Facebook co-founder renounces his U.S. citizenship, "may reduce his tax bill following Facebook IPO"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Eduardo Saverin's decision to renounce his U.S. citizenship may reduce his tax bill following Facebook's IPO, reports say.

Facebook co-founder's decision to renounce U.S. citizenship

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/11/11660786-facebook-co-founder-renounces-us-citizenship?lite



Eduardo Saverin, one of four co-founders of Facebook, has renounced his U.S. citizenship.

The move may reduce his tax bill following the initial public offering that values the social-network powerhouse at as much as $96 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Facebook expects to raise as much as $11.8 billion through the IPO. Saverin’s stake in the company is about 2 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal. His holdings are not listed in Facebook’s regulatory filings.

Saverin, a Brazilian-born resident of Singapore, helped Mark Zuckerberg start Facebook while at Harvard University. Saverin was pushed out early on, with his stake in the company diluted from 34 percent to less than 10 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal. After selling some shares and more dilution, that stake has thinned more. Even so, he stands to profit handsomely from the IPO.

[KatyMan]

1. People that do this

should never be allowed in the country again.

[cynatnite]

2. Why? n/t

[bluestateguy]

4. If the only reason is to reduce their tax bill, then yes I agree with you

But somebody who has to renounce their citizenship to become a citizen of another country where they can get guaranteed health care, that is something different.

[kelly1mm]

7. How would anyone know if the ONLY reason is to reduce their tax bill? This

guy is originally from Brazil, now lives in Singapore, and wants citizenship where he lives. Side benefit is saving on taxes. Hard to say the ONLY reason is taxes. Hard to say that for anyone.

[Bluenorthwest]

10. Actually, the renouncing part is only necessary to end one's American tax burden...

Many people are dual citizens. If they are Americans they pay American tax no matter where they reside, no matter what other citizenship or residency they hold unless they officially renounce their American citizenship. Citizens of most countries pay taxes on income to their own when in residence in their own country, and when living primarily in another country they pay taxes to that country. . Not so for Americans. We pay by citizenship, not residency.
There is a law on the books which may or may not have been used as yet, from the late 90's which calls for no re-entry for tax motivated renunciations. They same law requires the government to publish a list of names of such people for public consumption as a deterrent to renunciation.

[KatyMan]

13. You don't have to renounce your citizenship

to be a dual citizen. I'm a dual citizen and lived in the UK and Ireland and was able to benefit from their healthcare. And we still had to file US taxes, you just get a tax break to where your taxes paid overseas cancel out your US taxes (at least for us 99%ers).

[hifiguy]

3. Given that the guy is Brazilan born

I am not as upset about this as I otherwise might be. He's relocated a few times before this.

[ctaylors6]

5. This doesn't really bother me

He moved to the US when he was about 11 years old. He moved to Singapore a few years ago and is a Singapore resident. He didn't even become a US citizen until 1998. I don't know. I just can't too worked up about this.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

6. What U.S. laws protect the property rights of him and others like him?

If the Congress-critters weren't so busy collecting campaign contributions, they would recognize that the denouncement of a U.S. citizenship for economic purposes should have consequences.

[Ruby the Liberal]

8. He still has to pay an exit tax

even if he doesn't sell the stock.

Shitty move though, to renounce citizenship just to avoid paying taxes, IMO.

[DiverDave]

9. How much is 'enough'?

How much money do you need you greedy bastard?

10 billion? 100 billion?

I will never understand the sickness that makes people want more and more.
How much is enough?
I guess infinity is not enough for some.

I heard that the 4 walmart kids are worth 88 billion
And they cant afford to give insurance to their employees??...sick.

[JoePhilly]

11. The "Global Rich"

The super rich can become a citizen of any country they want. They can also afford to have homes anywhere on the planet that suits them. They can move about freely.

They hold an allegiance to no nation.

And this guy is about to join that group. Nothing more.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. JK Rowling on why she remains a resident of the UK, when their laws would allow her to reside

elsewhere, pay the tax rates elsewhere and not at home while retaining her British citizenship. I like her thinking more than Eduarado's.
" I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s; to be citizens, with everything that implies, of a real country, not free-floating ex-pats, living in the limbo of some tax haven and associating only with the children of similarly greedy tax exiles.

A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism."

[Blue_Tires]

15. beautiful...

[daaron]

14. Goodbye, then.

Guess we know what matters more to this jerk - money or country.