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Michael Saylor, Bitcoin investor and founder of software company MicroStrategy, is being sued for alleged tax fraud. That’s according to a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Karl Racine. The billionaire has been living in the state for about ten years, the government official said, but has allegedly failed to fulfill his tax obligations.
Michael Saylor: Tax fraud charges
Prosecutors are also taking action against Saylor’s company, MicroStrategy. The government official claims the company was used to help Saylor evade taxes. He said he made “hundreds of millions of dollars” during his time in DC.
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The government official also said:
“This is the first lawsuit filed under DC’s recently amended False Claims Act, which encourages whistleblowers to report residents who evade our tax laws by misrepresenting their residence (…). With this law, we are warning residents and employers that we will hold them accountable if they enjoy all the benefits of living in our great city while refusing to pay their fair share of taxes.”
NEW: Today, we’re suing Michael Saylor — a billionaire tech executive who’s lived in the District for more than a decade but never paid any DC income taxes — for tax fraud.
— AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) August 31, 2022
According to the law, the District of Columbia is missing “thousands of dollars in tax revenue.” According to the document, the executive “fraudulently claimed to be a resident” of Florida. However, he “maintained his domicile and whereabouts” in DC.
The complaints allege that Saylor owns a “luxury penthouse on the Georgetown waterfront” and “several yachts.” The unreported tax activity allegedly took place over 20 years. The document also claims:
“The District is bringing this action pursuant to the False Claims Act and district tax laws to hold defendants Saylor and MicroStrategy accountable for Saylor’s obligation to pay district income taxes. The district is seeking payment of all taxes owed, penalties, interest, treble damages and any other remedies available at law.”
Did Michael Saylor get in trouble with Bitcoin Investing?
The document also states that Michael Saylor failed to file a tax return on all investments made since 2005. This includes his purchase of bitcoin in 2020, which is said to have brought him over $1 billion in profits.
In addition, according to the document, Saylor is said to have described Bitcoin as “an ideal tool for tax evasion”.
Bitcoin owners could “tell their government to fxxk themselves” and claim “their bitcoin access keys were lost and are challenging the government to tax it.”
Neither Saylor nor MicroStrategy has yet commented on the lawsuit. The manager is very active on social media. When news of the lawsuit broke, Saylor tweeted about Bitcoin’s power to secure people’s wealth “so you don’t have to trust anyone with your money.”
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Text credit: Bitcoinist
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