american tax collector

Chapter 318 The verdict is as follows
"Chief David, you can continue with the previous topic."

David nodded and said, "As I mentioned earlier, Amazon charges users hidden fees. I call it hidden taxes. How do they charge? Let me explain it to you in detail."

"First, Amazon's strategy is to use Prime to build, expand, and strengthen barriers to entry. One of the results is that Amazon now has an overwhelming monopoly share of online shoppers. Once it has monopoly power, Amazon drives down prices by charging third-party sellers fees. As a third-party seller, you pay to be listed on Amazon, to use Amazon's warehousing services, which are Amazon's fulfillment services, and advertising services. If you don't pay, you can't get into the website position that consumers click on."

“So, online shoppers may not really be ‘customers’, but rather ‘products’ provided by Amazon to third-party sellers, who must pay Amazon’s requirements and associated fees or lose market access.”

“Today, the fees Amazon collects from third-party sellers have grown to nearly 50% of its revenue, and it is with this money (estimated at $1230 billion last year) that Amazon pays for all the services bundled with Prime: ‘free’ shipping, video services, music services, Twitch, etc.”

“And these third-party sellers, in turn, raise prices for consumers and then funnel the money back to Amazon in the form of fees…”

In the dock and the gallery, as they listened to David revealing their secrets bit by bit, Lacroix, Jeff and other Amazon executives all looked pale.

What they worried about finally happened, but now they are helpless. They are like a fish on a chopping board, and can only be slaughtered at will.

At this moment, many of them have regretted that they should have tried every means to reach a compromise when the IRS in Los Angeles announced that it would investigate them.

Or maybe they should have cashed out their shares at that time, because it was foreseeable that the share price of their group would soon plummet, and the impact of this incident was too great, as to how much it would fall, even they could not predict roughly.

"Wardfa, Amazon actually sold us as products to a third party? This is simply outrageous!"

"Fuck, no wonder once I subscribe to this $139 plan every year, a series of bundled services are added for no apparent reason. So this is the reason!"

"If this is true, then Dumb Amazon is really abominable!"

"I really thought Amazon's free delivery service was subsidizing us consumers, but it turns out that they have reached an agreement with third-party sellers and sold us out!"

At the same time, after listening to David's explanation, the people who were watching became angry.

Why do many of them choose Dumb Amazon?
Not only are the products there of high quality and low prices, but what I value most is the free delivery service.

And they have always believed that this service is a welfare and subsidy from Amazon to them, the consumers.

But now I realize that this is not welfare or subsidy at all, it is completely a harvesting of them without their knowledge, treating them like leeks!

In the courtroom, David continued, "This is why Amazon loses tens of billions of dollars in logistics every year. Of course, this cannot be called a loss, because they only lose money on the surface. In fact, they make a lot of money by relying on third-party bundled services and the fees returned by sellers..."

"Your Honor, I object to the prosecution's accusation. This is simply slander without any evidence!"

Finally, Lacroix in the dock couldn't help it anymore.

He knew very well that David's words must have aroused the anger of the people across the country against the Amazon Group. Once the charges were proven, not only would he be finished, but the group would also face the most serious crisis in its history.

But there is no need to be so pessimistic now.

What David said was well-reasoned and true.

However, this hidden consumption involves a wide range of third-party sellers and various cooperative organizations bundled with third parties. He did not really believe that David could really get enough evidence.

"Your Honor, I have here a list of data and confessions of 366 merchants on the Amazon platform. In addition, I have invited the heads of 123 merchants to come here, and they are ready to testify in court at any time!"

On the defendant's side, after hearing these words, Lacroix and others collapsed in their chairs.

Just now they still had a glimmer of hope, thinking that hidden consumption involved huge amounts of money and David might not be able to prove the crime.

But now, people have obtained the data lists and confessions of 366 merchants, and even invited a large number of the merchants involved.

What does it mean that these people were invited here?
That means he must have been dealt with by the IRS in Los Angeles, which is why he was able to get here.

At the same time, this also means that if they want to refute the debate, they will have to engage in a war of words with these 123 business owners. Even if each of them has ten mouths, they probably won't be able to explain themselves!

In the gallery, Jeff and the others seemed to have lost their souls. They just stood there in a daze until they heard the noises of witnesses coming out of the aisle one after another. Only then did they come to their senses. He immediately stood up and walked out of the courtroom.

"Your Honor, my name is Armando Zoe, and I am a merchant on the Amazon platform. I joined the platform in 2019, and a year later, my sales exceeded 500 million US dollars. Since then, people from the Amazon Group have found me and forced me to sign a series of agreements. This agreement is actually a hidden consumption of consumers. I was unwilling at the time because I knew very well that once consumers knew about this, it would be very serious. However, the Amazon Group was very domineering, and I had to sign it in the end."

"Your Honor, my name is Jiuliqi, and I am a merchant on the Amazon platform. I was also forced to sign a series of agreements by the Amazon Group after I reached a certain amount of consumption after joining the Amazon Group..."

In the following period of time, these 123 business leaders took turns to explain all the agreements signed with the Amazon Group.

Of course, it also includes hidden consumption content that defrauds consumers.

"Fuck, Amazon Group, what else do you have to say now?"

"123 merchants have testified in court, all accusing Amazon of charging hidden fees. This crime is already set in stone!"

"Mamason Group, you will pay the price for your fraudulent behavior!"

Although what David said just now makes sense, it is just words without any actual evidence.

Now that so many businesses have appeared in court to testify, the evidence is naturally more than sufficient. Therefore, the consumers who are watching the live broadcast are also calling for severe punishment of Ya Mason.

At the court, after listening to the merchants' testimonies, Nicola looked at the data list again, and finally turned her gaze to the defendant's seat and asked, "Defendant representative, do you have anything else to refute about the merchants' testimonies and the data list in my hand?"

La Croix and the others all looked ashen, and none of them wanted to speak, let alone refute.

Meanwhile, David was reminded by Keppel. He glanced at Nicola, then walked out of the courtroom, took the phone from Keppel, and asked, "What's wrong, Deputy Director Donald?"

"The White House called and said they are also watching the live trial. In order to avoid causing economic turmoil, the White House means that Jeff should not be involved. Do you understand?" David was not very surprised to hear this.

After all, Jeff is the founder of Amazon and the world's richest man four times. If he is sentenced to prison, it is not impossible that Amazon, which has lost its backbone, will face the risk of collapse.

By then, the impact on the American economy will be difficult to estimate.

But then again, he had no grudge against Jeff Amazon. Since his superiors told him not to touch Jeff, then he might as well not do anything. It didn't matter much.

"Okay, I get it, Deputy Director Donald."

"Okay, then you should finish the follow-up matters as soon as possible. We also need to prepare for your arrival."

David became excited instantly when he heard the second half of Donald's words.

Yes, now the tax audit of Mason is just waiting for the final verdict. If it is completed, he can prepare to report to the General Administration.

Is he finally going to have a seat at the center of power at the IRS?
After calming down a little, he returned to the courtroom, came to the bottom of the judge's seat, talked with Nicola for a few minutes, and then retreated.

Nicola glanced at the Amazon Group's seat in the audience and said, "Mr. Philmellen, Mr. Jimenez, and Mr. Becker, please come to the court."

The three people, who already looked ashen, brightened up a little after hearing this. It was already the final sentencing stage, so what was the point of calling them to court?
Of course, let the three of them bear all the charges!
But there is no way, because one of them is the tax director, one is the financial director, and one is the vice president in charge of Amazon platform business.

These charges involve financial fraud, tax pricing, and platform consumer fraud, which are the businesses they are mainly responsible for, so naturally they have to take the blame.

Watching the three people walk to the front of the court, Nicola stood up and pronounced the verdict: "This court pronounces that Mamason is guilty of illegal tax value-added, illegal receipt of tax subsidies, and suspected of hidden tax. The verdict is as follows."

“First, refund all tax subsidies from 17 to date.”

"Second, the value-added tax deductions paid from 17 to date totaled 98.36 billion U.S. dollars."

"Third, a total of $73 billion in hidden taxes were paid."

"Fourth, the fine is $80 billion, plus the tax amount, a total of $251.36 billion needs to be paid to the IRS."

"Five, consumers who paid hidden fees will be compensated tenfold!"

"Six, Mr. Firmelen, Mr. Jimenez, Mr. Becker, and Mr. Lacroix, as the financial director, tax director, chief legal advisor, and vice president of platform operations of the Amazon Group, you need to bear the primary responsibility for these three charges."

"Now I sentence you to 20 years in prison. Do you have any objection?"

After the verdict came out, the four people whose names were mentioned felt mixed emotions of sadness and joy.

The sad thing, of course, was that he was imprisoned for 20 years.

The good news is that according to the IRS's previous practice, once the charges are proven, the sentence would be thousands or even millions of years. They have only been sentenced to 20 years now, and there is no mention of no parole, which is a blessing in disguise.

Of course, David had actually wanted to adopt the previous sentencing standards for tax evaders, but Donald's call just now forced him to change his mind.

Because this matter has alarmed the White House, and the White House also gave a message. Although it only told him not to mess with Jeff, it was also a disguised way of telling him to be as cautious as possible.

Therefore, the 20-year sentence for these people can be regarded as a face-saving measure for the White House. I believe they will understand the meaning of the measure.

In the audience, Jeff had already returned. He felt a chill on his back when he heard the verdict.

But thanks to the network of relationships he has accumulated over the years, and the fact that his business is now large enough to influence the economy, otherwise, he might be the one standing in front of the court now.

"How come he was only sentenced to 20 years for such a serious crime? And most importantly, Jeff, as the big boss, didn't receive any punishment at all. It's such a pity..."

"Although Jeff was not punished, the 200 billion plus taxes and fines are enough to hurt them. The most important thing is that they have to compensate us consumers who paid the hidden fees tenfold, which will make them bleed a lot. Great!"

"We have to thank the Los Angeles IRS, the court, and Commissioner David. Otherwise, we wouldn't even be able to get ten times the compensation, and we don't even know when we would find out about the hidden spending, and we don't know how long we would have to be ripped off by them!"

"..."

After hearing the verdict, some people felt regretful. After all, compared with those tax evaders in the past, the 20-year sentence was still too light. The most important thing was that as the leader of the group, Jeff did not receive any punishment.

But some people are very happy because they will get ten times the compensation for hidden fees, which naturally makes them very grateful to the IRS and David.

"Defendant, you are sure you have no objection, right?"

Listening to Nicola's questioning again on the stage, the people from the Amazon Group looked at each other, but in the end no one spoke, as if they had tacitly accepted the result.

In fact, they have no choice but to accept it.

After all, the hidden tax incident has already been exposed, and their best public relations method is to accept the punishment and let the public have a good influence on them to admit their mistakes and correct them.

Secondly, even if they are not satisfied, can they appeal to other courts or the Supreme Court?

In the end, they still have to stand trial in the IRS court, and David might get angry and make up a few more charges against them, and they might have to face even more severe penalties.

So for them, accepting this penalty now is the best outcome.

(End of this chapter)