"In other words, you've been eating our food and drinking our drinks; now we're just asking you to spit out some of the taxes owed. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
Hearing David's words, Caroline and the rest found themselves even less able to rebut.
Because according to the agreement signed between the government and the private prison,
the private prison would receive a daily subsidy of 58 US dollars for every prisoner it took in.
Although this amount might not seem like much, it adds up when combined.
Take the Rio City GCO Prison for example, which housed over 5,000 inmates. For these inmates, the government paid almost 290 thousand US dollars daily in subsidies.
That amounts to 8.7 million US dollars a month.
And if you start counting from the establishment of this prison, within three years, the figure nearly reached 300 million.
This money wasn't conjured out of thin air by the government; it was from the treasury funds collected through the taxation revenue by the IRS.
So David's statement that their GCO Prison was eating and drinking off the IRS, was true to a certain extent.
After a pause, Caroline spoke, "Fine, Director David, since you've put it that way, let us discuss amongst ourselves and then get back to you with a decision, how about that?"
David didn't waste words and stood up and walked out.
After he left, Pearson immediately cursed, "Damn, how on earth did he manage to get Nevada State under his control?"
In fact, not just him, but also Caroline and all the senior officials present couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard they tried.
Even though David had stormed into the Indian Tribe with armed men, even though David had swept through the city halls of Henderson and Sparks,
Yet Laurie, as the Governor, could not be commanded even by the President.
And as long as they couldn't get past the state government, there would be endless ways for the state government to trip them up concerning their prison's intake rate, financial subsidies, and so on.
After a while, Pearson proposed again, "Miss Caroline, I believe that under the current circumstances, it's best to pay this tax. However, before we do, we need to negotiate terms with him. What happens in Nevada should stay in Nevada. He must keep this strictly confidential and not leak it to other states!"
"Yes, I agree with Pearson's approach. A few tens of millions is not a large sum for us. As long as he keeps quiet after being paid, it doesn't matter to us."
"Rather than giving up the management rights in Nevada, indeed it would be more cost-effective to pay some money. But the prerequisite, as Pearson said, is that it should not involve other states."
"I agree as well..."
The people present had reached high-level positions by being able to make the right judgments based on the situation.
And the current situation was either to abandon the management rights in Nevada or to spend some money to avoid trouble.
They naturally made their choice in weighing the lighter and the heavier.
Of course, they had never really been concerned about the money itself. What they had cared about from the start was that if the Nevada issue leaked out, it would cause a chain reaction with the other states.
Caroline fell silent for a while and then, with resolution in her voice, said, "Since we all agree, then let him come in."
A few minutes later, David walked back into the office, asking with a neutral expression, "So, folks, can you tell me your decision now?"
Caroline replied, "We'll pay this sum to the IRS, but, we need to set some ground rules with you!"
"Let's hear them."
"First of all, this matter will only involve Rio City Prison in Nevada State and must not leak out or affect our prisons in other states. If the day comes when it does leak, we will deny this tax payment, and your IRS must also stand out to support us!"