Yes, the headline is correct. (I mean, it’s been converted from USD to AUD, but still correct). The popular Twitch streamer Amouranth did in fact purchase a gas station. Not only did she purchase a gas station, she claims to have done so while turning a profit through tax deductions. To prove this, she tweeted out a bunch of rich-person maths — which makes my brain hurt.
Amouranth is one of the biggest, and seemingly most frequently banned, streamers on Twitch, so seeing her invest in other enterprises isn’t a huge surprise. Plenty of streamers invest in businesses. Pokimane is a partial owner of the EVO fighting game tournament, tons of streamers have started their own merchandising companies, and Ninja does…whatever Ninja does (no one’s quite sure). Usually though, their secondary gig is related to their streaming or gaming habits. Amouranth, however, has taken the path less travelled — and it has made a “marginal” difference.
Now since we bought this gas station & in accordance with applicable laws (&/once structured correctly) I will take an accelerated depreciation charge of approximately $3m
$3,000,000 * .37 (my marginal tax rate) = $1,110,000
So for 2021 I will owe $1,110,000 LESS in income tax
— Kaitlyn (@wildkait) November 9, 2021
Amouranth chose to purchase a gas station for about $US4 million (around $5.4 million), only $US1 million (around $1.36 million) of which she had to pay upfront. In a series of tweets rife with speculative rich-person maths, the streamer explains how she actually made money off of this gargantuan purchase through the wacky details of U.S. tax law. The basic version is, by taking out this massive loan and depreciating the speculative value of the property, she has received a $US1.1 million (around $1.5 million) tax deduction. This extra $US110,000 ($149,479) becomes “profit” because it’s money she doesn’t have to spend on taxes.
In her thread she claims, rather cavalierly, that this isn’t some loophole or special deal, but is a thing that “everyone” can do. Which is…kind of true? These rules do exist for everyone, but the amount of money (and credit) required to bankroll something like this is anything but accessible. All things considered, she gives a pretty solid explanation of how rich-person maths works. If you have enough money and credit, you can generate profit with really limited risk.
She currently plans to lease the gas station to Circle K, so don’t expect to walk into a random gas station in an unnamed major metropolitan area to see Amouranth working behind the counter.