Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 698: A Good Start_1

Chapter 698: Chapter 698: A Good Start_1

No sooner had Wang Ye finished speaking than the other Vice Chairs started to indicate their objections.

"Mikhail, that doesn’t seem right. Just levying additional taxes on the top three companies in the energy, financial, and communication industries isn’t entirely fair, is it?"

"Indeed, I also feel that this isn’t good. These large-scale companies have already contributed a significant amount of taxes to the country and have also provided numerous job opportunities. Now to enforce an additional tax, these companies will surely object."

"Right, Chairman Mikhail, you are also the chairman of the Yukos Group, aren’t you? This company is ranked number one in the energy industry, even the natural Gas Group couldn’t surpass Yukos. So, let me ask you first, will Yukos agree to this new tax?"

Wang Ye chuckled and replied succinctly, "Since you’ve asked, let me make my position clear. The Yukos Group is willing to pay this additional tax. Supporting the country’s development is our group’s duty!"

His words rendered several of the Vice Chairs speechless.

Indeed, on the surface, Wang Ye is the chairman of Yukos Group; this means he would have to genuinely support this tax policy with cold hard cash.

Since he can boldly declare his willingness to pay, how could other enterprises still have objections?

Especially these Vice Chairs who do not have the authority to speak for other businesses.

Grezlov maintained his fairness as he did not involve himself extensively with these corporate giants. He said with a smile,

"I think Mikhail’s proposal is good. As he said, the development of these enterprises couldn’t be achieved without the resources provided by the country. Now that they have become giant enterprises and gained significant wealth, they should do something to give back to the country and the public."

"Especially in the energy, finance, and communication industries, we can safely say that these companies make their money through monopolisation."

"Wealth is taken from the people and should be used for the people; this is the way it should be!"

With both of their support, the other Vice Chairs found it difficult to object again.

However, some people still discontentedly pointed out, "What use is it if only the Yukos Group agrees to pay? What if the remaining companies object? Are we really going to enforce taxing them by law? Wouldn’t that damage the business environment and provoke unfavorable international public opinion?"

According to Wang Ye’s calculation, the top three companies in the three major industries amount to nine companies in total.

At present, Wang Ye had agreed on behalf of the Yukos Group to pay the tax, but there were still eight enterprises that had not stated their positions.

An annual budget expenditure of approximately 1 billion US dollars would mean extracting such a sum from these nine companies, with an average of just over 100 million per company!

When it comes to paying extra taxes, would these companies willingly part with their money?

Wang Ye calmly responded, "Apart from the Yukos Group which agreed to paying, the Russian Gas Industry Group should have no problem either. After all, it is a state-owned company used to setting an example in this regard. These two companies are ranked first and second in the energy industry. I am not too concerned about the third place, but I think if the top two agree, would the third dare to object?"

The dissenting Vice Chair was rendered speechless.

Indeed, Yukos Group and the Russian Gas Industry Group are unarguably the two giants within the energy field; one monopolises the oil industry whilst the other the natural gas.

Honestly, who the third-place company is insignificant as their share is far less in comparison!

The energy industry is sorted; Wang Ye then moved on to discuss the other two.

"In the finance industry, there is no doubt that in the top three enterprises, at least one or two are state-owned enterprises, similar to the Russian Gas Industry Group. They have no reason to object."

"Lastly comes the communication industry, this field is primarily comprised of private enterprises, but I am confident that I can convince them in advance to accept this new tax policy."

"Chairman Grezlov, why don’t we divide the tasks? You deal with the three financial enterprises, and I will take care of the top three companies in the communication industry!"

Wang Ye’s words addressed every concern, effectively silencing the Vice Chairs.

They didn’t even need to lift a finger; Wang Ye and Grezlov could sort it out by themselves. So what more could they say?

Grezlov pondered briefly and then nodded without hesitation, "That sounds good! We can handle it, there shouldn’t be any problems."

He agreed with Wang Ye’s previous analysis.

With Wang Ye’s leading commitment combined with the state-owned property of the Russian Gas Industry Group, the energy industry was not a worry.

Now, he and Wang Ye each needed to manage three companies in the financial and communication industries separately. Comparatively, Wang Ye’s task was even more prickly.

As Wang Ye pointed out, while there are many private capitals in the financial industry, the largest players are still the state-owned banks.

Public matters are generally much easier, especially when he is representing the Duma.

The communication industry is mainly comprised of private capitals. Fortunately, Wang Ye volunteered to take on this burden. If it were left to Grezlov, he might not be able to manage it.

After all, the executives of state-owned companies would certainly give Grezlov face.

However, privately owned companies may not necessarily do the same...

...

The reason why Wang Ye dared to take on this responsibility was that he had a certain degree of confidence.

Because the Rossiyana Family is the largest shareholder in the communications industry...

Their family essentially owns the two largest communication companies in the country. When it comes to the communications industry, their word is law.

When the time comes for him to talk with the person steering the Rossiyana family, explaining the pros and cons, Wang Ye believes that they will wisely choose to cooperate...

However, this matter still requires Rossiyana’s cooperation.

Thus, after the meeting, Wang Ye returned to his office and had a heartfelt talk with Rossiyana...

...

He didn’t beat around the bush and first outlined the content of the meeting to Rossiyana.

Then, he patted Rossiyana’s hand and said earnestly,

"Look, we’ve known each other for so long, and I’ve never visited your family. That is rather rude.

"How about you find some time in the next few days for me to accompany you back to Petersburg, to meet your family’s elders?

"We could also discuss this taxing matter with them."

Rossiyana was not a fool; she understood Wang Ye was "using" her.

However, she was not averse to this feeling, as her family had planned to "bet" on Wang Ye from the beginning!

Otherwise, she would not have come to work as Wang Ye’s personal assistant.

Now that Wang Ye was seeking help from her family, this was not a bad thing, but rather a good beginning!