Soldato
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Thanks. That also apply USA side or just UK?
The ongoing Elon Twitter saga: "insert demographic" melts down
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The difference with Elon is that he was donating to his own charity so gets to "keep" the 80k
Now I appreciate wealthy people donating to good causes or well run charities. What I don't like are super wealthy people donating to their own charity that allows them to keep control of their money and use it to further their own agenda. Examples being the Koch brothers or Soros.
USA is the same but I think there's a ~60% limit of your gross income on the deductible
That was a UK example, the same principle of charity donations being allowed pre-tax applies there though as already mentioned.
Was he? Which charities did he donate to?
I don't really see an issue with that, he doesn't get to keep the money it now belongs to a regulated charity in that case, a charity isn't him, Bill Gates has his foundation which funds plenty of scientific research, it is pretty standard at that level of wealth to be able to set up organisaitons to fund the good causes you care about directly.
The point here though is that there is some standard boomer-facebook type handwaving argument of "it's just a tax write-off" when stories of donations being made appear, it sounds nefarious but I suspect in general the people saying it and indeed agreeing with it don't tend to have a clue what they're even saying other than some vague claim that something dodgy has happened. This is especially the case when no detail is added.
@Colonel_Klinck made that kind of standard vague claim in response to it being pointed out that Elon donates to charity and has signed the giving pledge but can he explain what exactly it is he's referring to and/or what he meant to highlight by bringing it up? Probably not.
Unless there is some specific claims/details of some nefarious scheme Elon has used to manipulate this tax arrangement then it seems to just be some nonsense attempt at mud-slinging on top of an already dubious psychological claim/diagnosis.
I'm not calling Elon out on this specifically (donating to your own charity) it's just a practice in general I don't like.
Elon Musk gave $5.7 billion to charity last year. Where the money went was a mystery—until now
Until now, it was unclear which organizations he funded.
From what I've seen apart from the slow deployment of funds his donating has been fair enough and I imagine that's because he's trying to avoid tanking the share price. (This is also a side benefit in that you can donate shares and keep control of them vs selling them to pay tax)
But there's always the questions around these types of charities now let's say Elon is trying to get a good deal for a manufacturing plant in a state and there a little push back. Next thing there's a large donation to some school districts and it's all approved now was it charity or soft power. Note I'm not accusing Elon just giving an example of why these charities can be controversial
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But that isn't needed, that that imaginary scenario is iffy is self-explanatory, the bit that is unclear is the accusation you did make re: Elon donating to his own charities?
Soldato
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Again its an empty gesture. I'll give my money away one day in the future but I'll not say when. Anyone can say that. They are not legally obliged to do so. It looks great for them (and I include anyone who makes the pledge but doesn't follow through)
So yes it could be psychopathic behaviour, fits with lying, grandiose sense of self-worth, cunning/manipulative.
That isn't how it works. He gives to his foundation and that allows him to pay less tax in more than one way. Mega wealthy use this method for a reason. You are right it doesn't help the average tax payers but this US tax law isn't aimed at them.
How Tech Billionaires Hack Their Taxes With a Philanthropic Loophole (Published 2018)
A trendy maneuver allows wealthy donors to reap immediate tax benefits, while charities can wait for funds indefinitely — or even forever.
That's a reach there are plenty of billionaires who haven't made that pledge and Elon actualy does give to charities.
That isn't how it works. He gives to his foundation and that allows him to pay less tax in more than one way. Mega wealthy use this method for a reason. You are right it doesn't help the average tax payers but this US tax law isn't aimed at them.
How Tech Billionaires Hack Their Taxes With a Philanthropic Loophole (Published 2018)
A trendy maneuver allows wealthy donors to reap immediate tax benefits, while charities can wait for funds indefinitely — or even forever.www.nytimes.com
[citaiton needed]
You're again just making up a claim here. Which foundation does he give it to and what is Elon specifically doing that's nefarious?
I don't have an NYT login and I don't particularly care about some hypothetical/generic a billionaire may do X piece I want to know what you actually mean, what you're accusing him of actually doing here?
Edit - just took a snapshot with VPN, Elon isn't even mentioned in the article and it's just some piece about "donor advised funds"; billionaires donating to foundations they've set up (not necessarily anything wrong with that - see Bill Gates). I suspect you're just deflecting from a dubious claim you've made and have resorted to googling the first "billionaires get charity donation tax breaks" article you could find, unless there is some nefarious issue with Elon's donations (in which case what is it) then you don't seem to have highlighted anything here.
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There's such a desperation to paint him as evil, it's utterly bizarre. "He's a CEO so he *must* be a psychopath 
" - what kind of dumb logic is that, oh guys if you run a successful business or you're a Politician you MUST be a psychopath, I read it on the IFLScience website!
" - what kind of dumb logic is that, oh guys if you run a successful business or you're a Politician you MUST be a psychopath, I read it on the IFLScience website!
Associate
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There's such a desperation to paint him as evil, it's utterly bizarre. "He's a CEO so he *must* be a psychopath
No dumber than saying those on the left have small arms
No dumber than saying those on the left have small arms
Political Motivations May Have Evolutionary Links to Physical Strength
Men’s upper-body strength predicts their political opinions on economic redistribution, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.The principal investigators of the research -- psychological scientists Michael …
www.psychologicalscience.org
I mean, I hate to break it to you but the science is on my side, plus you only need to check out a dozen or so male Feminists on Facebook to know none of them have stepped foot in a gym
Associate
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Political Motivations May Have Evolutionary Links to Physical Strength
Men’s upper-body strength predicts their political opinions on economic redistribution, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.The principal investigators of the research -- psychological scientists Michael …
I mean, I hate to break it to you but the science is on my side, plus you only need to check out a dozen or so male Feminists on Facebook to know none of them have stepped foot in a gym
I bench press conservatives for fun lad
Soldato
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If you read the article it explains how the mega rich avoid income tax and capital gains by giving to their/a foundation. Something you claimed wasn't the case. Did I say he was mentioned or had broken any laws? I was just backing up the claim that the mega wealthy can avoid tax by making charitable donations. There are other articles saying the same thing from Bloomberg and others. Here is one not behind a paywall.
Ultra-Wealthy Funders Excessively Benefit from Donations - The NonProfit Times
The ultra-wealthy, who are overrepresented among funders as revenue from smaller donors shrinks, reap disproportionate tax benefit and have an outsized hand in setting nonprofits’ priorities, according to authors of a new report. The disproportionate influence stems from when their donations...
www.thenonprofittimes.com
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Soldato
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There's such a desperation to paint him as evil, it's utterly bizarre. "He's a CEO so he *must* be a psychopath
Ah Roar with his inability to read again. I can't help you with that son. Less time on those arms, more time learning to read.
If you read the article it explains how the mega rich avoid income tax and capital gains by giving to their/a foundation. Something you claimed wasn't the case. Did I say he was mentioned or had broken any laws? I was just backing up the claim that the mega wealthy can avoid tax by making charitable donations. There are other articles saying the same thing from Bloomberg and others. Here is one not behind a paywall.
Ultra-Wealthy Funders Excessively Benefit from Donations - The NonProfit Times
The ultra-wealthy, who are overrepresented among funders as revenue from smaller donors shrinks, reap disproportionate tax benefit and have an outsized hand in setting nonprofits’ priorities, according to authors of a new report. The disproportionate influence stems from when their donations...
Elon Musk Could Become the Highest Tax Payer Ever in the US With $12 Billion
The billionaire ends 2021 with a great amount of tax bill.
interestingengineering.com
He pays $12bn in tax, but he isn't giving enough apparently. He basically paid for the USS Gerald R. Ford on his own!
No accusations other than it's a very beneficial arrangement and I'd rather he pay a fair share of tax, but it would be unfair to call Elon out on this when every other billionaire does the same thing
Not enough for his negative influence no.Elon Musk Could Become the Highest Tax Payer Ever in the US With $12 Billion
The billionaire ends 2021 with a great amount of tax bill.
He pays $12bn in tax, but he isn't giving enough apparently. He basically paid for the USS Gerald R. Ford on his own!
Where did I claim that wasn't the case? I've claimed the opposite if the mega-rich give to charity they can do so pre-tax and avoid tax on that donation... that applies in general to charity donations.
On the donation sure, that applies to any charity donation made pre-tax, you don't need to be mega wealthy to do that.
What you're not making clear is what you're alleging re: Elon here? You made an assertion and when questioned on it you deflect into some articles you've googled re: tax donations in general. So you're not claiming he's broken any laws but it's unclear what you are trying to claim and when asked you don't seem to be able to answer, you just deflect to some generic articles about billionaires.
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Beneficial how? He's not profiting from this AFAIK if he is then please explain how? Is there anything to suggest he doesn't pay his fair share of tax?
Any donations to charity by a tax payer can benefit from being pre-tax or indeed, in the UK, have gift aid applied if made post tax.
He donated ~5bn Tesla stock, which means he doesn't have to sell as much stock to pay tax and keeps control of the voting rights. Not like his own foundation is going to vote him off the board is it.
He also keeps access to the money and can use it to pursue his own interests in a charitable way
Edit-link below shows how little the stock donation probably cost
Elon Musk’s $5.7 Billion Stock Gift Had Some Surprising Benefits
Elon Musk’s donation of 5 million shares of Tesla, worth $5.7 billion, will do a lot of good. But it’s also worth noting that Musk may have saved up to $4.6 billion in taxes, says DonateStock’s Steve Latham.
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