Facebook Co-Founder Saverin Gives Up U.S. Citizenship

[Jester]

Those on Earth who share the ideals of mobility, freedom, opportunity, low taxes and minimal bullshit moved to North America from 1700-2000.

Now it is time to find another place, or places, to seek out those values as America is no longer the place for them.

Paired with a Developed-Nation passport and Other Nation work/life, one can lower taxes to zilch.

You also have to provide for yourself as Asia has zero safety net. Just like the US of A pre-1913.

100 CNY a month is not enough to eat with, and that's what pensioners get in the PRC.

Get out while you can.

The Clampdown is coming...

Nice summary, almost poetic.

[sushiman]

The bitter United States Strikes Back!!!
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/92889601/

The guy wised up.

He got out. He publically said there were reasons, and the reasons were not taxes, although certainly the crappy tax laws were an issue too.

Now you see just how "free" that place actually is, it's a prison state, someone got out, and now they are PISSED OFF. They are trying to figure out how to not let anyone like him get out in the future.

It would be funny if it were not so scary.

[sushiman]

See also the new "Expatriate Act" or whatever...

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/92888269/

[smallcheese]

The bitter United States Strikes Back!!!
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/92889601/

The guy wised up.

He got out. He publically said there were reasons, and the reasons were not taxes, although certainly the crappy tax laws were an issue too.

Now you see just how "free" that place actually is, it's a prison state, someone got out, and now they are PISSED OFF. They are trying to figure out how to not let anyone like him get out in the future.

It would be funny if it were not so scary.

Hopefully, this is a wakeup call for whatever intelligent people there are who are left in the U.S. Unfortunately, that number of people is miniscule compared to the overall U.S. population. If you read the comments from people posting about the ExPatriate Act, most people applaud the act and want to punish the Facebook co-founder as much as possible because he's cheating them tax-wise.

Nothing could be further from the truth. This guy is paying millions of dollars in exit tax and for the next 10 years, the U.S. will still try to collect taxes from him even after renouncing his citizenship. He didn't leave just for financial reasons only. He also left for ideological reasons, which I agree with.

Saverin gave up his U.S. citizenship because he realized that the U.S. he believed in, and the American dream he believed in, is fading away quickly. The crooked politicians at all levels of government have taken over and after wasting billions of taxpayer dollars ($15 trillion budget deficit and growing quickly), they still need much, much more. So now they are going after every U.S. citizen on the planet! Is this the America that you dreamed about? Is this still the land of opportunity? How can it be when if you succeed, the government wants to tax you as much as possible for your success. And give you very little in return.

My advice to people still living in the U.S. is to go abroad as soon as possible and work and reside in another country. Find a country that will reward you with residency and later citizenship and a 2nd passport for contributing to their society. Set up bank accounts but don't ever give a bank your social security number. That may not be easy depending on where you go. Keep filing your U.S. tax returns like a dutiful little slave, legally reporting as little income as possible. Once you get your 2nd passport, then you can decide if you want to keep your U.S. passport or give up your U.S. citizenship.

This process is going to take years so the sooner you start, the better off you will be. And then you will truly fulfill the mission of this web site which is to live happily abroad.

[Jester]

That 30% figure the want as an exit tax on capital gains could get nasty if the burden of proof is on you to prove your 'tax basis" i.e. cost basis on anything you own. I.e. they will take 30% at the border then let you file a return and hope to get it back if they agree.

I believe it already works this way for payments for services rendered that are being paid out from the U.S. to foreign individuals and foreign corporations. The payor has to withhold 30% of your money and send it to Uncle Sam. The payee has to file a tax return with Uncle Sam and argue that the services should not be taxed in the U.S.

I'm not sure if that's easy or hard to do. Only way to avoid this withholding is to be in a country with a "Tax Treaty" with the U.S., and also have a taxpayer ID number with Uncle Sam, and also file a W-8BEN form letting Uncle Sam know you will be filing a U.S. tax return.

Forecast: a flat 30% withholding tax on all funds leaving the country, after which you can try to get some of it back.

[zboy1]

I hate that Jew bastard Chuck Schumer...I can't believe this idiot keeps getting re-elected by all the morons in my state, sigh. We're the only country in the world--next to crappy Eritrea--to tax citizens wherever they are in the world. Plus, there's a 30% exit tax for those wanting to renounce their American citizenship--and for some people, they still have to pay their taxes 10 years after having their citizenship revoked!

[OutWest]

Yeah, it's moving time again.
This party is over.
The spirit is definitely no longer American.
It's become mediocre.
Malaise.
Numb.
Newpid.
Shleppy.
Liberal.
Gaye.
Feminized.
Socialism.
Arrogant, selfish.
All the values i don't appreciate

Those on Earth who share the ideals of mobility, freedom, opportunity, low taxes and minimal bullshit moved to North America from 1700-2000.

Now it is time to find another place, or places, to seek out those values as America is no longer the place for them.

Paired with a Developed-Nation passport and Other Nation work/life, one can lower taxes to zilch.

You also have to provide for yourself as Asia has zero safety net. Just like the US of A pre-1913.

100 CNY a month is not enough to eat with, and that's what pensioners get in the PRC.

Get out while you can.

The Clampdown is coming...

I expect Soviet style "exit visas" will be put into play. This whole thing has unsettled my Philippines nest enough that I am now re-examining my situation , that is the residency split, Philippines/.USA

A Philippines passport and a couple of bucks will buy a cup of coffee., so I have decided to look again at Latin America. I spent several weeks back in Chile again, and it is pretty promising. Not someplace one goes to meet women really, but I am happily married now anyway, and my wife and her family are OK with it all. I have retained a good lawyer in Chile to take care of residency issues and once I have established residency, I will qualify to apply for Chilean citizenship- by far the best passport in Latin America and a really good tax regime.


Outwest

[Think Different]

Follow-up on this guy's situation came out today, and it's getting worse:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/20 ... ax-scheme/


Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has a status update for Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin: Stop attempting to dodge your taxes by renouncing your U.S. citizenship or never come to back to the U.S. again.
In September 2011, Saverin relinquished his U.S. citizenship before the company announced its planned initial public offering of stock, which will debut this week. The move was likely a financial one, as he owns an estimated 4 percent of Facebook and stands to make $4 billion when the company goes public. Saverin would reap the benefit of tax savings by becoming a permanent resident of Singapore, which levies no capital gains taxes.
At a news conference this morning, Sens. Schumer and Bob Casey, D-Pa., will unveil the “Ex-PATRIOTâ€￾ – “Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore Tenancyâ€￾ – Act to respond directly to Saverin’s move, which they dub a “schemeâ€￾ that would “help him duck up to $67 million in taxes.â€￾
The senators will call Saverin’s move an “outrageâ€￾ and will outline their plan to re-impose taxes on expatriates like Saverin even after they flee the United States and take up residence in a foreign country. Their proposal would also impose a mandatory 30 percent tax on the capital gains of anybody who renounces their U.S. citizenship.
The plan would bar individuals like Saverin from ever reentering the United States again.
“Eduardo recently found it more practical to become a resident of Singapore since he plans to live there for an indefinite period of time,â€￾ Tom Goodman, Saverin’s spokesman, told Bloomberg News in an email.
Last year 1,700 people renounced their U.S. citizenship.

[MrPeabody]

I think one should seriously consider whether it is wise to renounce. The important thing is to get a second passport. But unless you are a multimillionaire it may be better to keep your head down and keep a low profile. In the Netherlands, they require you to renounce to get Dutch citizenship so you have a good excuse.

[sushiman]

Glad you guys agree, I was fired up when I saw this news yesterday!!! But it really just shows how desperate they have become. An influential guy like this sends a message to the masses and so they need to make an example of him to keep others from getting any ideas.

Outwest, what exactly is a soviet style exit visa?

[sushiman]

I think one should seriously consider whether it is wise to renounce. The important thing is to get a second passport. But unless you are a multimillionaire it may be better to keep your head down and keep a low profile. In the Netherlands, they require you to renounce to get Dutch citizenship so you have a good excuse.

I'll have the option of revoking and taking Korean citizenship in a couple years. My emotional reaction would say do it just to give the finger to the US, of course what I'll actually do is make the rational decision, hard to say what that will be but good to have options.

The US will continue to make it harder to get out and other counties will continue to make it harder to get in, in my opinion. Best for people who want out to act now and get the process started.

[Jester]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/20 ... ax-scheme/

Last year 1,700 people renounced their U.S. citizenship.

Actually it was not 1700 people. The count of people who gave up citizenship is secret.

The figure of 1700 is just the officially published names of "qualified persons" who renounced citizenship. A qualified person is someone who is PAYING $100,000 IN INCOME TAX, or someone who has assets of (I think ) $1,000,000.

Now obviously no high-earning high-tax-paying restaurant owners are expatriating. They are staying put, anchored by the business they run. Rich folks who expatriate are the mobile kind, mostly with an investment portfolio or with a trading business.

I don't believe that there are a lot of daytraders earning $500,000 or so a year, paying $100,000 plus in income tax, unless they also have a couple of million in assets.

So I suspect pretty much all the "qualified persons" counted as expatriates, fell into the one-million-plus-in-assets category.

And by definition, their portfolios range from one million dollars, up to billions and billions. Conservatively, their worth would have a MEDIAN amount of 2 to 20 million. I In other words these folks can safely be called not just millinaires, but "multimillionaires".

Thus the truth is that (about) 1700 MULTIMILLIONAIRES expatriated last year.

PS To be fair here's another POV:

I had assumed that these folks were like you and me, leaving the U.S. (or had already left). But this guy has another point of view - he's saying these are foreign-born multimillionaires who happen to have a u.s. dual citizenship, and are renouncing because the IRS is reaching out to collect from them on their foreign earnings.

http://intltax.typepad.com/intltax_blog ... -2011.html

[Renata]

New Zealand offers a work holiday visa to American for 1 year. Once you get out it's easy to stay out

[OutWest]

Glad you guys agree, I was fired up when I saw this news yesterday!!! But it really just shows how desperate they have become. An influential guy like this sends a message to the masses and so they need to make an example of him to keep others from getting any ideas.

Outwest, what exactly is a soviet style exit visa?

Under communism you could not just pick up and travel, you had to get permission from the state. If you were approved, meaning screened for political, economic, or religious disqualifiers, you might get an exit visa. There were not easy to get.

Travel, like all other so called "rights" under communism were not rights at all, just privileges doled out by the state to those in favor with the government.

Of course, travel is a right that is inherent, not some treat to be handout out by tyrants.


Outwest

[ssjparris]

man i actually agree with sauvrin. i feel like leaving my u.s. citizenship behind. but at the same time. i also feel like i should keep it for something important.

all in all i am planning to work towards getting a second citizenship in europe somewhere. maybe sweden or switzerland. those girls love black guys. as i can personally attest to that.

not only that but having a citizenship in EU will give brand new abilites to work there as long as i want. and live there as long as i want.

the government actually helps people out in most of europe.

as for america. it really is getting worst and worst here. i see nothing but fear all the time. abnormal people that can't function correctly. women teasing men at clubs and then walking out with out ever making new friends, getting laid, or getting a new boyfriend.

in fact i saw a few days ago. some occupy L.A. people chalked up wall in downtown los angeles. the cops flooded the area and where ready to attack these occupiers. treating ordinary citizens like terrorists.

this article is proof to me that people want out of the u.s. in some form or another. and it may be different reasons then mine.