11: Chapter 11 Tax Planning, The Allure of Rhodes Island

He had to wait at least until after the press conference in New York, until the name President Chen Ran was tightly bound to the hundreds of millions of dollars in shipwreck treasure and made global headlines.

Only then would his parents know what had happened, and the comparisons made by Auntie Wang next door would become a ridiculous joke.

But for now, he just wanted to enjoy this last bit of trivial and real tranquility before the storm arrived.

"Other plans? Fine, fine, you're grown up, as long as you have your own ideas. Rest first, we'll talk about other things slowly." Chen Jianwei nodded repeatedly; as long as his son was safe and healthy, nothing else mattered.

Sounds of pots and pans came from the kitchen, along with his mother humming an off-key tune, while his father turned on the TV, keeping the volume very low.

Outside the window, he could vaguely hear Auntie Wang downstairs continuing to share her son's latest achievements with another neighbor.

President Chen Ran walked into his long-unvisited room; the furnishings remained the same, and his college textbooks were still on the desk.

He collapsed onto the bed, which smelled of sunshine, and closed his eyes.

The deep sea, gold, lawyers, security, global headlines... all of this was temporarily far away.

Here, there was only the smell of home and a precious one-week vacation.

As for what would happen in a week... the corners of his mouth twitched imperceptibly.

In a week, this world would finally know the real him.

The next morning, he was awakened by the faint noise of the morning market downstairs, the sound of neighbors opening and closing doors, and the familiar, deliberately softened sound of a spatula clashing in the kitchen from his mother, Qian Shuqing.

Lying in bed, he felt a momentary sense of unreality, as if the raging waves of the North Atlantic Ocean, the golden light beneath the deep sea, and the tight schedule in Florida were all just an overly realistic dream.

But deep in his mind, the system interface floated quietly; that 1,000-cubic-meter static space, now packed with a mountain of gold and silver jewelry, and the professional machine that was running at high speed, represented by the two names Samuel Colt and Victor Sterling, all reminded him that reality had undergone a cataclysmic change.

He pulled out the specially encrypted mobile phone, which had a few unread messages.

One was from Fortress, simply reporting on the hotel's settlement situation and that there were no abnormalities on the perimeter.

Another was from Samuel Colt, with a timestamp showing it was late last night in New York.

"Mr. Chen, there is a preliminary direction regarding the key tax planning for the disposal of the treasure. We need to discuss it with you as soon as possible. Victor has arranged a secure line; please instruct when you are available."

Tax planning.

President Chen Ran's eyes narrowed.

This was the key step to truly converting the wealth from the seabed into personal strength, even more demanding of wisdom than the salvage itself.

He replied immediately: "Contact me via the secure line in one hour."

He got up to wash; his mother had already prepared a sumptuous breakfast—xiaolongbao, soy milk, and fried dough sticks—all flavors he had grown up eating.

His father, Chen Jianwei, had already finished eating and was reading the newspaper, occasionally whispering to his mother about vegetable prices.

Seeing President Chen Ran come out, Qian Shuqing immediately put down her work and carefully examined her son's complexion: "Did you sleep well? Are you still tired? Do you want to go back and lie down for a while? Mom will keep your breakfast warm."

"I slept very well, Mom, I woke up hungry." President Chen Ran sat down and picked up his chopsticks; the familiar taste soothed his stomach and made him feel more alert.

He noticed his mother's hesitant look and knew she was still puzzled by the two people from yesterday and his excuse about quitting his job to rest.

"Mom, Dad, I might have to handle some things in the next two days. I might go out, or have some friends come over to discuss business."

President Chen Ran spoke proactively, his tone as casual as possible, "That previous project, although I'm not doing it anymore, there are some follow-up legal and financial issues that need to be clarified. It might be a bit troublesome, so I hired some professional friends to help. Don't worry, it's just some paperwork."

"Legal and financial?" Chen Jianwei put down his newspaper, looking a bit nervous, "Xiao Ran, you didn't get into any trouble, did you?"

"No, Dad, it's just the normal wrap-up of a business cooperation, just a bit complicated."

President Chen Ran reassured him, "The friends helping me are very reliable; they are the bosses of the two people from yesterday, and they specialize in this."

Qian Shuqing was skeptical, but seeing her son's calm expression, which didn't look fake, she had to say: "Then you be careful yourself, don't get cheated. If you have any difficulties, you must tell the family."

"I know, Mom, don't worry."

After breakfast, President Chen Ran made an excuse about needing to handle some work emails and returned to his room.

He closed the door and locked it.

He took out the encrypted phone and connected to the secure communication protocol provided by Colt.

Soon, Samuel Colt's serious and wise face appeared on the other end of the screen; the background looked like a minimalist and professional study.

"Good morning, Mr. Chen, I hope I am not disturbing your rest."

"No, Lawyer Colt, please go ahead. What discoveries have you made regarding taxes?" President Chen Ran got straight to the point.

Colt pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze sharp behind the lenses: "The core issue lies in the location selection. According to our preliminary assessment, the auction valuation of the san antonio treasure is conservatively between 280 million and 320 million USD.

If we follow the conventional process and hold the auction in places like New York or Los Angeles, you will face federal capital gains tax, state tax, and possibly even local taxes.

Taking California as an example, the top federal tax bracket is 37%, plus California's 13.3% state tax, the comprehensive effective tax rate could exceed 40%.

This means you could directly lose over 120 million USD."

120 million USD.

Even though President Chen Ran was mentally prepared, his heart sank slightly when he heard this number.

This was almost half of the wealth he had salvaged, to be handed over to Uncle Sam and the California government for nothing.

"So, we must conduct tax planning and choose an optimal jurisdiction."

Colt said, reaching out to operate something off-camera.

Soon, a clear world map was shared on President Chen Ran's screen, with several places marked with red circles.

"There are several alternative plans currently," Colt pointed on the map with an electronic pen, "Switzerland is favorable for non-resident art auctions, but the procedures are complex, and it is physically far from your salvage site. Transportation and insurance costs are high, and political neutrality is not necessarily an advantage when sensitive cultural property is involved.

Luxembourg, one of Europe's financial centers, is tax-friendly, but there are also cross-border transportation and potential EU regulatory risks.

The Cayman Islands, a zero-tax haven, lacks mature large-scale auction infrastructure and a high-end client base, and the 'tax haven' label might trigger unnecessary audit attention and public criticism."

He paused, his pen tip moving toward the North American East Coast: "Delaware, a haven for US company registration, but the tax incentives for physical auctions are not prominent." Finally, his pen tip drew a clear circle on a relatively inconspicuous small state.

"And... Rhode Island."

"Rhode Island?" President Chen Ran was a bit surprised.

This smallest state in the US didn't seem famous for finance or auctions in his impression.

"Yes, Rhode Island." Colt nodded, his tone carrying a certainty like finding treasure, "It is one of the few states in the US that does not impose state income tax on auction sales revenue.

More importantly, the capital of Rhode Island, Providence, has a fairly complete auction industry infrastructure.

Christies and Sothebys both have important auction centers and storage facilities there, and the client network is mature.

We can safely transport the salvage to Providence, conduct cleaning, appraisal, and valuation locally, and finally hold the auction.

This way, we only need to pay federal tax, and Rhode Island state tax is completely exempted."

He pulled up another data chart: "Through a reasonable company structure, for example, registering an independent limited company in Rhode Island to hold and operate this treasure, combined with other legal tax deductions, we have the opportunity to control the comprehensive effective tax rate to below 20%."

Below 20%.

President Chen Ran did some quick mental math.

Even calculating at 300 million USD, 20% tax is 60 million, while 40% is 120 million.

Just by choosing a different auction location and using reasonable tax strategies, he could save over 60 million USD in hard cash!

This was even higher than the total value of many small shipwreck treasures!

"A difference of 60 million USD..." President Chen Ran repeated in a low voice, his eyes becoming sharp.

This was not a simple number game; this was massive capital sufficient to build a stronger team, purchase more advanced equipment, and even lay the foundation for even greater plans in the future.

"Yes, Mr. Chen. This is a critical second battlefield."

Colt said seriously, "Salvage is about acquiring wealth, while tax and legal planning is about preserving and expanding wealth.

The Rhode Island plan is currently the optimal solution in terms of legality, operational convenience, cost control, and final returns.

I have already had the team start researching the specific regulations and auction house schedules related to Rhode Island, and have begun preparing the documents to register a company in Rhode Island.

At the same time, Mr. Sterling's people will start evaluating the transportation routes and security plans for the treasure from Florida to Rhode Island."

"Is the transport safe?" President Chen Ran asked.

Transporting 300 million USD worth of goods across the United States was nerve-wracking just to think about.

"The risk is controllable." Colt said affirmatively, "This is Mr. Sterling's area of expertise; he will design multiple routes, disguised transportation, real-time monitoring, and contingency plans.

Moreover, before the official auction announcement is released, very few people will know the specific location and transportation plan of this treasure.

We will minimize the risk.

More importantly, once it enters Rhode Island, before the official auction, the treasure can be stored in the high-security freeport warehouses of Christies or Sothebys; the security there is world-class."

President Chen Ran pondered for a moment.

Colt's plan was clear, professional, and highly profitable.

He had no reason to refuse.