Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive of electric vehicle maker Tesla, said on Twitter he will pay more than $11 billion in taxes this year amid criticism that the world's wealthiest person isn't paying enough.
Mr Musk, who is worth $243bn on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, may indeed face a tax bill of more than $10bn for 2021 if he exercises all his options due to expire next year, according to Bloomberg News.
The bill comes after Mr Musk exercised almost 15 million options and sold millions of shares to cover the taxes related to those transactions.
The billionaire businessman has been offloading his shares, selling stock worth nearly $14bn over the past few weeks after conducting a Twitter poll on whether he should sell 10 per cent of his stake in the EV maker. Tesla's shares have surged more than 2,300 per cent over the past five years. It was flat in after-hours trading.
At the 2021 Code Conference in September, Mr Musk revealed that he intended to sell a huge portion of his stock in the fourth quarter. In the same month, he established a pre-arranged trading plan to carry out “an orderly sale of shares related to the exercise of stock options”, filings show. However, the November 6 Twitter poll did not disclose the existence of that plan.
Mr Musk proposed this move, citing discussions about wealthy people hoarding unrealised gains to avoid paying taxes.
Mr Musk, named by Time magazine as its Person of the Year last week, is now about two thirds of the way through trimming 10 per cent of his direct share ownership in Tesla. If the threshold he has referred to includes exercisable options, he will need to get rid of approximately another six million shares.
On December 10, Mr Musk joked about quitting his job and "becoming an influencer full-time", when he offloaded shares worth $963 million to pay taxes on the exercise of an additional 2.2 million options.
However, shareholders and regulators have not always appreciated the humour in Mr Musk’s tweets. Tesla shares plunged after a post in jest on April Fool’s Day in 2018, claiming the company had gone bankrupt.
Later that year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued him over tweets about taking Tesla private.
But Mr Musk's tweets are also highly influential in the market, especially when he comments on cryptocurrencies. In May, Bitcoin tanked as much as 17 per cent after the billionaire said Tesla suspended the use of the world's largest cryptocurrency over environmental concerns.
Mr Musk's latest move comes as he tackles US Democrats' “billionaires' tax”, which seeks contributions from America's most affluent by taxing their "tradable assets".
The proposed tax is expected to help fund US President Joe Biden’s ambitious social policy and climate change legislation.
Last week, US senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted to say that Mr Musk should pay taxes instead of "freeloading off everyone else".
The Tesla chief executive responded by saying that he "will pay more taxes than any American in history this year".
A report by ProPublica in June said that Mr Musk paid little income tax relative to his vast wealth. His fortune has grown by $110bn this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
But he has hit back, saying he does not draw a salary from either SpaceX or Tesla, and pays an effective tax rate of 53 per cent on stock options he exercises. He added that he expects that tax rate to increase next year.
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)
Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)
Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)
Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)
Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)
Eibar v Alaves (7pm)
Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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