawyers who had come along. After about ten minutes, when the three saw that William had made a staggering profit of $3.416 billion from the stock market, they all gasped in astonishment.
Anthony, his face full of shock, said, "Boss, this is truly unbelievable."
After they had reviewed the documents, Anthony handed them to the other lawyers, who were equally stunned as they read through them.
The conference room fell silent for a few minutes until Lante, the lawyer specializing in tax matters, spoke up. "Mr. Devonshire, I just reviewed your documents. To be honest, your tax situation seems complicated, but it's actually quite simple to handle.
"I've calculated that nearly two-thirds of the funds used by National Bank for futures trading were in the Japanese stock market. The rest was spread across the USA, England, France, Germany, Spain, and Holland. You made $400 million in the USA, $300 million in England, around $700 million in the other countries combined, and $2 billion in Japan."
"Is there a problem with that?" William asked.
Lante responded, "There certainly is, Mr. Devonshire. The true accounts behind these funds are actually registered in the British Virgin Islands under your name. The accounts at Swiss National Bank are merely acting as a counterparty. Technically, your funds never directly entered those countries."
William was taken aback and stood up, exclaiming, "How can that be?" Then, suddenly, a look of joy spread across his face. "Does that mean I don't have to pay capital gains tax in those countries?"
Lante smiled and explained, "There's no need to be surprised, Mr. Devonshire. Your best decision was to have National Bank handle the transactions for you. Even if those countries try to investigate, they can only probe Swiss National Bank, and I doubt they'll uncover anything significant.
"What this means," Lante continued, "is that the $1.16 billion you used to short the stock market with Swiss National Bank's assistance is considered their funds. You never directly transacted with those countries, and the profits were merely from bets with the bank, for which you only paid a 3% transaction fee."
William, grasping the situation, said, "So, in essence, the money used to short the market was technically National Bank's, and I didn't have direct financial dealings with those countries. The profits I made were from National Bank's side of the bet, minus the transaction fees."
"Exactly," Lante confirmed. "That's why Swiss National Bank is known for having the world's safest accounts and providing the most comprehensive services. However, to avoid any complications, I suggest you still pay the 20% capital gains tax on the $400 million from the USA. The American tax authorities are notoriously aggressive. If you don't pay, they will keep a close eye on you. For the other countries, you don't need to worry about their taxes. We can attribute those to National Bank."
Hearing Lante's advice, William burst into laughter. Swiss National Bank truly lived up to its reputation as the world's best bank. He had been dreading paying $680 million in taxes to the Americans and had agonized over it for days. Now, it turned out he only needed to pay $80 million. William's joy was uncontainable.
Compared to $680 million, $80 million felt like nothing. After celebrating for a while, William calmed down and asked, "Why would Swiss National Bank do this? By using their funds, wouldn't they have to pay taxes in those countries?"
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