DC’s Attorney Has Accused Saylor Of Evading Taxes Wort $25M Between 2005 and 2021
District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine is suing Microstrategy founder Michael Saylor for tax fraud, involving tax evasion worth over $25 million between 2005 and 2021. Racine alleges that Saylor never paid any income taxes in the district in more than 10 years that he has lived there. The attorney general took to Twitter to accuse the billionaire of tax evasion.
In his tweet, Racine announced that his office is suing Microstrategy “for conspiring to help him evade taxes he legally owes on hundreds of millions of dollars he’s earned while living” in Washington.
This is the first lawsuit under Columbia’s recently amended False Claims Act, which encourages whistleblowers to report residents who evade the district’s tax laws by misrepresenting their residences. “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,” the lawsuit filing states.
Michael Saylor is a reputed businessman and a crypto investor with millions of followers. Saylor is often in the news for influencing investment decisions in the crypto industry. His firm Microstrategy holds 129,699 bitcoins, valuing over $3 billion. The shares of Microstrategy plummeted by 4% following Racine’s tweets. “I respectfully disagree with the position of the District of Columbia, and look forward to a fair resolution in the courts,” Saylor said in his defense.
Microstrategy Denies Involvement In Tax Fraud
Microstrategy refuted the attorney general’s claim that the organization helped Saylor evade taxes. “The Company was not responsible for his day-to-day affairs and did not oversee his individual tax responsibilities. Nor did the Company conspire with Mr. Saylor in the discharge of his personal tax responsibilities. The District of Columbia’s claims against the Company are false,” Microstrategy said while adding that the lawsuit accusing Michael Saylor of tax fraud is a “personal tax matter.”