Chapter 721 Whose Pot?

The "Paradise" document, a major document released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in the previous life, revealed tax loopholes and how political and business elites concealed large amounts of assets.

As soon as this document was released, it caused an uproar in the entire Western world. There are more than 13 million documents involving many tax havens around the world. More than 90 media outlets around the world participated in the investigation, and more than 120 people from nearly 50 countries appeared in the investigation. The names of the ZZ family, the Queen of England, and the powerful ministers of the United States are all on the list. In addition, there are entrepreneurs from all walks of life, athletes, actors and stars, etc., covering almost most of the high society in the West.

Its explosiveness is far beyond the "mail gate" incident that was only ignited in the United States.

The heart of the "Paradise" papers focuses on Bermuda-based Appleby LLP, a more than 120-year-old firm serving the exceptionally wealthy.

It is committed to helping the wealthy reduce their tax burden; hide their assets, such as companies, private jets, real estate and yachts; and establish large offshore trusts.

Appleby has offices in all tax havens around the world.

Yang Cheng doesn't remember much about the specific contents of the documents, but the few he can remember are typical examples. For example, the "Paradise Papers" showed that the Secretary of Commerce of the United States was in a transportation company that had direct financial ties to a close friend of the polar bear leader. Enterprises and Petroleos de Venezuela have investment shares.

Another example is the "Paradise Papers" where the big-mouthed American appeared, and more than 10 of his advisers and major donors to the Elephant Party were also on the list.

Of course, what Yang Cheng is focusing on now is the content involving the British government or the royal family, because Weatherrow can't make up his mind and come to ask for help. The people involved are definitely not small, but Yang Cheng can't remember the general situation. He could only pretend to be ignorant and asked, "What's the shocking inside story?"

Witherow swallowed, and said with a panicked face, "The document is not complete, it should have been deliberately deleted and sent, and part of the content shows that our Queen of the United Kingdom passed the private property in 2005. — The Duchy of Lancaster invests £7.5m in a Cayman Islands fund.

The fund has since invested in stakes in two British retailers accused of exploiting poor and vulnerable families. "

This means that the Duchy of Lancaster, which the Queen owns and guarantees her personal expenses, holds part of its funds in funds registered in Cayman and Bermuda.

Yang Cheng clicked her tongue secretly. Ordinary people might say: Investing in offshore companies is not illegal.

Indeed, everyone can register capital like an offshore company. The problem is that the investor is a member of the British royal family, and even the most honorable Queen*****. The object of investment is an offshore company. This involves "tax avoidance". "And "money begets money", you must know that the Queen of England only has government financial subsidies for that part of her income that does not need to pay tax.

In fact, as the king of a country, the queen enjoys many strange immunity.

Under British law, the subject of civil and criminal proceedings cannot be the monarch; passports are issued in the name of the monarch, so the queen does not and does not need to have a passport.

These strange rights also apply to taxation. The British tax collection agency "Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs" has no power to tax the Queen, because the law stipulates that the monarch's income, capital gains or property inheritance are not liable to be taxed.

This strange arrangement actually has a certain logic: the queen should treat government policies equally and fairly, but if the tax clauses passed by politicians determine the queen's actual income, the interests may make the queen unfair.

Monarchs of other countries have similar tax exemptions: the King of the Netherlands is also not required to pay income tax.

However, the law is beautiful and the reality is cruel. In 1992, the Windsor Castle fire triggered a series of public discussions.

The core of the discussion is whether the restoration of the royal castle should cost the taxpayers' money, and the result of this matter is that the queen voluntarily pays taxes on two of her three main incomes to cover the royal family's expenditure from national taxes.

Therefore, since then, the queen's tax payment is first of all her private income, such as investment income, just like other taxpayers. Of course, the specific tax details belong to the queen's privacy, and the public has no right to know;

Then there is the Queen's small treasury, which is also taxable if it generates income or gains, and part of the money in the small treasury is provided by the above-mentioned "Duchy of Lancaster".

For example, last year, the principality's net income was nearly 20 million pounds, so in theory, the queen may be required to pay more than 8 million pounds in income tax;

The queen's third source of income, the "monarch appropriation" given by the British Treasury, does not need to pay taxes, because these annual stipends are originally used for the queen's daily official expenses.

Of course, the funniest thing is that the queen still needs to consciously pay property tax. Buckingham Palace is classified as a H-class house worth more than 320,000 pounds by the municipal government, so the queen has to pay the city hall 1,376 pounds of property tax every year. John Bull is funny too It's ridiculous.

In short, once the news of the Queen's deliberate tax avoidance is spread, it will definitely make all the John Bulls suffer from mad cow disease. Don't forget that the British royal family is a beauty salon that the British are proud of. Everything the British do is imitated by the British. Now the royal family, which is respected and supported by tens of thousands of people, puts part of the money in offshore companies. Not to mention the money to make money, but also "tax evasion", and the investment is completely irrelevant Funds, companies, how do you let the British view the British royal family? If the relevant news is confirmed to be true, then the shame of the British royal family will be lost.

Of course, now that this document is in the hands of Yang Cheng, he has no idea whether to break the news or not, and he has a vague feeling that this document may be the work of Julian Assange, which is just like the last round. The mailgate' incident has the same effect.

Still the same sentence, there is no real coincidence in this world, and Yang Cheng doesn't believe in it. How could it be such a coincidence? When he came to the UK, some hackers sent this confidential document to his subordinates with dignity. On the other hand, it happened to be sent to the hands of Witherow, the most staid and righteous character?

Today's auction was broadcast live on the Internet, so the news of Yang Cheng's coming to the UK, even if Julian Assange, who is facing the computer all day long, did not watch the live broadcast, he may have learned that he is coming to the UK through the news, which constitutes "paradise" The opportunity for the documents to be sent to Weatherrow.

Is it even possible that the so-called sexually harassed female reporter was also directed by Julian Assange?

Although it sounds unbelievable, it is undeniable that it is possible. Although Assange has been imprisoned, his group of supernatural beings are still at large. He has no shortage of people who will work hard for him. people.

So what is his purpose? After he refused to cooperate, he used such a document to provoke the general?

Looking at it from another angle, is it beneficial for Julian Assange to expose the scandals of the British royal family and politicians?

The answer is yes, when the British are in chaos, there is no time to talk to him. You must know that the person who sent people to patrol and monitor the surrounding area of ​​the Ecuadorian embassy every day is the Minister of Defense Falun.

Thinking about it carefully, if it wasn't for Yang Cheng's impromptu visit to England, he would have suspected that Recosta was bewitched by Assange to lure him here.

However, Witherow's words disturbed Yang Cheng's thoughts and made him wake up from the delusion of being persecuted. He provided Yang Cheng with a novel point of view. The game of power.

According to Witherow, whether it is the sexual harassment incident or the "Paradise" document, the goal is to directly target the conservative party and challenge the prestige of the British royal family. The root cause may still be the matter of Brexit.

Now on the issue of Brexit, the UK is divided into the Brexit faction and the Remain faction, and there are also the Brexit faction and the Remain faction outside the UK, and the Remain and Brexit factions that are hostile both at home and abroad are joining forces with each other, er, collusion to be precise , the two factions have been fighting fiercely for more than half a year.

In terms of the current overall situation, the Brexit forces in the United Kingdom are slightly stronger, mainly because the British royal family is behind Brexit. For this reason, the Queen of England personally went to Scotland to suppress it, demanding that the political forces in Scotland focus on national stability and focus on the overall situation. Noisy and independent, stop tossing.

The Remainers are naturally unwilling to be reconciled to the opponent's advantage, so they will naturally find a way to attack the Brexiteers.

Speaking of it, the British also only think about good things. The chicken thief is going to die. The original idea is that they will not undertake the obligations in the EU, and they can enjoy the "incense worship" in the EU as a "lay disciple" in the EU. Germany and France insist on enjoying the rights At the same time, you must fulfill your obligations.

After the success of the Brexit referendum in the previous life, the two sides continued to negotiate for more than a year. During the negotiation process, John Bull had fewer and fewer cards to play. On the contrary, the EU’s conditions became more and more, and even John Bull did not hesitate to put face down to Z The country asked for help, but was slapped back by the people of country Z with a smile. You must be crazy, country Z is now behind closed doors to develop the economy, who is free to participate in your own affairs?

More importantly, what country Z needs is a complete European Union to contain the United States and polar bears. Now you tm came to me and told me not to play, and you still want me to greet you with a smile? Go live your Jesus dream.

Anyway, at the end of the day, the British had no choice but to continue to maintain the original economic and trade partnership with member states in the EU. Germany, France and other countries offered the condition that they pay first and then talk about other things.

Germany, France, etc. do not agree with Brexit at all. Since you insist on leaving the EU, I will not only let you leave the house, but also punish you so that your life is unsustainable!

Since the EU wants to achieve the goal of killing chickens and monkeys, although it cannot kill "chickens", it must make life worse for "chickens".

This cannot be blamed on Germany, France and other EU countries for their cruelty. It is the UK that is unkind first, and the EU will of course be unjust. They are all robbers. If they fight each other, who will be more benevolent than the other, and who will show mercy to whom? When gangs rob, they are companions, but when they rob each other, who doesn't want to hack someone to death?

To paraphrase a classic joke from Mr. Guo: They are all foxes on the mountain, so what are you talking about about Liaozhai?