MicroStrategy and co-founder Saylor to pay $40 million in DC tax fraud settlement

MicroStrategy Inc. and its co-founder and CEO Michael Saylor will pay $40 million to settle a tax fraud case.

The Washington attorney general’s office sued Saylor in August 2022, accusing the crypto billionaire of failing to pay more than $25 million in income taxes. The lawsuit alleged that Saylor knowingly evaded paying taxes even though he had lived in Washington for more than a decade. Saylor denied the allegations at the time, saying he lived in Florida.

“This precedent-setting settlement makes clear that no one in the District of Columbia, no matter how wealthy or powerful, is above the law,” D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb said in an emailed statement. According to the release, this is “the largest income tax recovery in the District’s history.”

MicroStrategy documents show that neither Saylor nor the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company has admitted any wrongdoing.

“This was a personal tax matter involving Mr. Saylor. “MicroStrategy was not responsible for his day-to-day affairs and did not oversee his individual tax obligations,” a MicroStrategy spokesman said, explaining that the company would not contribute to the settlement. According to company documents, Saylor will pay the entire settlement amount.

Schwalb said in a statement that Saylor “openly bragged” about his alleged tax evasion in Washington and encouraged friends to do the same. Saylor, a Bitcoin enthusiast, has benefited from the cryptocurrency’s recent surge in value.

Top photo: Michael Saylor.

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