Michigan Senate hopeful's tax fairness pledge clashes with his own S-corp tax strategy
Abdul El-Sayed says he will make the rich pay their fair share, yet his 2025-26 filing shows he used an S-corporation structure to cut his own payroll taxes.
Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has vowed to build a tax system that forces billionaires to pay their fair share, yet his latest disclosure for 2025 and the first seven months of 2026 shows he structured compensation from his consulting firm, AME Higher LLC, to minimize payroll taxes. He reported a $64,000 salary and a $103,000 member draw, a split that allows an S-corporation to treat most earnings as profit not subject to the 15.3 % self-employment tax.
Tax advisers told one outlet the method mirrors a loophole famously used by former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards and later by Newt Gingrich, and that attempts to close it have repeatedly failed. The filing indicates El-Sayed earned $686,069 in total, placing him in Michigan’s top-1 % of earners, with additional income from speaking fees, royalties and three rental properties, including units in Bangalore, India, and Dubai.
He released only two pages of his 2025 return, omitting schedules that would reveal S-corp status, and his campaign declined to comment. The revelation highlights a contrast between his anti-wealth-tax rhetoric and his personal tax strategy.
Why it matters
Voters see a candidate championing tax fairness while possibly using a loophole to lower his own taxes.
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