Tesla paid no income taxes while its executives received billions
Tesla, the electric vehicle giant, didn't pay any federal income taxes from 2018 to 2022 despite earning $4.4 billion during this period, as per a watchdog report. Instead, the company paid its top five executives a whopping $2.5 billion in total compensation. Astonishingly, Tesla also received a $1 million refund from the government during these five years. The details are from a report released by nonprofit think tank Institute for Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness, another nonprofit body.
Tesla among 35 companies paying more to executives than taxes
Elon Musk's Tesla is not alone in the practise of paying more to top executives than to federal income taxes. The report identified a total of 35 major US companies following this pattern between 2018 and 2022. Collectively, these companies paid top five executives $9.5 billion while receiving $1.8 billion in refunds from the government. Interestingly, 18 of the studied businesses reported net profits for over five years but did not pay any federal income tax.
Other notable companies in the tax-free club
The study also highlighted other major companies, including T-Mobile, Netflix, Ford Motor and Match Group, that paid less in federal income tax than what they paid to their top executives. For instance, T-Mobile earned $17.9 billion and paid its executives $675 million while receiving $80 million in refunds. Netflix did pay some taxes amounting to $236 million, but this was just 1.6% of its total earnings of $15.1 billion over the same period.
