The Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin officially defriended the United States in September, giving up his American citizenship for the more tax-friendly residency status of Singapore.
Saverin, who was born in Brazil and has lived in Singapore since 2010, plans to remain indefinitely in the Asian island nation, where the maximum personal income tax rate is 20 percent and capital gains are not taxed.
A spokesman for Saverin insists his client did not renounce the citizenship he has held since 1998 for financial reasons. "I have worked with him for over a year, and that never came up," said Thomas Goodman. "Obviously it was a big decision, but he's making all these investments in Europe, Asia and the U.S. It just seemed a lot simpler."
Goodman declined to say exactly what simplifications the impending billionaire would enjoy, other than the financial.
The renunciation, published by the State Department at the end of April and reported first by Bloomberg on Friday, became public just days before Facebook shares are expected to be sold to the public. The company is expected to be valued at more than $85 billion.
Saverin owns less than 5 percent of Facebook, but is expected to be worth more than $3.5 billion after the public offering. The decision was made several months ago, Goodman said. "Everyone is trying to tie this to the IPO and taxes," he said. "It was never about that."
Loss of his citizenship in September makes it likely that the process was initiated sometime around last May, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. People leaving U.S. citizenship under such circumstances typically pay an "exit tax," which is a final bill based on all assets.
Saverin, 30, helped found Facebook while at Harvard with Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, all of whom remain U.S. citizens.
Saverin, who was born in Brazil and has lived in Singapore since 2010, plans to remain indefinitely in the Asian island nation, where the maximum personal income tax rate is 20 percent and capital gains are not taxed.
A spokesman for Saverin insists his client did not renounce the citizenship he has held since 1998 for financial reasons. "I have worked with him for over a year, and that never came up," said Thomas Goodman. "Obviously it was a big decision, but he's making all these investments in Europe, Asia and the U.S. It just seemed a lot simpler."
Goodman declined to say exactly what simplifications the impending billionaire would enjoy, other than the financial.
The renunciation, published by the State Department at the end of April and reported first by Bloomberg on Friday, became public just days before Facebook shares are expected to be sold to the public. The company is expected to be valued at more than $85 billion.
Saverin owns less than 5 percent of Facebook, but is expected to be worth more than $3.5 billion after the public offering. The decision was made several months ago, Goodman said. "Everyone is trying to tie this to the IPO and taxes," he said. "It was never about that."
Loss of his citizenship in September makes it likely that the process was initiated sometime around last May, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. People leaving U.S. citizenship under such circumstances typically pay an "exit tax," which is a final bill based on all assets.
Saverin, 30, helped found Facebook while at Harvard with Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, all of whom remain U.S. citizens.
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