The District of Columbia Attorney General, Karl Racine, has accused MicroStrategy co-founder and Executive Chairman, Michael Saylor, of tax evasion. In that regard, Karl Racine filed a lawsuit against Michael Saylor, accusing him of evading about $25 million in district taxes. Also, the lawsuit labels MicroStrategy as a defendant with allegations that the firm aided Saylor in avoiding the tariffs.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that Michael Saylors has numerous houses in D.C while claiming that he lives in Virginia or Florida. According to the case, the misrepresentation is a foul play by Michael Saylor because Virginia or Florida has a low personal income rate. The Attorney General claims that Michael Saylor’s properties in D.C include penthouse lodgings n the Georgetown neighborhood.
To further strengthen claims about Michael Saylor’s apartment in D.C, the Attorney General attached some screenshots to the lawsuit. These screenshots included post from the CEO’s Facebook page, which contains tags of Washington D.C when Saylor referred to his home. Meanwhile, MicroStrategy has withheld information that reflects Michael Saylor’s residence. At a time, the firm released a press statement that indicated Washington, D.C., as the CEO’s residence.
Michael Saylor’s Quest Into Bitcoin Investment
With the lawsuit, the Attorney General is pursuing to receive about $100 million, which covers unpaid taxes and fines attached to it. Meanwhile, upon the emergence of the lawsuit, the shares of the company went down by 6%. Early this month, Michael Saylor left his position as the CEO of MicroStrategy.
Before then, Michael Saylor ushered the company into a new dimension of investing in Bitcoin. While discharging his duties as the CEO, Michael Saylor oversaw investment of $4 billion into the acquisition of Bitcoin. Consequently, MicroStrategy acquired Bitcoin at an average price of $30,700, while the CEO revealed that he views the MicroStrategy stock as similar to Bitcoin ETF.
Side Notes About Other Allegations About The Tex Evasion Case
The CEO will face another tax evasion allegations apart from the AG’s. Around April 2021, a whistleblower filed a complaint against Saylor, accusing the CEO of not paying income taxes between 2014 to 2020. Though the complaint was filed under seal, but it emanated on Wednesday alongside the lawsuit from the AG.
Additionally, the lawsuit emanated under the backing of the False Claims Act. Likewise, the lawsuit will attract about three times the amount of the evaded taxes. This is due to the district law that rewards whistleblowers on every reported tax evasion case.
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