Sina Technology News November 30, Beijing time noon news, according to reports,MicrosoftThe company’s CEO Satya Nadella sold half of his Microsoft shares in a series of transactions last week. Berlin bought approximately 840,000 shares and the transaction value exceeded US$285 million.
This Monday afternoon, Redmond-based Microsoft said in a statement that Nadella had sold these shares “due to personal financial planning and a variety of other reasons.” Microsoft said that Nadella “will continue to work to help the company continue to succeed, and his shareholding greatly exceeds the shareholding requirements set by the Microsoft board of directors.”
Nadella’s large-scale sale of stocks comes just before the United States implemented a controversial new capital gains tax in Washington State. The legislature passed a law in April of this year that focuses on the sale of stocks and corporate ownership and levies a 7% tax on long-term capital gains of more than $250,000. This is the first such tax in the state’s history, and the new tax law will take effect on January 1, 2022.
Microsoft’s statement about Nadella’s stock sale did not mention whether the upcoming capital gains tax would affect Nadella’s personal financial planning. A report in foreign media quoted analysts who pointed out that there may be a connection between the new tax and Nadella’s stock sale.
It is estimated that starting from the 2023 fiscal year, Washington State’s new capital gains tax can raise approximately $550 million for the state each year. Most of this tax revenue will be used for early education and childcare.
In Monday’s stock market trading, Microsoft’s stock price rose more than 2% at the close, closing at $336.63. When Nadella became CEO in February 2014, Microsoft’s stock price was about $36.35, about one-tenth of its current value.
According to documents submitted by Microsoft to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nadella sold shares on November 22 and 23, with an average price ranging from $334 to $349. Microsoft will hold its annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday morning.
.