American Tax Officer

Chapter 182: Chapter 135: Tax Revenue in 18 Cities Halved

Sparks, located in the western part of Nevada, is about 32 kilometers away from Las Vegas and situated at the northeastern edge of the Las Vegas Valley.

"Chief Tax Officer, I've checked it out, the guys who robbed the Bulgari shipment half a month ago are indeed them!"

"Did they sell the stolen goods?"

"They did, according to my informant, they got 1.1 million US Dollars!"

"Good, notify Pope and the others, we're going to make an arrest!"

The second inspection squad of the West Sparks City State Tax Bureau, led by Inspector Richards, was heading toward a black community about 5 kilometers away from them.

Along the way, everyone was chatting and laughing, in high spirits.

This jewelry case had been a tough nut to crack for almost a month for their squad.

And now that the amount involved had reached 1.1 million, according to the tax rate, they would be able to collect over 400 thousand US Dollars in taxes, a whopping sum that would surely allow their squad to hold their heads high for this assessment period!

Amidst the laughter, the squad soon arrived at the entrance to the community.

But upon arrival, they found over a dozen police cars parked at the entrance, something they hadn't expected.

"Damn, how did the police manage to nab them?"

Before they could even process what had happened, an agitated voice of one of the inspectors caused Richards and others to look toward the community gate instantly.

Six black men were being taken out of the gate by the police in a tight line.

And these six men were none other than their intended targets for the operation!

"Fuck Yau!"

Richards punched the steering wheel in frustration, his face contorted with rage.

Due to the "Black Tax Act," the State Tax Bureau had the right to tax any criminals.

However, once a criminal fell into police custody, they would no longer have the right to collect taxes from them.

In other words, the case they had been working on for so long had gone up in smoke.

That was more than 400 thousand dollars in tax revenue at stake!

The inspectors from the second squad of the West Sparks City State Tax Bureau were each devastated by this development.

"Wait a minute... Something's not right here."

Just as Richards and his colleagues were filled with regret, Pope, one of the inspectors, seemed to have noticed something strange and expressed surprise.

Richards, deeply annoyed, quickly tossed those thoughts aside and redirected his focus to the events unfolding at the entrance of the community.

After those six men, the police brought out another ten to twenty people.

Among them, many were criminals who had paid their taxes to the State Tax Bureau before, so they recognized quite a few faces.

"Chief Tax Officer, something's off, Pete, Aneke, and the others, they're just petty thieves, and Michelle and her group of streetwalkers, why would the police suddenly arrest them too?"

Inspector Pope noticed that something was amiss.

Sparks was not a city known for its strict laws, and its police had never been particularly proactive.

Dealing with a jewelry heist involving over a million dollars was one thing, but now the police were detaining petty thieves and even streetwalkers, a profession that was almost tacitly accepted as legal—when did the police become so idle?

With Pope's interjection, Richards also sensed the anomaly.

Immediately, he opened the car door, stepped out, and approached a police officer he had seen a few times before, saying, "Hello, Martin."

"Richards, Chief Inspector, what a coincidence, eh?"

"Yeah, Martin, what's this all about, why have you arrested so many people?"

"Ah, don't get me started. This morning, the city hall issued notifications to our department, demanding a strict crackdown in our jurisdiction starting today. We need to sweep clear any criminal activity. Every police inspector has been issued a KPI, and those who don't meet it will be punished!"

"City hall issued a crackdown notification?"

Richards was stunned. He had worked in the city for seven to eight years and had never seen city hall issue such serious crackdown notifications.

Furthermore, the city's police force had always been short-staffed; wouldn't this mean the police didn't have to deal with any other cases?

What the hell was city hall up to?

"Chief Tax Officer, if city hall really is intent on such a strict crackdown on crime, then our tax collection is going to be ruined!"

Pope's reminder made Richards snap back to reality.

Indeed.

If they wanted to fulfill the goals of the Black Tax Act, they would need a large number of criminals to tax.

If the police were really cracking down this hard, not only would they lose the taxpayers they had secured previously, but what taxes could they potentially collect in the future?

"Let's head back!"

Pope immediately returned to the car; he needed to rush back to the bureau and report this to the Chief Inspector to figure out what to do next!

Outside of Sparks City, at the same time, the city halls of the other 17 cities in Nevada also notified their law enforcement departments to immediately begin strict crackdowns in their cities.

The inspectors from all the big cities were filled with complaints and anxiety.

With the onset of this crackdown, a large number of criminals would be caught, which would be a staggering loss for the tax revenue from the black taxes collected by the State Tax Bureau!

While the State Tax Bureaus in various cities were overwhelmed, a bit of insider information spread like wildfire and caused an uproar in all the bureaus.

The rumor was that for some unknown reason, the Las Vegas Lake District Sub-bureau Branch had offended the Governor, which prompted the state government to launch the crackdown as a lesson to the State Tax Bureau!