Owner's Share (Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper) by Nathan Lowell Page B

Congratulations on making captain.”
    “Thanks. So, you know that I’m going to get a big slice of that bonus.”
    “Indeed you are. I think you’ll wind up with almost as much as the company gets. That’s usually the way it plays out, although, I confess, we’ve never seen a salvage claim this big. Usually they’re burned out hulks, or parts of hulks.”
    “If this one had hit a rock, it might have been. We got to it before that happened.”
    He raised his mug in my direction. “Well, congratulations. What do you want to do with your money?” He grinned playfully.
    I shrugged and leaned back on the sofa. “I don’t know. What are my options?”
    He placed his mug down on the table and sat back himself. “Hm. Well, for a company like DST, it’s respectable, but for an individual, this is huge. I take it you’re not already independently wealthy or already employing a team of tax accountants?”
    I chuckled. “Safe assumption.”
    He nodded and I could see him shifting his focus inward. “Your share is probably going to come in between five and ten million. The first task is to protect as much of that as possible from tax exposure.”
    I hadn’t even considered taxes, but I grimaced inwardly as I realized that I should have.
    “That kind of windfall?” He continued, frowning in thought. “Without doing anything, you’ll lose a quarter of it to taxes. You can invest it in ways that will cut that liability—generally by investing in the CPJCT.” He shrugged .“They make the rules, we just have to figure out how to use them to our advantage.”
    “Okay, what can I do if I just pay the taxes on it?”
    He pursed his lips and shook his head. “You won’t pay that much tax. We’ll see to that. The question is what do you want to do?”
    “I really don’t know. This is moving pretty quickly.”
    “Retire to the country? Buy a yacht? Pay off your school loans? Talk to me.”
    “I’m thinking of going indie and starting my own line.”
    “What? Buy a freighter?”
    I nodded.
    His frown deepened. “That’s why I said, for an individual it’s huge. You’re talking about starting a company with it? That’s different.”
    “Why?”
    “Price a few ships, Captain. You’ll see the problem. These vessels are expensive.” He shrugged. “There’s a reason the Chernakova will fetch a good price, but it’s going to be a fragment of what a new ship would cost.”
    “What about a fast packet?”
    He shrugged. “They’re smaller and slightly cheaper, but they’re still expensive and chancy to run.”
    “Chancy?”
    “Smaller ships, smaller cargoes, less flexibility.” He shrugged. “All the cargoes need to be relatively low mass, high value, and you’re competing on speed of delivery because the big, utility haulers will be competing on price.”
    He made good sense. “You’ve obviously been around the orbital a couple of times, Mr. Larks.”
    “A few,” he said with his low rumbling chuckle. “A few.”
    “So, what’s your recommendation, Mr. Larks?”
    He grimaced and shook his head. “First, you need to figure out what you want, Captain.”
    I left that statement lying on the coffee table, and nodded for him to continue.
    “If you’re serious about sailing about the galaxy, then think about maybe buying a yacht, something in the one ton range. You can pick one of those up with a modest down payment, and I can probably set you up with investment income that will pay your loan down while you loaf around the Western Annex. Do a little trading here and there. Follow your nose.” He let that settle a bit while I considered.
    After a few heartbeats I asked, “How much do I need to go indie with a real ship?”
    He frowned but I could see his wheels turning so I didn’t rush him. Eventually, he sighed and pulled his nose between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. “Ten million will get you a leverage on a loan for maybe forty more. If you use the money to promote the idea, gain