Elizabeth Warren told CNBC on Tuesday that billionaires should pay their taxes to support the next generation of entrepreneurs.
I'm happy to celebrate success, but let's remember that Musk didn't make it on his own. He got huge investments from the government, from those public school teachers and those minimum wage workers who have been paying their taxes all along to get that business up and running and help see it through rough times.
The Massachusetts Democrat was referring to the billions of dollars in U.S. government grant funding, subsidies and incentives that have helped two of Musk's companies. Commercial space travel and electric cars were not sure bets in their early years. The stock market value of the company is more than $1 trillion, and it is one of the most valuable private companies in the world.
When you make it big, please pay your fair share in taxes. The 99% pay taxes on about 7 percent of their wealth. The top one-tenth of 1% pays less than the rest. That is not right. She said to make an investment so the next Musk gets a chance to make it big.
The Biden administration on Monday proposed a tax called the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax, which would require American households worth more than $100 million to pay at least 20% of their income in taxes. Half of the revenue could come from households worth $1 billion or more.
The senator supports the bill because of her stance on wealth taxes. Warren supports legislation that would impose a 3% total annual tax on wealth over $1 billion and a 2% annual wealth tax on the net worth of households and trusts over $50 million. She was unsuccessful in her bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
Warren argued that Musk paid very little in past years, which is not an option for most Americans, because he paid a massive tax bill after he sold a lot of stock in the company.
Forbes pegs Musk's net worth at over $290 billion, making him the richest person in the world.
In February, Musk boasted in a twit that he paid the highest tax bill in history for an individual in the U.S.
Warren asked how much Musk paid that year, when he was one of the richest people in the world. He paid zero taxes that year. The public school teacher was not allowed to pay zero in either year.
Warren said that Musk paid zero federal income taxes. Musk said he didn't pay taxes because he didn't have a salary.
When you make it to the very tippy, tippy top, then pay something in so everyone else gets a share, Warren said.
CNBC reporter Lora Kolodny contributed to the report.
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