- Microstrategy and Michael Saylor agreed to pay $40 million to settle charges from the DC attorney general that they defrauded the district of millions in unpaid taxes
- The DC attorney general accused Saylor of failing to pay over $25 million in DC income taxes and falsely claiming to be a resident of lower-tax jurisdictions like Florida
- For nearly a decade, Saylor was allegedly engaged in a “fraudulent scheme” to avoid paying taxes on “hundreds of millions of dollars in income” he earned while residing in DC
American software company Microstrategy and its chairman Michael Saylor have agreed to pay $40 million to settle charges from the DC attorney general that the company and its co-founder defrauded the district of millions in unpaid taxes.
Background on the Lawsuit
The District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against Saylor for unpaid taxes in August 2022. It accused Saylor of failing to pay over $25 million in DC income taxes and said he falsely claimed to be a resident of lower-tax jurisdictions. The complaint was later amended to level the same accusations at Microstrategy.
“For nearly a decade, Saylor has been engaged in a fraudulent scheme to deprive the District of tax revenue on hundreds of millions of dollars in income that he earned while a resident of the District by falsely claiming to be a resident of Florida,” the DC attorney general claimed in its complaint.
“Demonstrating his disdain for the rules that everyone else has to live by, Saylor publicly flaunted his billionaire lifestyle while bragging to his friends and associates about how he was evading District taxes,” it added.
Investor Reaction
The news seems to have landed well with MSTR investors. In pre-market trading, MSTR shares are trading 4.5% higher than Friday’s close of $154.10.
Microstrategy shares have been a popular buy among Bitcoiners because of the company’s dedication to amassing a huge corporate treasury of BTC. At the time of writing, MSTR has amassed nearly $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin.
The company recently rolled out plans for MicroStrategy Orange, a decentralized ID solution that will operate on the Bitcoin network. The sprawling concept has applications for combating social media bots and spam, authenticating documents, and securing medical records.
Conclusion
The $40 million settlement appears to close the book on this tax dispute between MicroStrategy, Saylor, and the District of Columbia. While the saga damaged Saylor’s reputation, investor enthusiasm in MSTR remains strong due to its Bitcoin holdings. It remains to be seen whether MicroStrategy Orange will come to fruition as a major identity platform powered by Bitcoin.
