Chapter 55 Legal Tax Avoidance

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After signing a three-day exclusivity agreement with Merrill Lynch, Guo Shouyun left Pan American Building. I found a random Chinese restaurant for lunch, and was about to go back to the hotel to take a nap when my mobile phone rang.

"Boss, the Mr. Lin Yibin you designated to look for has arrived!" Buddy Morris said on the phone.

"Where?"

Guo Shouyun's spirit was shocked.

"In the company reception room!"

"Got it, I'll be there soon!"

Quickly turning the steering wheel, Guo Shouyun drove to the office of Matrix Pictures in Santa Monica. After entering the reception room, his eyes instantly noticed the young man standing next to Buddy Morris, with a slightly chubby body and a round face and short hair.

In later generations, there were three most well-known Chinese directors in Hollywood: Wen Ziren, Lin Yibin, and Ang Lee! The three have their own strengths; Wen Ziren is a master of horror films, and almost every film can bring huge profits to the producer; Lin Yibin uses three films to make the original medium-budget "Fast and Furious" into a super commercial blockbuster comparable to the "Harry Potter" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.

Ang Lee is better at literary films, "Brokeback Mountain" and "Life of Pi" are classics, but they have repeatedly failed in commercial blockbusters.

All three of them are representatives of Chinese directors. Since Guo Shouyun wants to enter Hollywood, whether it is out of interest, or from the consideration of blood and skin color, he must also draw them into his camp.

Compared with Wen Ziren, the current Lin Yibin has already made a small-budget movie "Strange Flowers in the Sea of People", and usually works as an assistant director in some small crews, or makes some documentaries with friends, although he has not achieved much, but he can be regarded as having some shooting experience.

But when I heard that there was a big production with an investment of $40 million and asked me to be the director, my heart was still full of shock and disbelief.

For the sake of his future, after hesitating for a few days and making sure that Matrix Pictures was not a liar, he came to the door with excitement and apprehension.

"Hello, Mr. Lin Yibin. I'm Guo Shouyun, the chairman of Matrix Pictures!"

Looking at the young Chinese man who took the initiative to stretch out his right hand towards him, Lin Yibin hurriedly stretched out his right hand. At the same time, he also looked carefully at the owner of the film company, who looked much younger than himself.

"Hello!"

"Please take a seat!" After glancing at the cups on the table, "Buddy, let Mr. Lin serve another cup of coffee!"

"No need, I'm not thirsty!" Lin Yibin hurriedly said.

"It's okay! Mr. Lin is our guest, and we have the obligation to entertain you!" Guo Shouyun waved his right hand, and Buddy nodded and walked out.

"Mr. Lin, about the movie, did Buddy talk to you about it just now?"

$150,000 is a lot of money for me. But I'm more curious about how you found me? After all, a director like me graduates a lot of UCLA every year!" Lin Yibin wondered after a moment of composure.

"Introduced by a friend. Time is precious, and if Mr. Lin agrees to direct and has no opinion on the cost, can we talk about the specifics of the filming?" Guo Shouyun changed the subject.

Lin Yibin nodded. Now he doesn't have the strength to bargain with Guo Shouyun, so he can only follow the other party's baton.

"The movie you're going to make is called 'Fast and Furious.' is based on a best-selling novel that just hit the market. The cost of filming is 40 million US dollars, we have the funds ready, and the actors are also looking at it, and I believe that we will be able to start filming soon. Now, Director Lin's task is to read through the entire novel, design the corner shots, and strive to shoot the whole movie as soon as possible!"

As he spoke, Guo Shouyun handed over the "Fast and Furious" novel that had been prepared in advance.

"How long do I have to prepare?" asked Lin Yibin after taking the novel and reading it twice.

"A month! But if you can shorten it, try to shorten it as much as possible. ”

Considering that the set and investment of "Fast and Furious" are much higher than that of "Smart: Ghost Shadow", Guo Shouyun also relaxed the preparation period for the film accordingly.

"I see!"

"Director Lin, if this adaptation of "Fast and Furious" can recoup its cost, then the follow-up series will also be directed by you. And I assure you, it's going to be a series of at least 5 films. ”

When the words fell, Guo Shouyun obviously saw something called 'ambition' sprouting in the eyes of the young man in front of him.

After nodding vigorously with an excited expression, "I promise, I will use all my energy and time to direct this movie!"

"That's for the best!"

After smiling and nodding, Guo Shouyun took the director's contract from Buddy Morris and handed it to Lin Yibin.

"Look at it, if it's okay, you can sign your name on the back!"

Lin Yibin nodded and carefully read the entire contract, and did not find any traps. Moreover, for a person like him who doesn't have much money, no one will beat his idea.

"Happy working together!"

"Happy working together!"

After personally sending Lin Yibin away, Guo Shouyun returned to the company and handed over the contract to Buddy Morris for safekeeping.

"How's James' filming going?"

"He's fast, and he'll be done in two weeks!" Morris said.

"That's good!" Guo Shouyun nodded, and after a little thought, "Let the marketing department prepare, and I will personally be responsible for the announcement!"

"Yes!"

"By the way, prepare another contract for me!"

"Prepare another contract?"

Glancing at him, Guo Shouyun smiled and said, "What, I forgot what I told you before?"

Buddy Morris was stunned, but soon smiled bitterly: "Boss, the entire Matrix Pictures is yours, is it necessary to divide it so clearly?"

"Of course it is necessary, the company is a company, although the company's shares are all in my hands, the company is not my alone, but the result of everyone's joint efforts. I don't want to compromise the health of the company for personal gain. … Morris, at any time, the separation of public and private is a taboo in the development of enterprises, especially in terms of finance!" Guo Shouyun said solemnly.

Feeling the convincing temperament exuded by the young man in front of him, Buddy Morris nodded seriously, and quickly prepared a copyright sharing contract according to Guo Shouyun's request.

The content of this contract is: Guo Shouyun transferred the film adaptation rights of "Fast and Furious" to Matrix Pictures, and at the same time received 10% of the total revenue of the film and film and television peripherals in return. The same was true of the previous "Smart: Ghost Record".

That is to say, Matrix Pictures belongs to Guo Shouyun's private ownership, and he has the absolute right to speak, otherwise no film and television company will agree to the 10% share.

The reason why it is necessary to use this form to separate personal and corporate financial income, in addition to the high-sounding superficial words that Guo Shouyun said before, the core reason is to avoid taxes and raise funds.

Tax avoidance is easy to understand, after charitable donations in the United States, the personal income tax credit is 50%, and the corporate income tax credit is 10%!

If the annual revenue of the enterprise is 10 million US dollars. Assuming that the accounting cost is 40% of the total revenue, the remaining taxable gross profit is $6 million, and the net profit after tax deduction is $3.6 million.

The above is the normal revenue and profit of an enterprise, and then we will talk about how to avoid taxes.

Now it is also $10 million, and he has to give $1 million to Guo Shouyun first. If it is an ordinary author, this part of the copyright cost may only need tens of thousands of dollars, but now it has suddenly become 1 million.

Then after deducting the 1 million, there is still $9 million, and after deducting about $4 million in costs, the remaining tax deduction is $5 million.

Now, in order to deduct taxes, Matrix Pictures has decided to donate 10% to charity, that is, $500,000, which also happens to be the highest standard of corporate income tax deduction in the United States. As for the recipient of the donation, it is of course the 'Kwok Charity Foundation' established by Guo Shouyun from the beginning.

After deducting the two items, the remaining taxable part is only $4.5 million, according to the 35% corporate income tax standard in the United States, and other state surcharges, according to 40%, then the remaining net profit of Matrix Pictures is $2.7 million.

In this way, compared to normal circumstances, Matrix Pictures only has a net profit of about $900,000 less. But Guo Shouyun has an extra $1 million in income and $500,000 in funds. One plus and one subtraction, if you talk about the control of funds, Guo Shouyun has an extra $600,000.

$600,000 may not seem like much, but if the company's annual revenue is enlarged to 100 million, 600,000 becomes 6 million. One billion is 60 million!

Of course, Guo Shouyun's personal income is also taxable, but the income tax credit for personal philanthropy in the United States is 50%. So his tax base of 1 million became 500,000. Invisibly, the personal income tax was cut by half. Although half of the wealth donated is only the right to dominate. But the power of domination is in the hands, and it doesn't matter who owns it. Anyway, it's up to me to spend the money.

As for the role of fundraising, it is also easy to understand. If Guo Shouyun's income from the transfer of film and television rights is high enough, it means that the ABS bonds he issued on this basis have sufficient repayment ability. With low risk and reliable returns, it is natural to have low interest and high ratings, which are favored by investors.