033 Gains from the trip to Germany

This call was made from London because Pierce and his father finally managed to sell the Cold War relics they had brought back from Germany through their channels, making more money than everyone had expected.

The reason Pierce made the call was to ask Leonard Ethan to return to London as soon as possible and distribute the proceeds from the auction as soon as possible.

When he rushed back to London on a plane after hastily saying goodbye to his parents, he found that Pierce and his father were already waiting for him at the Emerald Antique Store.

"Lawrence, it seems that you had a lot of good luck on your trip home," Pierce said loudly as soon as Leonard entered the store. "You look much more spirited than before."

"Of course, I got to eat my mom's homemade braised pork at home and also had my thesis published in the British Archaeological Association Journal. You guys will see it in the next issue."

"That's really enviable," Old Pierce shook his head slightly. "When I was young, I submitted no less than 30 papers to various magazines, but none of them, not even the school magazines, would accept what I wrote."

"Alright, alright, let's talk about how much money we made from our trip to the German warehouse," Pierce quickly changed the subject as his father began reminiscing. "This time, we sold it for a high price."

"High price? Is that true?" Leonard asked in disbelief.

Because in his eyes, those small tanks and flags were just toys for children and teenagers. Although they had unique characteristics because of their history, their prices should not be too high.

"Yes, because we happened to know a collector who is very interested in such collections," Pierce explained and then talked about the sales of those items.

"First, there were the five small tanks. Since these tanks happened to cover all the tank models of the Vanguard Armored Brigade and were sold as a complete set, the buyer offered a very good price."

"At first, they were willing to pay 32,000 pounds for a tank, but after we showed them the tank brigade flag and several sets of tank soldier uniforms that we had found previously, they raised the price to 33,000 pounds."

"So, everything related to the Vanguard Tank Brigade, including tanks, flags, and uniforms, sold for a total of 180,000 pounds."

As Pierce finished speaking, Leonard's face immediately broke into a bright smile, as he hadn't expected the items he considered as toys to sell at such a price.

It's worth noting that the average annual income in London, UK, is between 30,000 and 40,000 pounds. In just one week, they made 4.5 times this wealth.

"So what about the other things we found? How much are they worth?" Leonard asked after the excitement had passed.

"The buyer wasn't very interested in the remaining items. In the end, they only paid 10,000 pounds for the Ernst Tillman Pioneer Organization flags and those wooden boards with propaganda paintings, so our total income was 190,000 pounds."

"That's already very good," Leonard nodded, then looked curiously at the father and son.

"So why did you call me specifically to London this time? I believe that you could have given me my fair share without having a face-to-face discussion."

"The main issue is the payment from the buyer," Old Pierce cleared his throat. "Because the sum of money was large and our goods were legal, the buyer paid by cheque."

"Don't tell me the cheque is fake." Hearing Old Pierce say this, Leonard Ethan immediately thought of certain possibilities.

"Of course not, that collector is an heir to a duke, and he owns several commercial streets in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. There's no way he would use a fake cheque for less than 200,000 pounds."

As Old Pierce spoke, he placed the cheque on the table and then said, "According to our prior agreement, 120,000 pounds of this belongs to you."

"The problem is, even though you're not British, you earned this income in the UK. So just for this transaction alone, you need to pay around 40,000 pounds in personal income tax."

This is why people prefer to use cash privately. However, to avoid attracting attention from the tax department, they often pay taxes obediently on major transactions while only using cash for small transactions.

"That's really too much." Since everyone present was friends, Leonard Ethan directly complained.

The only thing he could be grateful for was that in this world, Ireland and the UK had a series of tax agreements, so he wouldn't have to pay taxes twice after settling them here.

"That's why I suggest you set up a company on Mane Island, just like our shop." Old Pierce said at this moment, "Although it's still impossible to avoid paying taxes, it can reduce the amount you have to pay."

"A company?" After hearing Old Pierce's suggestion, Leonard Ethan fell into deep thought.

He had never considered setting up a company before he entered this world, but now that Old Pierce reminded him, Leonard Ethan suddenly realized he truly needed to establish a company.

This need was related to tax planning, but not exclusively. He figured that after acquiring the Golden Finger, he would undoubtedly engage in numerous related activities, so going solo would not be very suitable.

For example, if he wanted to salvage sunken ship treasures or excavate underground ruins, a single person would basically be unable to complete such tasks.

"What should I do if I want to register a company on Mane Island that focuses on finding and excavating various treasures as a source of profit?" After some thought, Leonard Ethan asked the two people present.

As for choosing Mane Island as the company's registered location, it was simple: the place was famous for being a tax haven in Europe and would be convenient for Leonard Ethan to register his company within Britain.

"It's very simple, just prepare your identity information, money, and company name, then find a regular law firm."

Old Pierce shrugged, "After all, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of companies that go to Mane Island to register for tax reasons. For local law firms in London, it's a very simple matter."

Early the next morning, Leonard Ethan took the money and the company name he had thought about for several hours the night before to a law firm in downtown London. He then spent half an hour getting everything sorted out.

Just as Old Pierce had said yesterday, this was not a difficult task, so after getting all the paperwork sorted and paying over four thousand pounds, the other party advised that it would take about five to six days to complete the process.

After confirming that they would call to notify him at that time, Leonard Ethan left the law firm and headed straight for the Emerald Antique Store.

Because yesterday when he was at the shop, he had already agreed with Pierce to go to Scotland today to purchase Victorian-era furniture, completing a big deal Pierce had recently taken on.