Nine Lives - Danielle Steel Page 0,64
IRS or Paul? She couldn’t tell.
“Could you go to jail for it?” she asked him.
“I might, but that’s highly unlikely. I’ve been incredibly lucky with my investments abroad. They’ve multiplied exponentially, and if I have to go to jail for a year to save millions, it’s worth it. But I can pretty much promise you, it won’t come to that. It will all happen in negotiation, and if they have to give me the choice of going to prison instead of paying them, they lose. They won’t let that happen, and neither will I. I’ve already shut down Luxembourg and conceded there, and we’ll probably have to shut down some other things, but I’ve got smart lawyers and most of my holdings are well protected, and technically they’re legal, not by a lot, but just this side of the current laws. I’m not dying to go to prison, so we haven’t been stupid, just very smart.” A little too smart, it sounded like, or the IRS wouldn’t be at his throat.
“What about the apartment in London? The article I read said it had been seized.”
“True. They put a lock on it and sealed it two days ago, with everything in it. I’ll probably have to give that up too. It’s just window dressing, and I’d rather give them that than my more serious holdings. I can always buy new clothes. They can’t touch the Lady Luck or the plane, they’re registered offshore and completely protected. If I have to, I can live on the boat. I definitely can’t come back to the States now, until this is resolved. I need to stay in the countries that won’t extradite me. Possibly France, Switzerland, some others. The Italians will probably turn a blind eye. I’ll clear out of London soon, and I can’t come to visit you in the States for now, until we make a deal with the IRS.” To him, it was just business, to Maggie it sounded terrifying. But he insisted that he had been honest, just smart. And there was a staggering amount of money involved. Maggie couldn’t even imagine it. The money she had socked away in conservative investments for Aden’s future was peanuts compared to what Paul had amassed and dealt with on a daily basis, but to earn that kind of fortune from his success and preserve it by legally avoiding taxes in some way required enormous risks, which Paul was willing to take. He walked on the edge of the cliff in every area of his life, fearlessly and even foolishly ignoring the abyss. To Maggie, it was a frightening way to live. To Paul, it was a thrill and seemed worth it. He actually enjoyed it, and was willing to take on the IRS.
She was sad for him, thinking of the beautiful penthouse he had just lost in London, but he didn’t seem to care. He had his eye on the bigger picture, which was much bigger than a fancy apartment. He made it clear that he had carefully sheltered his boat and plane and most of his investments.
“The Lady Luck is under lockdown in Monaco, while they check out the registration and see what they have to do to grab her. But we already know they can’t. She’s not even registered in my name. She should be in the clear within a few weeks. And the plane too, which is grounded at Gatwick for now. The IRS would like to charge me fines for the way they’re registered, but they won’t be able to do that either. I was damn sure of that when I set it up. It’ll all come right in the end, Maggie, I promise. I have great lawyers. We’re already negotiating with the IRS. It’s all a chess game.” It reminded her of the way he gambled, for enormously high stakes. Nothing seemed to frighten him. He thrived on it. “Don’t worry about it.” It was easy for him to say, she was worried for him anyway.
“Could the British arrest you and extradite you?” she asked.
“They might. I’m going to Paris in a few days for a while, or skiing in Switzerland until this gets worked out. The French and the Swiss won’t extradite me. And none of the European countries put you in jail for taxes, or very few and very rarely. In the U.S., they might, to prove a point. It’s really just a dispute about what kind of deductions I have a