Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 104 Countermeasures

"50%?" Zhou Xin's eyes widened, thinking he had misheard.

The tax rate stipulated for the personal mining permit and public land mining rights he previously obtained was 20%, which was a reasonable amount.

However, raising the tax rate to 50% all at once, more than doubling it, is really hard to accept.

In other words, foreign gold prospectors like him need to pay half of their income in taxes.

If the harvest were small, it wouldn't be so bad, but they wouldn't be too heartbroken. However, their harvest this time is expected to definitely exceed 1000.

ounces.

If half of their income were to be handed over, it would be like being slashed in half.

This is blatant exploitation!

At first, Zhou Xin was a little suspicious that Chinos might be lying to him and trying to rip him off.

After all, it's too much of a coincidence that the government issued new regulations right after he arrived.

But after he checked online and confirmed the news, he was really overwhelmed.

What kind of thing is this? This is just too unlucky!

However, they are panning for gold on someone else's land, and the power of discourse is in the hands of that person.

"Is there any room for negotiation? 50% is really too much." Zhou Xin still wanted to try.

Chinos said apologetically, "I've communicated with the relevant departments several times, but there's really nothing I can do."

Seeing that there was no way to turn things around, Zhou Xin was extremely frustrated, but still had no choice but to go and complete the formalities.

This means their income will be cut in half.

Zhou Xin was quite devastated, but felt somewhat powerless.

It seems that only by returning to Alaska and starting the mine as soon as possible can we get out of this passive situation.

Before leaving Georgetown, he went to a pharmacy and bought some medicine to treat his headaches.

These medications were bought for Evans, who, during their time together, had learned that Evans suffered from severe headaches.

In the civilized world, this kind of headache is nothing serious; common painkillers like ibuprofen can solve it.

However, living in a primitive tribe, this seemingly insignificant illness caused Evans great distress.

Since he had just returned to the city, Zhou Xin decided to buy some more medicine for Evans to take with him, as a way of repaying his kindness.

He also replenished his supplies and brought 30 liters of diesel fuel to ensure he could keep the fuel supply until the gold rush ended.

After several more days of trekking, he returned to the gold mining factory.

He didn't tell Edward and the others about the tax increase to ensure they could work without worry.

He then took the medicine and headed towards the indigenous tribe.

Evans was very pleased to see Zhou Xin reappear.

"I can't believe we'll see each other again so soon! Stay here for a few more days this time!" Evans said warmly.

Zhou Xin took out the medicine he had bought: "These medicines are for treating your headaches. If you take them on time every day, your headache symptoms will be greatly improved."

"Thank you so much. With these, I think I might live a few more years. But you didn't go all the way back to the city just to buy me medicine, did you?"

Zhou Xin looked slightly embarrassed and explained that he had gone back to Georgetown to complete the necessary procedures.

"Ugh, some of the politicians here are really outrageous; they're practically a bunch of vampires!"

Perhaps it was because of his disgust for these ugly human behaviors that Evans chose to return to the primitive tribe.

Zhou Xin sighed, "There's nothing we can do. This is their territory, and we can only let them do whatever they want."

Seeing the dejection on Zhou Xin's face, Evan said, "Have you considered how to avoid this outrageous tax?"

"I've considered it, but none of them seem very realistic. I thought about secretly finding someone to convert the gold into cash, bypassing government oversight. But these people might not be good at other things, but they can't hide this from us no matter what."

Evans pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps there is another way, but it would involve some risks."

Zhou Xin's eyes lit up. If he could avoid such outrageous taxes, any risk would be worth it.

After all, if they actually achieve their annual target and pay taxes according to this requirement, they will need to pay a full 600.

Taxes per ounce.

At the current gold price of $2270 per ounce, that's a whopping $136 million!

"Please teach me how to do it!" he asked eagerly.

"I must first make it clear that this is a crime in civilized society, and that is the risk I'm referring to that you need to take."

crime?

Zhou Xin was somewhat bewildered and hesitant.

He has always been a law-abiding, model citizen. Although he is obsessed with American-style iaido, it is just a hobby.

As for the idea of ​​him committing a crime, he had never even considered that possibility.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to listen to Evans's suggestion first.

"I'd like to hear your opinion before making a decision."

Evans smiled and said, "You don't need to be too nervous. Actually, you're not the ones who committed the crime. You've just exploited a loophole in the law here."

Zhou Xin became increasingly confused and could only listen silently as Evans continued.

"You know, there are many tribes like ours scattered in this dense and vast jungle."

We are isolated from the world and detached from modern civilization, so naturally we are not bound by the laws of the civilized world.

This jungle connects Guyana, Suriname and Brazil. Although there are clear borders and border guards patrolling the area, the indigenous tribes are not bound by these borders.

This is also related to the treaties signed by these countries, which can be considered a form of protection for indigenous tribes.

Many drug traffickers exploit this by using indigenous people to smuggle and sell drugs.

At this point in Evans's explanation, Zhou Xin understood the method he was referring to.

"You mean, you'll help me transport the gold across the jungle out of this country?"

Evans nodded.

"My people can help you transport the gold to Brazil or Suriname, and then you can arrange for someone to pick it up from there. They don't have such outrageous regulations there. If you handle it properly, you might not have to pay a single penny of tax."

Zhou Xin remained silent, pondering the feasibility of this matter.

First of all, these indigenous people are absolutely trustworthy; they have no interest in gold whatsoever, so there is no need to worry that they would embezzle this wealth.

If they could actually help him transport the gold to Brazil or Suriname, he could find a seller there to cash it out.

He has no official record there and is not subject to the same rigorous scrutiny as he is here, so it is indeed possible that he successfully converted the gold into cash and took it away.

The only concern is that the indigenous people might be found carrying gold by the border guards when crossing the border, which is the biggest risk they have to bear.

However, faced with the enormous temptation of not having to pay taxes, Zhou Xin felt that the risk was worth taking.

Having made up his mind, Zhou Xin bowed deeply to Evans and said, "I'm willing to take the risk, please help me."