According to the US media local time on December 15, Tesla CEO Musk and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts engaged in a war of words on social media, Warren accused Musk of not paying income tax, and Musk refuted Warren's too noisy, and claimed that he would pay more income tax than anyone in U.S. history.
Musk was the first man with a net worth of more than $300 billion, and after he was named "Person of the Year" for 2021 by Time magazine, Warren said on social media: "Let's change the tax code that is manipulated so that the person of the year will really pay taxes." ”
In addition, she also linked an article about the achievements of Musk's Person of the Year, sharing a new cover of Time magazine produced by the Americans for Tax Fairness, with Musk on the cover, which reads "TAX ME" and a few lines next to it: Musk paid a federal income tax of 0 in 2018, with an average effective tax rate of only 3.27%. But his wealth has skyrocketed by $240 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic, and most of it has gone unpaid.
Musk responded to Warren's accusations: "If you open your eyes for 2 seconds, you'll realize that this year I'm going to pay more taxes than any American in history." He also criticized Warren: "Don't innuendo! Elizabeth Warren is a liar who lied about being An Indian, which would disqualify her from serving as president of the United States and senator. ”
Musk added: "Warren reminds me of when I was a kid, and my friend's angry mom would yell at everyone for no reason. ”
Warren advocated a wealth tax in March that would impose a 2 percent tax on Americans with net worth between $50 million and $1 billion and a 3 percent tax on those with higher net worth. And Forbes real-time data shows that Musk's net worth is $255 billion, no doubt paying more taxes.
Notably, Musk has been selling his Tesla shares this year, and so far Musk has exercised nearly 15 million of the 22.9 million options that expire, worth about $15.8 billion, while Musk is subject to $6.4 billion in taxes under current tax rules.
Compile: wzx
Review: Chen Meiyu
Proofreader: Zeng Huiwen