Facebook billionaire’s tax dodge inspires punitive Act of Congress
Irate over news that billionaire Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is renouncing his U.S. citizenship to avoid paying millions in taxes, two Democratic senators have announced a plan to prevent these kinds of tax dodges in the future, according to ABC News. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Bob Casey (D-PA) on Thursday unveiled the “Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore Tenancy Act” or “Ex-PATRIOT Act,” under which U.S. citizens who leave the country to avoid taxes will face massive financial penalties should they decide to return.
Saverin, a native of Brazil, owns an estimated 4 percent of the wildly popular social network Facebook and stands to net close to $4 billion when the company goes public tomorrow, May 18. By renouncing his U.S. citizenship, Saverin will avoid paying close to $67 million in taxes.
Calling Saverin’s decision an “outrage,” Sens. Schumer and Casey outlined a plan that would “re-impose taxes on expatriates like Saverin even after they flee the United States and take up residence in a foreign country” and “impose a mandatory 30 percent tax on the capital gains of anybody who renounces their U.S. citizenship.”
