Monday, December 20, 2021
“more than ever in history”
Musk plans to pay $11 billion in taxes
Reports that billionaires like Elon Musk sometimes have to pay no income tax are causing outrage in the United States. On the other hand, this year the richest person in the world will transfer a record amount to the tax authorities.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, will pay more than $11 billion in taxes this year. Musk shared it on Twitter, saying, “For those wondering, I’ll be paying over $11 billion in taxes this year.”
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Musk has a net worth of more than $20 billion. Accordingly, the assets of the entrepreneur have increased by about $ 70 billion since the beginning of the year. Much of his fortune is tied to electric car maker Tesla and its rocket company Space Exploration Technologies.
Last week, Musk had an argument with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Massachusetts), who urged the billionaire to pay more taxes. Referring to Musk recently named Person of the Year by Time magazine, Warren tweeted, “Let’s change the rigged tax law so Person of the Year actually pays taxes and stops parasitizing everyone else “
Musk replied at the time that this year he would pay more taxes than any other American in history. The discussion was fueled by reports that Musk had paid little or no federal income tax over the years.
Musk decided to sell his 10 percent stake in Tesla after a poll on Twitter. He started with it in early November. About two months ago, he announced that he would exercise some of his approximately 23 million stock options, which would expire in August 2022. In Musk’s case, these transactions owe taxes in the billions. To be able to pay it, he had to sell part of the shares.
