Musk: I'm going to be the person who pays the most taxes in U.S. history

Source: Sina Technology

Beijing time on the morning of December 16, it was reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk once again argued with an American politician on Twitter, and this time the friction with Musk was Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. On Tuesday, Musk claimed he would pay more income tax bills than anyone in U.S. history.

Musk said in a tweet: "If you open your eyes, you will see that I will pay more taxes this year than any American in history." ”

Musk's remarks came in response to Warren's online criticism of the U.S. tax code. Warren called the tax law "rigged" and also made a sharp satire on Musk. Warren has long been a staunch supporter of wealth taxes that tax not only the income of the wealthiest Americans, but also their assets. Congress has yet to pass a wealth tax, but other Democratic politicians have expressed support. Warren said on Twitter: "We want to change the current rigged tax code so that the people of the year will start to really pay taxes and not take advantage of other people." ”

Warren's claim that Musk didn't pay enough in taxes is not empty. A 2018 ProPublica survey revealed that Musk, then the world's second-richest man, did not pay any federal income taxes that year. He paid less than $70,000 in taxes in 2015 and 2017. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is now the richest man in the world, with a net worth of $251 billion. He does not currently earn cash wages, but only owns stock.

Musk has been selling Tesla stock since announcing on Twitter last month that he would sell 10 percent of the stock.

Musk has sold nearly $13 billion worth of Tesla stock since October, and he is subject to taxes on those shares sold. Musk will have to pay at least $7.6 billion in taxes in 2021, a figure that could reach as high as $15 billion, depending on how many more shares he sells this year.

If Democrats succeed in passing a new tax law targeting billionaires, Musk could be required to pay up to $50 billion in taxes over the first 5 years.

Musk, who has received billions of dollars in government subsidies since starting his business, has previously commented on any plan to impose a higher tax rate on billionaires. In October, Musk tweeted: "Eventually, they'll run out of other people's money and they'll come to you." He was referring to the U.S. government, after collecting taxes on billionaires, it would start taxing ordinary people.