‘We get the living daylights taxed out of us’: How billionaires like Elon Musk avoid taxes on their massive wealth

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They accidental the lone certainties successful beingness are decease and taxes — but Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks Americans are getting acold much than their just stock of the latter.

“You get taxed connected what you earn, you get taxed connected what you bargain and you get taxed connected what you own. Taxes, taxes, taxes,” Musk said astatine a municipality hallway successful Pittsburgh (1).

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In wide terms, he’s not wrong. Most Americans wage income taxation connected their wages and salaries, astir states enforce income taxation connected goods and services, and homeowners enarthrosis spot taxes connected existent estate. Layers of taxation interaction conscionable astir each portion of regular life.

Musk didn’t mince words astir however harsh helium believes the taxation scenery has become: “We get the surviving daylights taxed retired of us.”

And he’s arsenic blunt astir however that wealth is spent.

“What does it get spent on? A clump of the worldly it gets spent connected you don't adjacent hold with,” helium explained. “That’s wherefore we request to trim the size of the authorities ... and fto the radical support a batch much of their hard-earned money.”

To beryllium sure, taxes assistance money important nationalist services, specified arsenic education, wellness care, exigency services and infrastructure. But the strategy Musk described tin inactive permission galore Americans wondering what realistic options they person for gathering wealthiness erstwhile each dollar earned, spent and owned seems to look different levy.

That vexation isn’t constricted to tech CEOs. Scott Galloway, a renowned prof of selling astatine NYU Stern School of Business, has openly argued that if you privation to physique wealth, you should little your taxation measure arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.

“Tax avoidance is simply a cardinal accomplishment to gathering wealth,” Galloway said connected Steven Bartlett’s podcast, The Diary of a CEO (2).

Galloway offered a striking comparison: “If you’re a captive of war, you person an work to escape. If you’re trying to physique wealth, you person an work to wage arsenic small taxation arsenic possible.”

“Do it legally,” helium adds.

But that’s easier said than done.

If you’re starting to consciousness similar a captive of taxes and are looking for a mode to escape, present are immoderate strategies to minimize their clasp connected you.