Twitter users 'force' Elon Musk to sell Tesla stock so he can stop avoiding taxes
It started with a Twitter poll.
And now a billionaire CEO will need to pay his taxes.
On Saturday, Nov. 6, Elon Musk decided to pose a questionto social media platform's users. Should Musk, the co-founder and CEO of the electric car company Tesla, sell off 10 percent of his Tesla stock?
Tweet may have been deleted
Now, this wasn't just another meaningless 24-hour Twitter poll to gauge public opinion. Musk said up front that there were consequences to this poll. The billionaire had promisedto "abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes."
Now that the poll has ended 24 hours later, we have our answer: 57.9% of the more than three and a half million Twitter users who voted said "yes."
The reason for the poll, according to Musk, was in response to a policy being floated around to "tax unrealized gains." Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has recently discussedit and a proposal for such a "Billionaires Income Tax" has been introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Musk has publicly opposedplans to tax unrealized gains. The proposal would basically tax very wealthy people on the increased value of their stock holdings, even if they don't sell the assets off.
Taxing unrealized gains would essentially close a loophole that billionaires utilize to avoid paying income taxes. Instead of selling their stocks and paying taxes, they accumulate their wealth by borrowingagainst their assets.
Tweet may have been deleted
In fact, as ProPublica's Jesse Eisinger notes, Musk confirms this in one of the tweetsconnected to his poll.
"Note, I do not take a cash salary or bonus from anywhere," Musk tweeted. "I only have stock, thus the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock."
Senator Wyden, the Congressperson behind the Billionaires Income Tax proposal is not soldon Musk's Twitter stunt.
Tweet may have been deleted
"Whether or not the world’s wealthiest man pays any taxes at all shouldn’t depend on the results of a Twitter poll," the senator tweeted. "It’s time for the Billionaires Income Tax."
And, as The Vergepoints out. Musk has floated the idea of selling some of his Tesla stock before due to expiring stock options. So, while Musk might actually follow through and sell off 10 percent of his Tesla stock, the Twitter poll may not have much to do with it.
However, what is interesting is how Musk posed his question. Whether it was intentional or not, the billionaire really ended up asking if he should pay his income taxes.
And the Twitter masses responded with a resounding "yes."
We will update this post with Elon Musk's response now that the poll has ended.
Related video: Elon Musk's worst tweets of all time (so far)
(责任编辑:产品中心)
-
Google is bringing AI summaries to ‘Files’ so you can find your docs quicker
Google is full speed ahead on AI-powered features for Android devices, and a new summarization tool ...[详细] -
打造“荔枝+”产业融合示范区!增城正果荔枝沟来了!_南方+_南方plus中国荔枝看广东,广东荔枝看增城。作为增城荔枝核心镇街的正果镇,位于增城东北部,四季如春、山水相依、历史悠久,有兰溪古荔园、十里荔 ...[详细]
-
重建为了谁 为了提升医疗服务水平 发展为了谁 为了惠及广大人民群众
人物: 李志强委员观点: 全市卫生系统要围绕一个目标,打赢两场“硬仗”,补齐三个“欠账”,做好五篇“文章”,实现卫生系统的后发追赶,让广大患者能获得更优质的医疗服务。目前,全市卫生系统103个重建项目 ...[详细] -
20日,四川省第十二届人大常委会第八次会议通过了《四川省人口与计划生育条例修正案》,将原第十四条第二项“独生子与独生女结婚的”修改为“夫妻一方为独生子女的”,标志着“单独两孩”政策在四川正式实施。市人 ...[详细]
-
Who is the Dark Wizard in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2?
Just when The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerreveals the identity of one mysterious wizard, it ...[详细] -
雅安日报讯8月27日,2013年度市级“守合同重信用”企业评选结果揭晓,荥经县11家企业被授予2013年度市级“守合同重信用”企业。为深入推进社会信用体系建设,发挥诚实守信示范带头作用,增强企业自律能 ...[详细]
-
政协提案是人民政协履行政治协商、民主监督、参政议政职能的重要形式,是参加政协的民主党派、工商联、人民团体、专门委员会和政协委员向政协全体会议或常务委员会提出,经提案委员会审查立案后交付有关单位办理的书 ...[详细]
-
增产超30%!海峡两岸农研院藏粮于技背后的技术实力_南方+_南方plus稻花香里说丰年!11月29日,在珠海市十里莲江农旅健康小镇百亩水稻试验田中,来自海峡两岸农业发展研究院简称“农研院)的工作人员跟 ...[详细]
-
现场观众驻足欣赏精美的蒙山窑瓷器用名山土,烧蒙山器,泡蒙山茶。8月24日,蒙山窑艺术馆开馆仪式在蒙顶山4A级旅游景区举行,一大批采用蒙顶山优质高岭土烧制的蒙山窑瓷器惊艳亮相,吸引了不少瓷器爱好者及游客 ...[详细]
-
136个!广东省市、县晚稻机收保障热线电话公布_南方+_南方plus为做好“三秋”机械化生产工作,高质高效完成晚稻机收工作,保障粮食安全。近日,广东省农业农村厅公布了广东136个市、县晚稻机收保障热线 ...[详细]