Billionaire Mark Cuban revealed the hefty change he paid in 2023 taxes this year, revealing the nine-figure figure in a post on X this week while criticizing former President Donald Trump.
“I'm going to pay what I owe. Tomorrow I'm going to wire $288 million to the IRS,” Cuban says. I have written It posted on social media sites on Sunday and later revised the actual figure to $275.9 million in a follow-up. post.
“This country has given me so much. I'm proud to pay my taxes every year. To tag a former president you should know,” Cuban said. added, appearing to attack President Trump for refusing to share his tax dollars. He broke with recent tradition by returning during his candidacy and four-year term.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden shared their tax returns on Monday, revealing they earned nearly $620,000 in 2023.
Business Insider reported last year that the more than 164 million Americans who filed returns in 2020 paid an average federal income tax of $16,615, compared to the $275.9 million that Cuba just paid in taxes. much less than a dollar. However, his net worth is much, much higher.
Here's how the U.S. government can leverage Cuba's millions of dollars. And yes, we know Cuba's tax bill won't pass directly You have to pay for these programs, but for context, here's how his taxes were funded.
Fully fund the NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. independent government agency that oversees civilian traffic accident investigations, secured $145 million in fiscal year 2024 funding in the President's budget, the agency announced in a March 2023 press release. did. This figure represents an increase of $15.7 million over the previous budget year.
The department ultimately received $140 million in salaries and expenses in the final bill, according to the Department of Transportation's funding brief in the 2024 appropriations bill.
Earlier this year, the agency requested $150 million in fiscal year 2025 to fund 455 full-time equivalent employees.
Cuba's $275.9 million contribution to the U.S. government could fully support the department, with nearly half still remaining.
Pay politicians a large salary
Representatives and senators earn an average annual salary of $174,000. Multiply that number by all 535 members of Congress and you get $93 million.
Cuba's $1 million could easily cover Congressional salaries, as well as President Joe Biden's $400,000 salary and Vice President Kamala Harris' $235,100 salary.
Fund the DOD (several hours)
The Department of Defense has requested a massive $850 billion budget for fiscal year 2025. Although it is too early to tell whether the spending bill will pass, the department could receive $841.4 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2024.
Dividing $850 billion by 365 days per year results in a daily department cost of $2,328,767,123.29.divide that If you enter the numbers every 24 hours, you'll earn $97,031,963.47 per hour.
Therefore, Cuba's $275.9 million would not fully cover the potential three-hour Department of Defense cost of $291,095,890.41. But his tax payments could fund the U.S. war machine for just over two hours.
take a (small) portion out of the US debt
The U.S. government's debt burden is increasing by nearly $1 trillion almost every 100 days, CNBC reported earlier this year.
The current national debt stands at $34 trillion as of April 2023. While $275.9 million may not seem like a huge chunk of that astronomical number, every little bit helps. right?
