El Salvador officially adopts bitcoin as legal tender, IRS data reveals billionaires paid almost no income tax and Biden dumps Trump’s TikTok ban.
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It’s all the biz/tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Thursday, June 10 and I’m your host Tom Li.
El Salvador has officially passed the bill to make bitcoin legal tender. On Wednesday, President Nayib Bukele sent the law to congress for the vote. The country’s congress voted by a “super majority” favouring the law, scoring 62 out of 84 votes. Shortly after the vote, the price of bitcoin rose by five per cent. With this new law, prices can now be shown in bitcoin and taxes can also be paid with the cryptocurrency. Even the President took to Twitter to celebrate the news. However, there is still some uncertainty within this law as bitcoin is known to fluctuate in price.
https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1402611509184892928
According to files obtained by ProPublica, IRS information revealed how billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos paid almost no income tax. The data covered some of the wealthiest people’s tax returns over the past 15 years. The results showed that the 25 richest people paid 3.4 per cent in taxes, compared to 14 per cent for median households between 2014 to 2018. For example, Bezos, who’s total income reportedly was $4.2 billion, only paid 0.98 per cent in actual taxes. Bezos was able to do this because his income was offset by investment deductions and losses. The data also shows that Musk paid no federal income tax in 2018. This news comes as President Biden pushes for higher taxes on wealthy Americans with the American Families Plan.
.@ProPublica has obtained IRS data on thousands of America’s wealthiest people, providing an unprecedented look inside the finances of titans like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates & Mark Zuckerberg. (Thread)
— ProPublica (@propublica) June 8, 2021
And lastly, President Biden removes Trump’s TikTok and WeChat ban. The order also revoked bans on eight other communication apps. He replaced it with a new order that calls for a broad review of foreign applications that could pose a risk to the country’s data security. The ban takes the place of former President Trump’s order that blocked the apps and stopped U.S. businesses from partnering with the Chinese company TikTok and ByteDance. This law, however, fell through as it was never approved due to legal challenges. The new deal will also allow The Department of Commerce to provide further recommendations and legislative guidance.
JUST IN: Pres. Biden signs executive order revoking Trump-era order aimed at banning TikTok.
Biden's order calls for broad review of foreign-owned apps and directs officials to provide reports on the risk apps pose to personal data and national security. https://t.co/zrhlKV1S6h
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 9, 2021
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