––
–
Well-known Tesla CEO Elon Musk addicted to twitterHe thinks it would be a good idea to let people on the platform decide whether or not to pay taxes, so he Take a survey. Musk asked Twitterverse if he should sell 10% of his Tesla shares, saying he was prepared to honor the results of the investigation, “however things go.” Twitter voted “yes”.
The tech mogul launched the investigation on Saturday in light of the recent legislative proposal to tax unrealized gains – or existing profits. On paper only This only becomes real when the investment is sold – which some say helps billionaires avoid paying taxes. For context, Musk clarified that he only receives payments from his companies in shares and does not receive a salary or bonus in cash. And so, he said“The only way I can pay taxes in person is to sell the shares. ”
Musk owns more than 17% of Tesla’s shares, valued at more than $ 200 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Selling 10% of that at current prices would equate to around $ 21 billion.
“A lot has been done lately that unrealized gains are a way of avoiding taxes, so I am proposing to sell 10% of my Tesla shares,” Musk wrote. in the tweet In his investigation, he added: “I will stick to the results of this investigation in any way. ”
G / O Media can get a commission
–
–
In total, 3.5 million people voted in Musk’s poll, of which 57.9% said he should sell, while 42.1% said he shouldn’t.
However, since the investigation ended, the Twitterverse hasn’t heard much from Musk on this matter. in a to respond In a tweet asking if the poll went the way he wanted, Musk said he was prepared to accept either result.
Last month, Musk criticized a proposal by Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, to tax unrealized gains on publicly traded assets, saying (on Twitter) that the proposal would eventually reach the less wealthy taxpayers because “[e]Venture out, other people have run out of money and then they come for you.
For what it’s worth, Wyden’s suggestion he was eviscerated Once it was brought up, but sparked significant controversy, a certain Musk decided to dive into it.
Although Musk described this as a way for the public to decide what to do with their money, CNBC says That a Tesla executive would likely sell the stock even if Twitter didn’t shoot Palpatine and tell him about it do it.
Indeed, Musk faces a billion dollar tax bill on the 22.8 million shares he acquired as stock options in 2012. In order to exercise options, Musk has to pay taxes on what he earns from those stocks at their current price, resulting in roughly $ 28 billion in earnings. CNBC reports that given the combined federal and state tax rate of 54.1%, the CEO of Tesla will pay $ 15 billion if he exercises the options.
Musk announced in September that he would sell some of his options in the fourth quarter of this year, as they were due to expire. Tesla CEO Usually Doesn’t Sell Stocks He Already Owns, But He Did I did it in the past to pay taxes on his stock options.
Musk’s poll and its results got a lot of talk on Twitter. The investigation even elicited a response from Wyden.
“Whether or not the richest man in the world pays taxes shouldn’t depend on the results of a Twitter poll. It is time to tax the income of billionaires, ”he added. to babble.
To put all of this in perspective, a Report Last summer, Musk found out that Musk paid $ 0 in income tax in 2018. So, yes, any amount of income tax he pays is a small step forward for humanity.
Updated 11/7/2021, 10:39 PM ET: This post was to show Musk would pay $ 15 billion if he exercised his stock options.
–
