- The District of Columbia’s attorney general says MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor evaded paying $25 million worth of taxes
- MicroStrategy and Michael Saylor have denied the allegations
District of Columbia Attorney General has filed a lawsuit accusing Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor of evading $25 million worth of taxes in the District and violating the tax code.
The AG is seeking $100 million in due taxes and penalties against the former Microstrategy CEO with claims that he has not paid taxes in the District since 2005.
Part of the court filing claimed that Saylor deliberately avoided taxes by claiming to be a resident of another jurisdiction with lower taxes even though he maintained his residence and domicile in the District and docked several yachts on the Potomac riverfront.
Michael Saylor has claimed to live in Florida, where he has a home and Virginia, where the Microstrategy office is located. But the suit claimed all this was a cover and cited several instances where Saylor claimed his home in DC. It also included his Facebook posts showing he spent a lot of time in the District.
Part of the lawsuit reads:
“Since at least 2012, Saylor has bragged to his confidants about his successful plan to create the illusion of residing in Florida in order to evade the District’s personal income taxes.”
DC has one of the highest income tax rates in the country at 10.72%. Florida, on the other hand, has no individual income tax.
The AG also includes Microstrategy as a defendant in the case and claims the company likely helped Saylor to evade taxes.
MicroStrategy and Saylor deny the allegations
However, Microstrategy denied involvement in the case describing it as a personal tax matter. The company also denied conspiring with him or being involved in the tax liabilities.
Saylor recently left his position as the CEO of the company but currently chairs the board.
Michael Saylor himself had denied all the allegations stating that he is based in Florida, where he has been living since 2012, when he left Virginia. He claimed Florida is at the center of his family life as that is where he votes and also where he has served jury duty.
“I respectfully disagree with the position of the District of Columbia + look forward to a fair resolution in the courts.”
However, a Twitter user said that Saylor had previously claimed that Bitcoin could be used as a tool for evading taxes.
While the Attorney General’s lawsuit did not include any of these claims, they could come to haunt the billionaire when the court eventually entertains the case.
