American Tax Officer

The following day, the Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch was devoid of its usual bustle.

Everyone was awaiting the arrival of the assessment meeting.

At 11 a.m., news came that made every tax investigator's heart tighten.

Due to the launch of the Black Tax Bill, Chief William and Deputy Chief Megan, who had gone to Washington D.C. Headquarters for training, had unexpectedly returned!

And they would be the ones hosting today's assessment meeting!

Not long after this news spread, David received a notice instructing him to visit the Chief's office immediately.

David straightened out his attire and hair and arrived at the door of the Chief's office on the fourth floor, knocking with a hint of trepidation.

"Come in!"

Hearing the voice from inside, David pushed the door and entered.

He saw that Lewis had already arrived sometime earlier, along with two tax investigators and two deputy tax investigators who were already present.

But these were not his focus.

His attention was on William and Megan.

William was the first to rise and extend his right hand, saying, "Inspector David, I truly didn't expect our Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch to have such talent as yours. Thank you for the tax achievements you've contributed to our branch!"

David's renown had reached him distinctly in recent times, but strictly speaking, this was his first time meeting and speaking with David.

After all, with over a hundred people in the Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch and him being a Chief inundated with numerous tasks, he naturally would not pay much attention to a general inspector.

Had it not been for the emergence of the Black Tax Bill, it's likely that the two of them would not have had much interaction.

"Inspector David..."

Megan too extended her right hand toward David, and after a handshake, they had a preliminary acquaintance.

William continued, "Inspector David, I believe Lewis told you about the promotion yesterday, so are you ready?"

David instinctively straightened up somewhat, answering with conviction, "Chief, I am ready!"

"Good..."

"..."

In the time that followed, William talked to him about the responsibilities of the Chief Tax Officer and the specific matters he was to oversee.

Among these, he mentioned Dieter's case.

Originally, this case was a major one within the bureau, being jointly followed by several teams.

William and his colleagues had not expected David to take on this case as soon as he assumed office; after musing for a while, he eventually nodded in agreement.

David thus smoothly obtained the right to handle this case.

Noon arrived swiftly.

Seeing that it was about time, William said, "Let's head to the meeting venue then, to deal with the matters of this assessment period!"

Everyone leapt up and headed toward the fifth-floor meeting venue.

Upon arriving at the meeting venue, most of the tax investigators had already taken their seats, and David instinctively wanted to head toward Nisen's side.

But at that moment, Lewis pulled him aside, reminding, "You're about to become a Chief Tax Officer, you should sit in the second row now!"

David came back to his senses then.

By convention, tax investigators and chiefs sat in the first row, while the rank of Chief Tax Officer warranted a seat in the second row, signifying one's status.

David glanced at Nisen behind him and then took his place in an empty seat in the second row.

Seeing that almost everyone was present, William too immediately walked up to the platform and said before the microphone, "Good afternoon, everyone. I am your Chief, William. The deadline for the assessment period has arrived, and now I will report to you the data for our bureau and the work situations of the teams!"

As he spoke, the operator immediately turned on the large screen, displaying data for the first team.

William read from the screen, "Team one, during this half-month assessment period, received a total of $108,000 in taxes, doubling the previous period's $48,000—a very good performance!"

"Within that, the first group generated $43,000 in taxes, the second group generated $29,000..."

"Next is team two, which received $96,900 in taxes in this assessment period..."

"..."

With the experience of the previous two assessment periods and a grant from governmental funds during the last assessment period, each team's tax achievements had not rocketed, but at least they had all doubled.

As for David's team, there's no need to elaborate.

With a staggering figure of 4.12 million in tax achievements, they completely overshadowed the total of all nine other teams combined, making every tax investigator present view them with trepidation.

As thoughts wandered, the large screen switched to a new display.

William continued, "In this assessment period, our bureau generated a total of 54.63 million US dollars in taxes, ranking 51st among all the national bureaus!"

When he mentioned the rank of 51, one could hear a hint of pride in his voice.

David's personal national ranking of 42 was more a matter of individual glory.

But the Lake District ranking 51st was a testament to his capable leadership as Chief—it was something to be proud of!

"Let's take a look at the situation in other bureaus."

"Ranking first nationally is still the Manhattan, New York Branch, with tax achievements of 46.89 million."

"Ranked second nationally is Brooklyn District Branch, New York, with tax achievements of 33.893 million."

"Ranked third is..."

"..."

The top five national bureaus were still monopolized by New York's five major branches, just like in the previous assessment period.

Los Angeles branches took the sixth to ninth place, with no surprises there.

The following ranks were quite similar to the last assessment period, with the notable exception being the Lake District jumping up to the 51st spot.

Of course, the primary contributor to this significant leap was David's massive contribution of 4.12 million in taxes.

"Now, let's see where our Las Vegas Main Street District Sub-Branch and Newtown District Sub-Branch are ranked..."

William began scrolling through the list on the large screen with a hint of playful teasing in his tone.

It took scrolling down to the 159th position to find the Main Street District Sub-Branch.

Compared to the previous assessment period, the Main Street District Sub-Branch had also seen a significant increase, generating 2.09 million in tax achievements.

But compared to Lake District's 5 million plus, one could only consider it a minor league.

As for the Newtown District Sub-Branch, it's even worse, ranking 232nd nationally with tax revenues of 966,000.

"Next, let's take a look at the tax investigator achievements leaderboard..."

The operator on the large screen quickly swapped to the leaderboard.

Even though the tax investigators could see real-time tax performance data daily, when the leaderboard appeared and they saw the figures of those ranked at the top, they fell silent and their expressions became complex.

Because the team of Kelly Orsey and Brown Soros from the Manhattan Branch was ranked first with a staggering total tax achievement of 18.363 million!