Chapter 35: Chapter 35: The Lake District Is Ranked Only 146th?
Nisen was somewhat taken aback and did not expect David to be so resolute in his denial. He then asked, “Why is that?”
“Where do you think the city of Las Vegas ranks in America in terms of economy and GDP?”
“Which aspect are you referring to?”
“Of course, the aspects of the economy and GDP!”
“If you’re talking about the economy and GDP… it’s probably outside the top 30!”
In terms of notoriety among American cities, Las Vegas could absolutely be at the top.
But when it comes to the economy and GDP, this city seems somewhat insignificant in America.
The reason is actually quite simple.
Las Vegas originally was nothing but a desert village where not even birds would poop, only later developing through relying on tourism and the gambling industry.
But to this day, the economic pillars of this city are still just gambling and tourism.
It naturally can’t compare with industrial cities like Houston and Chicago, let alone financial cities like New York and San Francisco.
“Since you know that, let me give you an analogy!”
“For instance, a prostitute in Las Vegas makes 200 US dollars per client.”
“But in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, because of the cost of living, it might be 400 or even 800 US dollars!”
“And the inspectors there, when they come to collect taxes, naturally can take in more as well.”
“The same goes for other industries, you understand now, right?”
Hearing David’s explanation, Nisen had an epiphany at that moment.
That’s true indeed.
The environment of a city is different, which determines the difference in taxation.
Just like the prostitute case David mentioned, resolving one such case in Las Vegas might bring in a tax achievement of 100,000 or 80,000 US dollars.
But in big cities like Los Angeles and New York, it might be 200,000 or 300,000.
Therefore, it isn’t that their performance isn’t outstanding enough, but rather that the city of Las Vegas has limitations, naturally making it impossible to compete with big cities like New York or Los Angeles.
“Fuck, if only I could be transferred to New York!”
Nisen’s mind filled with disparity, and he could not help but complain.
“Don’t worry, there will be an opportunity!”
As the two whispered to each other, the data sent from the headquarters had been received, and a table appeared on the large screen.
At this time, everyone present could see.
Ranked first in the nation was the Manhattan District, New York Branch, with a tax achievement total of 22.23 million US dollars!
Such an astronomical figure made the onlookers gape in astonishment.
Initially, everyone thought that their own bureau’s 1.3 million was pretty good.
But once compared with the Manhattan District, New York Branch, it was like comparing molehills to mountains!
Besides the Manhattan District, the bureau ranked second nationwide was also from New York, the Brooklyn District Branch, with tax achievements of 15.39 million.
Third was the Queens District Branch, with tax achievements of 14.66 million.
Fourth was the Brown District Branch, with tax achievements of 14.44 million.
Fifth was the Stan Island District Branch, with tax achievements of 12.26 million.
The top five nation-wide were all monopolized by the five major branches of New York, reflecting the robust strength of this world’s number one city.
As for the sixth to ninth spots, they were dominated by several large districts of Los Angeles.
Following them were the district branches of other major cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and Houston.
The ranking list of tax achievements for the period under assessment at the Internal Revenue Service basically aligns with the ranking of American cities by GDP.
The higher the GDP ranking of a city, the higher the tax collected by the bureau’s local branch, and the higher its ranking.
As the list scrolled down, the crowd finally spotted their most anticipated target.
‘Rank 146: Las Vegas Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch, total tax achievement, 1.389 million US dollars!’
“My hair, our bureau only ranked at 146!”
Although having been prepared psychologically, seeing themselves ranked beyond 146th place, Nisen’s mood plummeted to rock bottom.
David, on the other hand, remained composed, clearly unaffected by the ranking list.
“Okay, switch to the next one.”
Having found their own bureau’s ranking, Gusin no longer had the heart to continue looking and quickly instructed the screen operator to switch to different information.
One minute later.
The large screen displayed another set of data.
This data was titled: “IRS Second Assessment Period National Inspectors Data.”
“Hm? There’s this data too?”
Gusin had just mentioned that they received a data set from the headquarters, and everyone thought it was just a simple tally of each bureau’s tax achievements.
But unexpectedly, it was so detailed that even the inspectors’ data was compiled, which took everyone by surprise.
“According to the information I received, this data set is just a prototype. It is said that the headquarters plans to create an internal leaderboard for inspectors.”
“This leaderboard will be posted on our intranet, updated every assessment period, and by then, everyone can log in at any time to see their own or colleagues’ tax achievement stats from around the country.”
Gusin’s revelation once again stunned many in the room.
An intranet leaderboard for inspectors?
Available for everyone to view at any time?
But soon, people understood the headquarters’ intent.
Since the release of the Self-Black Tax Act, the headquarters had been relentless in pushing them, dangling various incentives for pay raises and promotions, all to compel them to do whatever it took to raise tax revenue.
And now, by introducing this leaderboard, the goal was to further force them into outdoing each other.
Imagine this.
The entire IRS system could view this leaderboard at any time, and your data was on it, with some bringing in tens or hundreds of millions in tax performance each assessment period.
And you’re just managing 30 to 50 thousand, not to mention potential ridicule from others, you wouldn’t be able to stand looking at it yourself!
In order to increase efficiency and strive for a higher ranking, everyone would have to work harder and be more diligent.
Realizing this, the inspectors present began to feel a sense of professional anxiety.
David was the exception.
With a cheat code up his sleeve, tax performance was not a concern for him.
“Alright, let’s first take a look at the situation with this leaderboard!”
Snapped back to reality by Gusin’s reminder, the crowd was also eager to see how exceptional the top-ranking inspectors on the list were.
The first place came with no surprise, belonging to inspectors from Team 1, Group 1 of the Manhattan, New York Branch, named Kelly Orsey and Brown Soros.
“Brown Soros?”
Upon seeing this name, David who was sitting quietly repeated it in his mind, his expression thoughtful.
In America’s financial world, there was a legendary figure named George Soros, a Jewish man who had stirred up countless turmoils in many countries, amassing untold wealth from numerous nations.
It was also unknown whether this Brown Soros had any connection to that financial titan, or if it was just a coincidence of sharing the same surname.