The Superior Court of the District of Columbia has dismissed a civil complaint against MicroStrategy, an American business intelligence company, which alleged that the firm helped its co-founder Michael Saylor evade income tax payments. The court ruled in favor of the request made by Saylor and MicroStrategy to dismiss the complaint on February 28.
The complaint was filed by the Washington District of Columbia in August, through its Attorney General’s office, accusing Saylor of evading income taxes for more than ten years and MicroStrategy of aiding him in the act. The case was the first under DC’s just amended False Claims Act and sought payments of up to $25 million in income taxes owed and undisclosed amounts in treble.
However, the court dismissed the complaint, stating that the allegations made by the Attorney General’s office were insufficient to support the claims made against MicroStrategy and Saylor. The court also noted that the complaint failed to provide any evidence that MicroStrategy had knowledge of Saylor’s alleged tax evasion.
The dismissal of the complaint is a significant victory for MicroStrategy and Saylor, who have been vocal supporters of Bitcoin and have invested heavily in the cryptocurrency. The news comes as MicroStrategy announced that it had purchased an additional $1 billion worth of Bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to over 90,000 BTC.
Saylor has been a vocal advocate for Bitcoin, stating that it is a better store of value than gold and that it has the potential to become the world’s reserve currency. MicroStrategy’s investment in Bitcoin has also been seen as a significant endorsement of the cryptocurrency, with many other companies following suit and investing in Bitcoin.
The dismissal of the complaint against MicroStrategy and Saylor is a significant victory for the cryptocurrency industry, as it shows that the courts are willing to dismiss baseless claims made against companies and individuals who support Bitcoin. It also highlights the need for clear regulations around the taxation of cryptocurrencies, as the current laws are often unclear and open to interpretation.
