A Good Start

Wang Ye had barely finished speaking when the other deputy speakers could no longer sit still and voiced their objections one after another.

"Mikhail, that's not right, is it? Only imposing additional taxes on the top three companies in the energy, finance, and telecommunications sectors—it's not very fair!"

"Yes, I don't think that's a good idea either. These major companies already contribute substantial taxes to the country and provide a great many jobs. If we impose another tax on them now, those companies will have objections."

"Right, Speaker Mikhail, you're the chairman of Yukos Group, aren't you? That's the number one company in the energy sector—even Gazprom Industry can't compare to Yukos. So let me ask first: would Yukos agree to this new tax?"

Wang Ye chuckled and answered decisively, "Since you've asked, then I'll make my position clear as well. Yukos Group is willing to pay this additional tax. Supporting national development is our duty!"

With that one sentence, he left the deputy speakers speechless.

After all, on the surface, Wang Ye was the chairman of Yukos Group. He would be paying real money out of his own pocket to support this tax policy.

Since he could state on the spot that he was willing to pay, what objections could the other companies possibly have?

Especially since these deputy speakers had no right to speak on behalf of other companies.

Gryzlov was relatively impartial. His ties with those corporate giants were not as deep, so he said with a smile:

"I think Mikhail's proposal is good. As he said, the growth of these companies could not have happened without the resources provided by the state, and now they have become corporate behemoths.

"After accumulating such enormous wealth, they should also do something to give back to the country and