Eduardo Saverin Can Be Barred From U.S. By Homeland Security, Sen. Jack Reed Says

[Galraedia]

Last edited Fri May 18, 2012, 12:19 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- A Democratic senator has asked the Obama administration to immediately bar Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin from re-entering the U.S., based on a previously unenforced 1996 law.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, who as a congressman in 1996 authored an amendment that excludes from reentry into the U.S. citizens who renounced their citizenship for tax purposes, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday, asking her to enforce the law -- for the first time -- by barring Saverin.

"By all accounts Mr. Saverin has renounced his U.S. citizenship for the purposes of avoiding taxes despite taking advantage of the multiple opportunities afforded to him by the United States," Reed wrote. A Homeland Security spokesman couldn't be reached for comment after the close of business Thursday.

Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship and moved to Singapore in September. Reed's letter comes on the eve of Facebook's initial public stock offering that is expected to value Saverin's share of the company at around $4 billion. Saverin's switch to Singaporean citizenship, which came to light two weeks ago, could save him hundreds of millions in taxes if his Facebook stock increases in value after the company sells stock to the public.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/17/eduardo-saverin-homeland-security_n_1526018.html?ref=politics

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[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Galraedia.

[beac]

2. Good! Now let's all chip in to send the jackass

a case of gum to his new home in Singapore.

[Dawson Leery]

3. I'd pay the tax and stay in America.

I have no desire to ever see Singapore.

[beac]

4. I love how he's claiming he's a "citizen of the world".

Rich enough to live anywhere he wants and he chooses Singapore. Uh huh.

Wonder if it was a love of caning or the lack of income taxes that inspired his choice?

[ForgoTheConsequence]

5. Cool.

Its gorgeous and its people are fantastic. Government sucks though.

[PSPS]

6. Government sucks?

The US could learn a thing or two from Singapore when it comes to corruption-free government.

[Raster]

10. The part where you're not allowed to chew gum or get caned for grafitti?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_in_Singapore

Administration procedure

Caning is in practice always ordered in addition to a jail sentence and never as a punishment by itself. It is administered in an enclosed area in the prison, out of view of the public and other inmates. Those present are limited to the inmate, prison wardens, medical officers, the caning officer and sometimes high-ranking prison officials to witness the punishment.

An inmate sentenced to caning receives no advance warning as to when he will be caned, and is notified only on the day his sentence is to be carried out. In the caning room, the inmate is ordered to strip naked and receives a medical examination by the prison doctor to check whether he is medically fit for caning, by measuring his blood pressure and other physical conditions. If the doctor gives the green light, the inmate then receives his caning, but if he is certified unfit for punishment, he is sent back to the court for his prison term to be increased instead. A prison official confirms with him the number of strokes he is to receive.

The inmate is then led to the A-shaped frame (called a "caning trestle&quot and his wrists and ankles secured tightly to the frame by strong leather straps in such a way that he assumes a bent-over position on the frame at an angle of close to 90° at the hip, with his posterior protruding. Protective padding is placed on his lower back to protect the vulnerable kidney and lower spine area from any mis-strokes so that only his buttocks are exposed to the cane. The officer administering the caning takes up position beside the frame and delivers the number of strokes specified in the sentence, at intervals of 10 to 15 seconds. He is required to put his full force into each stroke. The strokes are administered all in one caning session, unless the medical officer certifies that the inmate cannot receive any more strokes because of his condition, in which case the rest of the strokes are converted to additional prison time.

Medical treatment and the effects

The immediate physical effects when the cane comes into contact have been exaggerated in some popular accounts; nevertheless, some physical damage may be inflicted, depending on the number of strokes. Michael P. Fay, a recipient of four strokes, said: "There was some blood. I mean, let's not exaggerate, and let's not say a few drops or that the blood was gushing out. It was in between the two. It's like a bloody nose." More profuse bleeding may, however, occur in the case of a larger number of strokes.

After the caning, the inmate is released from the frame and receives medical treatment. Antiseptic lotion (gentian violet) is applied and the wounds left to heal. Where a large number of strokes is given, there is long-term scarring of the buttocks. Those caned are not eligible to serve in the Singapore Armed Forces as conscripts if they have not already done so.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

29. Ha.

If you enjoy fascism maybe. I'm into things like individual rights.

[humblebum]

27. An absolutely gorgeous country. nt

[Scairp]

26. I guess I missed something

Why does everyone hate Eduardo?

[beac]

30. The answer is all over the internet and al over DU. n/t

[Scairp]

33. Ok

I guess I've never cared enough to read that much about him.

[SunSeeker]

7. Good. He stole at least $67M from us. We should bar him.

Has this dirtbad explained why he chose Singapore of all places? And why he felt compelled to RENOUNCE his U.S. citizenship as opposed to getting dual citizenship with Singapore?

[former9thward]

18. He chose Singapore because of previous family ties.

Last edited Fri May 18, 2012, 12:30 PM - Edit history (1)

He has lived there since 2009 and there is no evidence he wants to come back to the U.S.

[jpak]

20. I thought he was born in Brazil?

[former9thward]

21. My error and corrected.

I read somewhere he has some family ties there and I got it mixed up.

[beac]

31. Got a link for those "family ties"?-- b/c your post is the only place I've heard this excuse. n/t

[former9thward]

37. Excuse?

You need an excuse not to want to live in the U.S.? What arrogance. No I don't have a link, I don't remember where I saw it. Not everybody in the world thinks this is the greatest place to live believe it or not.

[beac]

39. And so you contend that he left the US for the "great country" of

Singapore--a place where caning is imposed as punishment for many offenses and the death penalty applies to drug offenses (which are detected by mandatory random drug tests for citizens and tourists alike and include drugs in your system that you might have consumed legally before entering the country) ?????? http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1017.html

Not to mention the legalized homophobic bigotry and the $500 fine for forgetting to flush a public toilet.

http://www.orientexpat.com/singapore/laws


He renounced his citizenship for ONE REASON and that was to avoid paying taxes to the country who saved his miserable, selfish life back when he was on a kidnap target list in Brazil.



And, BTW "believe or not" I don't think the US is "is the greatest place to live", not by a LONG shot, but that asshole could have chosen any of the many WONDERFUL countries in the world to live. But he chose Singapore b/c they have NO INCOME TAX, period.

[former9thward]

40. Do you think a billionaire is concerned by any of the things in your post?

He is not going to be caned or have any other of those issues. Singapore does have an income tax. The rates go from 3% to 20%. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_rates_around_the_world.

[beac]

41. "Individuals are taxed only on the income earned in Singapore."

"Generally, overseas income received in Singapore on or after 1 Jan 2004 is not taxable. This includes overseas income paid into a Singapore bank account. "

http://www.guidemesingapore.com/taxation/personal-tax/singapore-personal-tax-guide

I'll bet you anything that NONE of his income is "earned" in Singapore.

As for your statement about billionaires not being impacted by Singapore's draconian laws... Well, I think it tells me all I need to know about what YOU consider to be a "great country."

[former9thward]

42. Second post where you put "great country" in quotes

trying to imply those words came from me. Which of course they didn't, you just wanted to post a content free snark reply. I made a true statement about billionaires. Had nothing to do with what I think a "great country" is. Of you knew that.

[beac]

43. You're right.... I should have put "place"

instead of "country" as "place" is the actual word you used in your original (snarky BTW) reply but did that REALLY prevent you from understanding my point??

It certainly doesn't change the fact that you started with implying he moved b/c the US is not "the greatest place to live" and when I presented you with plenty of "content" showing that Singapore is hardly in the running for "greatest place", you then continued to defend his move by saying a rich person wouldn't be inconvenienced by Singapore's disgusting legal system.

The "content" of your posts has been truly incredible for your failure to acknowledge the fallacies in your original post and every post thereafter.



:edited for typos and a second time b/c aggravation makes me type poorly:

[former9thward]

45. The U.S. is the greatest country for me to live in.

What I said is that not everyone in the world has that opinion. Maybe if I was a billionaire my opinion would be different too, I don't know. I have been fortunate enough to have traveled in 41 countries so far. Some of them I have thought would be great places to live. But if I was really living there on a full time permanent basis maybe I would think differently. You have bad reading comp if you think that I have "defended" various practices in Singapore. But I am not a perfectionist so i guess that makes me a defender. Who knew?

[beac]

46. A truly virtuoso attempt at backpedaling.

[former9thward]

48. Unlike you I don't backpedal from anything.

But good job on another content free post.

[beac]

49. I'm pretty sure by now that you have NO idea what the word

"content" means. As for backpedaling, I've supported all my arguments with sound evidence have haven't backed down from one.

Look, you tried to excuse and defend the indefensible. Accept that you got caught and move on.

[former9thward]

50. Accept you don't know how to read posts and see someone about it.

Not holding my breath on that. You are a poster who picks out words so you can be offended. It makes your day.

[beac]

51. And with this post I will have reached my self-imposed limit on

replying to third-grade-inspired "I know you are, but what am I?" nonsense. There are better things to do on DU.

Ciao!

[Bluenorthwest]

23. Renunciation is required to aleve one of their American tax burden

Americans are taxed by citizenship, not residency as are most those in most countries. A Brit with money pouring in can just move to a tax haven and pay taxes where they reside while retaining British Citizenship, this is the case for citizens of most countries. American law requires renunciation of citizenship, not mere residency abroad, to end the tax obligations. It is getting more and more common for Americans to do so.

[naaman fletcher]

24. he is not going to avoid any taxes

This whole story is complete and total bullshit. The second you renounce all of your unrealized gains become realized for tax purposes.

This entire thing is one totally made up bullshit media story. You cannot renounce in order to avoid taxes on money you made while a US citizen.

[beac]

32. The Wall Street Journal does not agree w/you:

By renouncing his citizenship last September, before the public offering, he limited his 15% "exit tax" to the gains in his shares and other assets up to that point. Appreciation in the shares after that escapes the tax.
Depending on how Mr. Saverin valued his holdings, which were illiquid at the time, he might have lowered his bill even more.
If those two moves shaved even $10 a share from the IPO price of $38, then Mr. Saverin's early exit saved him more than $80 million; likely it was more, says independent tax expert Robert Willens.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303360504577410571011995562.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[naaman fletcher]

35. Right

But we don't have any idea what the ruling on the value of Facebook is back in september versus today. Plus, he will be paying capital gains tax on stock that he didn't actually sell. If FB stock price goes down, he might actually even pay taxes on an amount that is higher than what he eventually realizes as the gains.

[beac]

36. And I, for one, hope that's how it pans out and that his little FU to

the country that saved his ungrateful life ends up costing him money.

However, until the ultimately ho-hum events of yesterday Facebook's IPO was being touted as the biggest-greatest-most amazing-whoop-dee-doo IPO ever in history so he undoubtedly thought he'd be saving a bundle.

He has more money than he could ever spend in two lifetimes yet he'd rather keep it all to himself than help out the country that gave him refuge when his life was threatened. You'll never convince me he's anything but an selfish turd.

[AdHocSolver]

8. Closing the barn door after the cattle already escaped.

Better for the U.S. would be for Congress to rewrite the tax code to realize taxes on the profits gained by corporations and the wealthy who hide their money in offshore tax havens like the Cayman Islands.

The guy obviously doesn't intend to return to the U.S. anyway, so how does this "punish" him for leaving?

This is just another example of political grandstanding.

[2banon]

9. "like" n/t

[JDPriestly]

12. Yes. Corporations and other businesses should be paying higher taxes

and they should get tax deductions for hiring people inside the US at decent wages.

[RobertEarl]

11. Face of the 1%

Take the money and run, just like the 1%ers.

I say we book him the next time he shows his face and then charge him a bond equal to the taxes he is running away with.

[still_one]

13. I wonder why the article doesn't mention that he was born in Brazil? I also find it interesting

that Congress finds this action outrageous, and it is unfortunate, but I also remember where many in Congress found no difficulty voting for the patriot act, and the IWR, while being complicit in two wars which cost the "taxpayers" a trillion dollars, and over a million killed.

[JI7]

14. If this fuckers life is threatened again, should we let him back in ?

[Roland99]

15. What a waste of Congressional effort, time, and money

sheesh...the guy was born in Brazil and has lived in Singapore for a while now.

What's the big fucking deal???

[harmonicon]

16. Distract people from real problems?

That's all I can think of. It amazes me how many people on DU are upset about this.

[Roland99]

17. This is worse than Congress getting involved in MLB/NFL

*sigh*

[Posteritatis]

25. Media says "jump!" and people from the street right up through congress ask "how high, sir?" (nt)

[lsewpershad]

19. K&R

[Spider Jerusalem]

22. I dunno, I fail to find this argument especially convincing somehow

if you renounce your citizenship and have a net worth of $2 million or more, your total assets are treated as if sold the day before expatriation, and tax is due on the assessed market value. In Saverin's case this would include his Facebook shares. He's already paid tax on it. You can't renounce your citizenship for the purpose of avoiding tax; there are specific laws to prevent it and have been for a while. And at the same time...the United States is one of only two countries in the world to tax on the basis of citizenship rather than residency. The other is Eritrea; in a 2007 case in Canada the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that Eritrea's income tax on its nationals resident abroad was illegal, and the US (!) has signed onto a UN condemnation of Eritrea's "diaspora tax", calling it extortion (which is a nice bit of irony).

[Prometheus Bound]

34. That's how I understand it too.

I don't get why people are taking this personally.

[lonestarnot]

28. Good! What doesn't he get about now keep the fuck out! You took your ball and went "home." Now

stay the fuck home you richie rich loooooooooooooooozer.

[Fearless]

38. Good. Pay your dues or STFU!

[Unite2DefeatGOP]

44. Sadly, he'll be mucking up Singapore's political process now.

GTFO and STFO.

[ButterflyBlood]

47. And I felt pretty sympathetic for him in "The Social Network" too.

Looks like in real life he's an even bigger jackass than Zuckerberg, Justin Timberlake's character and the rowing twins were portrayed in that movie.

[ryan waller]

53. Never trust a movie

Truer words have probably been spoken...

[quakerboy]

52. Setting aside the tax angle

I struggle with the question of whether we should block those renouncing American citizenship from entering the country, or at least have that option.

Renunciation of citizenship seems to me a fairly serious thing. Perhaps I do not have all the details, but Ive met very few dual citizens who were not happy to have BOTH of their countries, few single country citizens who would not be happy to have dual citizenship, and no one who has renounced any country that did not seriously abuse them. So why renounce citizenship?

Again, perhaps I am missing something. But as a member of the renounced country, on the face of it, and completely without regard to the tax issue, I think I am ok with barring people who renounce the their citizenship in the US from entering the US.