Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and head of electric carmaker Tesla Inc., said President Joe Biden’s call for more taxes on super-wealthy Americans will only hurt lower-to-middle income groups.
“I agree that we should make elaborate tax-avoidance schemes illegal, but acting upon that would upset a lot of donors, so we will see words, but no action,” he said in a tweet. “Those who will actually be forced to carry the burden of excess government spending are lower to middle income wage earners, as they cannot escape payroll tax.”
Musk’s tweet came in response to one from Biden saying “It’s about time the super-wealthy start paying their fair share.”
During his campaign rally in Philadelphia on Saturday, Biden asked union workers to support his reelection bid and called for new taxes on the wealthy and corporations.
While the number of billionaires in the U.S. has risen to about 1,000, they pay some 8% of their earnings in taxes, he said.
“They paid at a lower tax rate than schoolteachers, than firefighters, probably anyone in this room. It’s time they paid a minimum tax. I don’t mind them being billionaires. Just pay your fair share, man,” Biden said.
