Posted on 05/17/2012 2:13:10 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin may not be allowed to return to the United States after he renounced his citizenship to save millions in tax.
The 30-year-old, who has a $3.64billion stake in the social networking site, migrated to Singapore ahead of the company's massive stock market floatation tomorrow. The timing of the move has raised eyebrows since Singapore does not have a capital gains tax, which could vastly reduce his bill on any payout.
According to an immigration law, he could be refused re-entry to the U.S. if he is judged to have relocated for the purposes of avoiding taxes.
Section 212 of the law, highlighted by Talking Points Memo, states: 'Any alien who is a former citizen of the United States who officially renounces United States citizenship and who is determined by the Attorney General to have renounced United States citizenship for the purpose of avoiding taxation by the United States is excludable.'
A link was also posted on TPM to a document that someone would need to file with the U.S. State Department's Bureau Of Consulate Affairs when renouncing citizenship. The document says: 'My renunciation/relinquishment may not exempt me from United States income taxation...I understand that if my renunciation of United States citizenship is determined by the United States Attorney General to be motivated by tax avoidance purposes, I will be found excludable from the United States under Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended.'
Earlier this week, it emerged that Saverin had moved to Miami at the age of 13 because he was at risk of kidnapping.
The 30-year-old was on a gangster's list of potential kidnap targets which led his wealthy parents to flee Brazil in a potentially lifesaving move.
But now he has shunned the country in which he made his fortune through social networking site.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Edwardo said he considered himself “a citizen of the world” with a straight face in response to the question as to whether he was renouncing US citizenship for tax purposes. I wonder if he would have said that if the UN imposed a 50% citizen of the world capital gains tax
$3.64 billion?
I’d buy a country and re-name it Eduardostan.
Then I’d apply for foreign aid from the USofA.
Lets see, Chuckie...you and Bob Casey would ban him because he knows how to invest in STOCKS (Facebook) instead of INVESTING in what the STOCKBROKER IN CHIEF wanted the TAXPAYERS to invest in.
Now you want to punish his SUCCESS??
We'll punish the FAILURES of the STOCKBROKER In CHIEF in NOVEMBER!!
And Bobby Casey, Jr. you might look for a new job, too.
One cannot help but wonder — What would have happened if Saverin put money into one of those Solar/Green companies that Obama favors?
“who is determined by the Attorney General to have renounced United States citizenship for the purpose of avoiding taxation by the United States is excludable”
That’ll help with revenue. Right up there with giving tax breaks on top of the higher taxes to businesses that move back to the U.S.
Idiots! If you lower taxes, they will come.
“Hey, isnt Eduardo hispanic? Would that make a victim of hate then?”
Not if he’s a white hispanic, or a white man of hispanic descent, or a black-white-hispanic white guy, or whatever Zimmerman is.
“the law also seems justified to me”
Not to me. We let non-citizens in the country all the time, millions of whom don’t do so legally without anyone caring. Why single out this guy? Because we think his money belongs to us? Well, it doesn’t, you greedy bastards.
jeez...he would be looked on as a nice guy to the LIBS!! Not as an EVIL CAPITALIST!
Schumer is an ass.
The guy won’t care if he ever comes here.
His life is Disneyland from now on, no matter where he is.
Shummer's beneath despicable.
It is next-to-near impossible to renounce one’s citizenship of this country.
Don’t believe me?
Ask Lee Harvey Oswald or Angela Davis. Once you have citizenship, the state department takes citizenship very seriously.
Is he behind on his taxes?
As far as has been reported, he has paid his taxes on all income earned while an American citizen. He just chose to relieve himself of that obligation BEFORE he hit his big payday - so he owes nothing to the US government for any money he makes tomorrow on the Facebook IPO.
I would be more impressed with schumer’s battle for US revenue if his party’s Treasury Secretary choice was a person who bothered to properly file and pay his taxes he actually owes — not might owe.
You've stated the reason yourself in your next sentence:
But as it has hundreds of millions of users,...
Hundreds of millions of people that don't find it a waste of time and a pointless vanity are what makes it worth those billions.
I'll bet he's paid more US taxes in the last five years than I will in a hundred lifetimes.
Over and over again the courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everyone does it, rich and poor alike and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: Taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions.
To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.
I agree with Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge when he said thusly:
Its interesting that, rather than change their ways of doing business and introducing legislation that provides incentives for productive people to come here and stay here, Congress maintains policies that chase people away, and introduce new ones to lock the door after theyre gone.
The lesson here (especially for natural-born citizens) is this: simply by accident of birth, you are born with a lifelong obligation that you never signed up for to finance the corrupt misdealings of the political class. And if you choose to abandon this obligation, they will bar you from ever entering your homeland again.
Regardless of what the propaganda says, this is not how a free society treats people. It might look and feel like a representative democracy on the surface, but under the hood its the modern day equivalent of feudal serfdom.
The land of the free has certainly fallen a long way.
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