• xenspidey@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    You all realize they don’t have that money laying around to pay the IRS right? They own companies, those companies are worth that much. To pay that you would have to liquidate those companies. So no more Amazon, Tesla, Space X, etc…

    • Luke@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      no more Amazon, Tesla, Space X, etc…

      Oh no! Anyway, so how can we make this happen, like, yesterday?

    • alvvayson@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Don’t be a bootlicker or bot or idiot.

      When they sell their shares to buy twitter or pay the tax man, those companies still exist. It just means that other people get to buy those shares and that’s a good thing, because that way those companies get owned by the public.

      Tesla and SpaceX still exist even after Elon overpaid by some $30B for his Twitter adventure.

    • usernamesaredifficul [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      I would be happy to take taxes in the form of ownership of the company

      here the tax genius of Henry the 8th comes into play “pay me my money or else”

      when noblemen didn’t pay william the conqueror the taxes he felt were due on time he would boil them. The principle being that if the rich face consequences for breaking the law they obey.

    • ThenThreeMore@startrek.website
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      1 year ago

      No, they’d just need to liquidate their share in those companies. Those shares would then get bought up by other people or by pension funds.

    • Slotos@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      All they’d need to liquidate is part of their ownership in said companies. Companies themselves will be ok, don’t you worry your bleeding heart.

      • AngryMulbear@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        That’s not true at all. Loss of controlling ownership makes a company vulnerable to a hostile takeover. The new owners will pick it apart like the vultures they are.

        RIP grannies pension plan

    • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      That’s the thing people don’t get. The ultra wealthy are wealthy on paper.

      On an average years. All of us make more than Elon in wages.

      • sim_@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        You’re making it sound like the wealthy are rich in technicality only. Maybe the majority of their assets aren’t liquid but they’re still damn wealthy more than “on paper.”

        And singling out wages as the only source of income to prove Elon isn’t “actually” wealthy is disingenuous at best.

        • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          He’s wealthy but he doesn’t have a high income.

          We tax income in America. That’s why Elon pays little and same with bezos. They just don’t have much income.

          It personally doesn’t bother me they have billions. They pay their fair share of their taxes just like I pay mine.

          You’re not poor because they’re rich. Once you stop focusing on others and focus on yourself; life becomes much easier.

          • sim_@beehaw.org
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            1 year ago

            It’s interesting you assume I’m poor just because I’m not licking those boots.

            • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              You are. It’s easy to figure out. When people confuse wealth with income, it’s easy to figure out.

              • xenspidey@lemmy.zip
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                1 year ago

                People here think there is some finite wealth pie, and if you cut a big piece somehow that leaves more for everyone else

                • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  I’ve noticed their knowledge of economics is about zero.

                  I agree they think Elon has their part of the pie. He doesn’t. If they understood how stocks work, they’d know he has zero of their pie.

                  They also think he is sitting on billions in cash. He isn’t.

                  At least Elon created functioning companies for his wealth. He also created many millionaires.

                  That’s a good billionaire. You can go buy his product at the store.

                  Facebook. You are the product.

      • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        What does that matter? He doesn’t take wages intentionally. He has a large stock portfolio that he can borrow against and thereby pay no taxes on that “income”.

      • MNByChoice@midwest.social
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        1 year ago

        What did Elon get paid, excluding stock options at companies he works for?

        I bet he still makes more than me.

          • MNByChoice@midwest.social
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            1 year ago

            That actually almost seems worse. He is not paying into Social Security or his local community. He is being generously compensated on stock, which is taxed differently.

            Edit: I do want to thank you for providing that link. I was only finding a Forbes article about him being the highest compensated CEO of that year.

            • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              He’s paying in the local community through property taxes.

              He’s highly compensated through stock and when he bought twitter. We got some huge amount of money in Taxes.

              You’re correct. He rarely pays into social but that’s a problem for Congress to solve.

              There are many ways to solve this bullshit and one is not allow them to borrow against their stock. That’s how they live for so cheap. I’m not opposed to stopping that at all.

              • Dark_Blade@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Borrowing against stock needs to stop yesterday, especially if it’s not specifically for the interests of the company whose stock is being used.