Chapter 45

At that moment, inside the Sabine City IRS Director’s office, another conversation was taking place.

On one side was the owner of the office, the local Tax Bureau Director. On the other sat the highest-ranking official from the state office.

The structure of the Federation’s IRS was relatively simple. At the very top stood the Federal Reserve Internal Revenue Service, headed by the Director-General of headquarters. Beneath headquarters, aside from its various internal offices, came the Federation Tax Administration Offices in each state.

These state-level administrative offices did not handle any tax-related services themselves. They were purely administrative bodies. In one sense, their overt authority was not as great as that of the local IRS offices on the ground, but they controlled performance evaluations and other personnel matters for local tax-system officials. Their hidden power was, if anything, even greater.

Only a single day had passed since the incident began. Yet within that one day, it had already reached the ears of the Director-General of the Federal Tax Bureau Headquarters, who had ordered the matter dealt with as quickly as possible before public opinion became uncontrollable.

“Michael’s work can be stopped for now. Let him disappear from public view for a while. Also, I hear he suspects this William may have some problems of his own?”

There was a trace of coldness in the state office commissioner’s voice that made the Director’s heart pound. He was already past fifty. Even if he did not want to give up the seat under him, he would not be able to sit in it for much longer.

Especially if his successor were promoted from below, then at most he could only remain here for another two or three years. After all, the successor would need time to familiarize himself with the work before he could better serve the Federation.

That left the Director with a small problem to solve. In the time before he retired, would he enjoy the leisurely ease of a pre-retirement post, or spend those last years breaking his back over thankless, exhausting work?

Both counted as “promotion,” but some positions were much easier than others. A post like the state office’s advisory group, for example, scarcely even required a man to show up in person. He only needed to appear when called for and say a few words.