Reborn in America

Chapter 42: cpt company

The two things that cannot escape in life are death and paying taxes.

At the same time that the record is selling well, the Carpenter brothers will get more money. Excluding the money for buying a house, plus the money allocated this month, the money in the Carpenter Brothers' account has not decreased but increased, and it has exceeded one million.

"With so much money, the taxes to be paid this year will be very high!" Bart said to Angel.

Indeed, in the United States, the higher the income, the more taxes will be paid. Because of such a heavy taxation, every American will be dissatisfied with government policies and say frankly: "This is squandering our taxpayers' money."

In the United States, many taxes are paid by individuals. As long as there are economic income and expenditures in the United States, both domestic and foreigners must pay taxes.

Taxes in the United States include income tax, social insurance tax, medical tax, property tax, bonus tax, inheritance tax and so on.

What bothers Bart and them now is mainly income tax. This tax threshold is close to zero. Even if you earn five dollars a year, you have to pay taxes. A progressive tax system is adopted, with a minimum tax rate of about 10% and a maximum of 38%. This is the income tax established by the federal government. In addition to this, the states also charge an income tax. The tax rate is generally around 5%. The Carpenter brothers' annual income has exceeded one million US dollars. If they pay income tax, they will have to pay at least three to four hundred thousand US dollars this year!

This is an amazing huge tax! Let Bart's heartache dripping with blood! How can such a large amount of income be turned over to the government so that they can be willing?

As for tax evasion, don't even think about it!

Tax laws and taxation systems in the United States are very strict and rigorous. Except for a few wealthy people who evade taxes on property or inheritance through lawyers, it is difficult for ordinary people to evade taxes.

A joke is often heard in the United States: Two Americans cannot escape, one is death, and the other is tax. The tax bureau randomly audits about 5% of taxpayers every year. Once they discover tax evasion, they will not only have to pay taxes and interest, but also be severely punished. The average American talks about "auditing."

"Since we can't evade tax, let's invest in a new company!" Alex suggested.

Yes, there is no tax evasion, but there are ways to avoid tax reasonably!

In the United States, the methods of tax avoidance are ever-changing, but they are always the same. The ultimate method is one method: investment! Whether it is investing in stocks or real estate, it is essentially the government asking people to spend cash on hand and turn it into assets. The US government encourages people to consume, but does not support people to save. They believe that in a healthy social system, people do not need to have too much cash.

Bart objectedly said: "The new company? What about the record company? Who will manage it?"

"Let Angel manage it, isn't she already working on it?" Alex said, looking at his parents.

Bart was slightly taken aback, he didn't expect Alex to suggest that. But Angel was a little eager to try it. She was already involved in the daily affairs of the record company when Alex and the others recorded their second record.

In the beginning, Angel was not very comfortable with the company's environment. However, she soon discovered that doing things at a record company is no different from doing things at home, as long as everything is arranged properly.

As the president of the company, Rudy is in charge of the general direction of the company's development. Angel is the head of the finance department, mainly responsible for various expenses. She is like a housekeeper, staring at everyone's work and expenses.

As for Bart, he has the title of director and has nothing to do. He knew neither management nor music, so he had to let him watch others busy. This made Bart a little annoyed, and what was even more annoying was that Alex seemed to want to take away his title of director.

Just when Bart wanted to say something, Alex immediately said: "The new company can be handed over to Bart to manage it. I think you are more interested in electronic and mechanical things."

Bart's spirit came up, and he asked a little excitedly: "Electronics and machinery? What are they used for?"

Alex smiled mysteriously: "Do you remember those few patents of mine? I now use what I invented to make a product, a good product. It will definitely sell well!"

Everyone felt a little curious about what Alex had done, so confident.

I saw Alex took out a small rectangular box from his pocket. This small box was not big, it was a bit longer and thinner than the soap box. There is also a shiny antenna on it. Upon closer inspection, there are two rotating buttons and switches, as well as a horn.

"What is this?" Richard reached out and took the box over.

Alex smiled: "Guess?"

Bart and Angel also surrounded them, trying to find out the mystery of this little thing.

Richard quickly discovered that there was a switch on the side of the box. He turned the switch on and the horn rang. A piece of music came from inside, but it was a little unclear.

"Ah! This is the radio!" Richard exclaimed in surprise. He has never seen such a small radio. Usually the radio he has seen is a large and heavy wooden box that requires both hands to hold it. The radio in his hand only needs a palm, and it is enough to hold it gently.

Bart and Angel also saw that this thing was a radio. They didn't expect that Alex actually reduced the size of the radio, and it was still so small.

This radio was made of materials that Alex asked Dr. Shockley. He originally thought it would be easy to make a transistor radio. He had assembled a radio himself when he was in college. He knows the structure of the radio well, as long as there are parts to make it in minutes.

Unexpectedly, the level of electronics in this era is too low, and many parts are missing. Even if he barely makes it, he can only replace the existing tube radio with a transistor. The size can't change much, let alone get it in your hands. This made him very annoyed, and he thought to himself, do the things you don't have.

He shared his ideas with Shockley, and received strong support from the other party. With the materials provided by Shockley, it took Alex a lot of effort to make these parts one by one. The first is the horn. This is the smallest horn he wants to find Shockley. Then there is the circuit board. There is no integrated circuit board in this era. Fortunately, this is not complicated, and Alex can design and manufacture it himself.

The most important thing was the battery. He found that there were no AA batteries on the market, so he had to ask Dr. Shockley for help again. If it doesn't work, he will be ready to use the flashlight battery. Fortunately, Shockley is well informed about this. He knows that Energizer has a small battery that has not yet been launched, but it is already in use in the laboratory.

Alex took a look at the small battery, isn't it an aa battery? He immediately added the battery to it. The antenna technology of this era has matured, but there is no model that Alex wants, so he had to make a retractable antenna by himself.

The resistance elements, capacitive elements, various buttons, spring wires, etc. that need to be used are available in the laboratory, not to mention diodes. At the beginning, Alex just wanted to build a simple radio, only 4 diodes were used. It was later discovered that the quality of the radio produced by doing this might not be very good.

So he simply redesigned it completely, following the specifications of the radio he had assembled before. This new radio is much better than the ones currently on the market. After Shockley and others used it, they were full of praise. They asked Alex to make one for their own use.

The one in Richard's hands is the one that Alex has done best. It has a long duration, a wide range of audio, clear and stable sound, and the most important thing is its small size, light weight, and easy portability.

In terms of price, the tube radio has been thrown a few blocks away. Alex is convinced that as long as such a radio is on the market, it will definitely occupy the existing radio market.

Bart snatched the radio in Richard's hand and studied it carefully: "The sound quality of this radio is really good, and the appearance is also very beautiful!"

Based on his years of experience, as long as it is produced, there is no need to worry about selling it. In addition to his interest in machinery, he also has research on electronics. He knows how attractive this electronic product is to people nowadays.

"Alex, is the patent for this radio yours?" Bart asked excitedly, and he said with some worry, "Can other companies also make such a radio?"

"No! How could my patent be breached so easily?" Alex said confidently.

With just such a simple radio, Alex has added more than a dozen patents. He is convinced that it will take many years for other companies to circumvent his patent and invent a radio of the same type. Among other things, it is just the patent of the integrated circuit board that can make other companies helpless. If Alex does not authorize it, those people will not be able to get around it anyway.

Angel stared at the radio too, and she was also happy for Alex's invention. She said: "Then let's start another company! This company produces this kind of radio."

Bart reluctantly withdrew his eyes from the radio. He thought for a while and said: "That's right, I can ask Old Joe to help."

Bart had invited Joe to the record company before, but he was not very interested in the work of the record company, so he refused. Only Dill and Paul joined the Carpenter’s record company. They were inserted into the company by Bart, on the one hand to monitor the company and on the other to repay their friends.

It's just that Bart is not interested in the work of a record company like Old Joe, and he is not suitable for work in a recording studio. Now that he has such a good opportunity, he feels that if he pulls on Old Joe, he can definitely make it happen.

Alex thought for a while, and then said: "It's good, old Joe knows these things well after all. However, I ask you to produce this kind of radio as soon as possible and put it on the market as soon as possible."

"But we don't have a factory building, no production line or workers. If we want to rebuild a factory, it will take a long time to build it. Not to mention the immediate listing of this radio." Bart said distressedly.

Angel said on the side: "Why don't we buy another radio production factory! With the on-site plant, production line and workers, even if it needs to be rectified, it will not take too much time."

"Yes! We can indeed buy a factory. If you have money in your hand, you are not afraid that the other party will not sell it." Bart yelled and said excitedly.

Alex also smiled and said: "Yes, it just happens to be used to avoid tax!"

Of course, the operation of specific tax avoidance methods is not that simple. You still have to find a professional accountant to consult to truly achieve tax avoidance measures. But after looking for someone to consult, Bart finally found an electronics factory in the suburbs of Chicago. This factory not only produces radios, but also other electronic products. It is very large and has many workers.

The problem is that the owner of this factory is not doing well and is already planning to file for bankruptcy. At first, he planned to sell it, but no one wanted to buy it for a million. He was unwilling to lower the price, so he had no choice but to file for bankruptcy.

"My factory is so big, even if it filed for bankruptcy, it could sell for a million!" the boss said.

Alex also looked at this factory and found that the equipment inside was okay, that is, the products it produced were outdated, so it kept losing money. In this era of rapid upgrading of electronic products, many companies are unable to keep up with the pace of the times and are eliminated. This factory originally had this fate, but after it was acquired by the Carpenters, it is likely to have a different future.

There is no problem with the assets of this factory, they have consulted with a lawyer, and the debt is not too much, which is completely acceptable. So, he asked Bart to sign a contract with his boss on the spot, and as long as the relevant procedures were completed, the factory would belong to them.

In this way, a company named "Carpenter Electronics Company" was established silently. This company is usually referred to as the cpt company for short, and it is an emerging company in electronic products.