Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla Inc., has
slammed Bernie Sanders, senator and former US presidential candidate, for
demanding that the “extremely wealthy” pay taxes that are fair and proportional
to their wealth.
In a Twitter post on Saturday, Sanders said: “We must demand
that the extremely wealthy pay their fair share. Period.”
Taking a shot at the 80-year-old senator, Musk responded by saying: “I keep forgetting that you’re still alive.”
I keep forgetting that you’re still alive
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2021
“Want me to sell more stock, Bernie? Just say the word,” Musk added.
Want me to sell more stock, Bernie? Just say the word …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2021
Sanders’ tweet comes amid the backdrop of the US government’s efforts to hike taxes for ultra-rich citizens.
U.S. senate democrats have unveiled a proposal to tax
billionaires’ stocks and other tradable assets to help finance President Joe
Biden’s social spending agenda.
The goal, according to the US government, is to fill a
loophole that allowed billionaires to defer capital gains taxes indefinitely.
Before now, Musk and other billionaires had been accused of
paying little or no federal income taxes.
In 2018, a report by ProPublica said the Tesla CEO paid zero
federal income taxes.
A week ago, Musk tweeted that he would sell 10 percent of
his shares if Twitter users endorsed the move. More than 57 percent of people
on the social media channel voted for the stock sale.
Musk had said he does not take a cash salary or bonus, so
“the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock.”
In compliance with the poll, he sold $5 billion worth of
Tesla’s shares by Wednesday last week and then over $1 billion on Friday.
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