The attorney general of the District of Columbia (DC), Karl Racine, accused Michael Saylor of failing in his tax obligations while living in DC while also alleging that his company, business intelligence giant MicroStrategy, aided Saylor’s tax avoidance.
The MicroStrategy executive is one of the biggest advocates of bitcoin and has remained bullish on the number one cryptocurrency amid BTC’s price decline.
Saylor Claimed to Live in Florida to Avoid Income Taxes
Attorney General Racine, in a tweet thread on Wednesday (August 31, 2022), announced that DC is suing Saylor for evading income tax payment even though he lived in DC for over ten years.
NEW: Today, we’re suing Michael Saylor – a billionaire tech executive who has lived in the District for more than a decade but has never paid any DC income taxes – for tax fraud.
— AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) August 31, 2022
The lawsuit filed in the Superior Court in the District of Columbia names Saylor and MicroStrategy as defendants. According to the court document, Saylor claimed to live in Florida, a state without personal income taxes but lived in DC.
To effectively pose as a Florida resident, Saylor obtained a driver’s license and registered to vote in the state while maintaining his house in DC “for at least 183 days in subsequent taxable years.”
MicroStrategy is also alleged to have helped Saylor avoid paying income taxes in the District. The plaintiffs claimed that the company knew of the entrepreneur’s false claims as a Florida resident.
Meanwhile, from 2005 to the present, Saylor’s District tax debt is reportedly valued at $25 million, with the District of Columbia seeking the payment of income taxes owed, civil penalties, treble damages, and other reliefs.
Part of Racine’s thread said:
“With this lawsuit, we’re putting residents and employers on notice that if you enjoy all the benefits of living in our great city while refusing to pay your fair share in taxes, we will hold you accountable.”
From MicroStrategy CEO to Board Executive Chairman
Neither Saylor nor MicroStrategy is yet to respond to the allegations at the time of writing. As previously reported by CryptoPotato, Saylor stepped down from his position as MicroStrategy’s CEO while continuing to serve as the executive chairman of the company’s board.
The business intelligence firm currently holds 129,699 bitcoin ($2.6 billion) as of June, making it the largest holder of BTC among public companies.
Saylor is a vocal bitcoin evangelist, and during his tenure as CEO at MicroStrategy, he spent around $4 billion growing the company’s BTC treasury at an average price of $30,664 per coin.
With his new position as the board’s executive chairman, Saylor said he will focus more on bitcoin advocacy.
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