Facebook co-founder gives up US citizenship to keep more of his money

Eduardo Saverin, who co-founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg while attending Harvard, stands to make several billion dollars when the company goes public.

He would also be on the hook for taxes that would take about a third of what he earns.

So Saverin did what an increasing number of smart, tech savvy Americans are doing; he surrendered his US citizenship.

Bloomberg:

Saverin, 30, joins a growing number of people giving up U.S. citizenship ahead of a possible increase in tax rates for top earners. The Brazilian-born resident of Singapore is one of several people who helped Mark Zuckerberg start Facebook in a Harvard University dormitory and stand to reap billions of dollars after the world's largest social network holds its IPO.

"Eduardo recently found it more practical to become a resident of Singapore since he plans to live there for an indefinite period of time," said Tom Goodman, a spokesman for Saverin, in an e-mailed statement.

Saverin's name is on a list of people who chose to renounce citizenship as of April 30, published by the Internal Revenue Service. Saverin made that move "around September" of last year, according to his spokesman.

Besides helping cut tax bills stemming from the Facebook, the move may also help him avoid capital gains taxes on future investments since Singapore doesn't have a capital gains tax.

Saverin, born in Brazil, became a US citizen in 1998. He joins 1780 other Americans who gave up their citizenship this year, compared to 235 in 2008. Gee...I wonder what's changed so much since 2008?

Saverin not only knows that taxes are going up. He listens to Obama and the Democrats and knows that America is becoming a less friendly place for successful people. If Obama keeps the rhetoric hot and implements his plan to make the rich pay their "fair share," the brain drain will continue and we will be the worse for it.

It used to be that people in other countries would come here because we welcomed success. Now we punish it. Is it any wonder Saverin would bid goodbye to Uncle Sam and avoid the punitive taxes slapped on his income because of someone's idea of "fairness?"