Facebook Co-Founder Renounces U.S. Citizenship

CounTDookU23 said:
To think you should repay the country that provides you the opportunity to make massive amounts of money..... and not put anything back in to the infrastructure that provides the freedoms to do so.
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We are the country. The country is us. The country is not our government.
 
sfsuphysics said:
I don't know... because he fucking made the income in the US with a US company maybe?
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This. Some people here don't understand why you would have to pay taxes to the US govt if you don't live here.

It's not that you don't live here, it's that you made the money here.
 
CounTDookU23 said:
This is exactly the kind of nut-baggery that keeps the republican party operating. To think you should repay the country that provides you the opportunity to make massive amounts of money..... and not put anything back in to the infrastructure that provides the freedoms to do so. Would it hurt the bottom line of the 1%.... NOPE. It is just pure fucking greed. I make $40,000 a year and its enough to live off of after the government strips my paycheck of my taxes...... and taxes my CD earnings. Now if I can pay my taxes why the fuck cant these rich scum?
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Good points. I think the 1%, and those with their mindset (NeoCons and Libertarians) of "I don't owe anyone anything. As long as I have mine, screw everyone else" needs to be reminded of two little words:

FRENCH REVOLUTION.


Ordinary people in France got fed the hell up with the excesses of their 1% and cut their heads off. No reason to say it can't happen right here in the US. They might run to another country, but they can't run forever.
 
CounTDookU23 said:
This is exactly the kind of nut-baggery that keeps the republican party operating. To think you should repay the country that provides you the opportunity to make massive amounts of money..... and not put anything back in to the infrastructure that provides the freedoms to do so. Would it hurt the bottom line of the 1%.... NOPE. It is just pure fucking greed. I make $40,000 a year and its enough to live off of after the government strips my paycheck of my taxes...... and taxes my CD earnings. Now if I can pay my taxes why the fuck cant these rich scum?
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Are you ready to "renounce" your US citizenship and leave the country? If so, you can do just what he did. Tip: the vast majority of Republicans--or Democrats--do not renounce their citizenship and leave the country--else they could not serve in Congress, etc...;) So, your "1%" propaganda doesn't even apply in this case, since nobody in the 1% does this, because if they did they'd no longer be Americans--and therefore couldn't be counted in the mythical "1%".

But, you're probably glad to know that your sentiments are typical Democratic-party goals. The Dems would, if they could, put everyone in chains and take away lots of individual freedoms for the sake the nebulous "common good," the phrase "common good" for a Democrat meaning "pandering for votes by spending taxpayer dollars on pork-barrel projects in their districts." To be fair, all politicians are guilty of this, Democrats as well as Republicans and Independents.

Besides, if he "renounces" his American citizenship (which I'm not sure is even possible legally...;)), he no longer lives in the US and is no longer taking advantage of US infrastructure as he did when he lived here and paid taxes. Also, he *gives up* all of the rights and freedoms that come with being an American citizen, as well. Your fears as to what he'll get once he no longer is a US citizen seem misplaced--in many ways he will be giving up about as much, if not more, as he'll gain by this action.
 
qdemn7 said:
Good points. I think the 1%, and those with their mindset (NeoCons and Libertarians) of "I don't owe anyone anything. As long as I have mine, screw everyone else" needs to be reminded of two little words:

FRENCH REVOLUTION.


Ordinary people in France got fed the hell up with the excesses of their 1% and cut their heads off. No reason to say it can't happen right here in the US. They might run to another country, but they can't run forever.
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Hello historical revisionist.
 
qdemn7 said:
Good points. I think the 1%, and those with their mindset (NeoCons and Libertarians) of "I don't owe anyone anything. As long as I have mine, screw everyone else" needs to be reminded of two little words:

FRENCH REVOLUTION.


Ordinary people in France got fed the hell up with the excesses of their 1% and cut their heads off. No reason to say it can't happen right here in the US. They might run to another country, but they can't run forever.
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That is about the most simplistic, idiotic thing I have ever read. LOL.

I literally spit my coffee out laughing!!! The french??? Were you eating cake when you wrote that?

Get a clue! You can't stand in a bucket and lift yourself up by the handle. It doesn't work that way. The simple fact of the matter is, most people are poor by choice. Not all, but most. (in the US and 'western' world at least) If you even make somewhat of an attempt to get off your ass and work a little bit, you can make it. You're not guaranteed a fortune 500 company. You're not guaranteed a Ferrari or Benz, you're guaranteed an opportunity to live your life, free and pursue whatever it is that makes you happy. Period.

Some choose to sit on their ass and hold out their hand. That's the truth of it.

So what do I say to the non-sense you wrote.....'Let them eat cake!'
 
Gav80K said:
Good on him.


Just because he grew up here doesn't mean he owes the government anything. Yes, he was educated in the US, but given the low standard of education the US government offers I would say this was a distinct disadvantage and a waste of many years of his life.
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i believe the IRS is going to have some very different feelings on that. per IRS if you are a US citizen any income is subject to taxes. so i dont think he is doing this as a dodge as the rules on that are quite clear.
 
harbingerofdoom said:
i believe the IRS is going to have some very different feelings on that. per IRS if you are a US citizen any income is subject to taxes. so i dont think he is doing this as a dodge as the rules on that are quite clear.
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nevermind, didnt catch the part about doing that before he made the money
 
CounTDookU23 said:
Now if I can pay my taxes why the fuck cant these rich scum?
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Spoken like true a democrat pos.Talk to me when the 45%+ who aren't paying income taxes start paying or when the government stops paying poor people to have kids. Even if you increased the tax rate to 100% on 500K+ you'd only get about $400B less than a third of budget deficit.
 
Singapore = no capital gains taxes.

Keep punishing the 1%'s with taxes, and you'll find there won't be any left. Then who's gonna pay your taxes? The government can only keep printing money for so long.
 
Stop giving services to anyone not paying taxes. The fact that only half the country is paying taxes is a crime within itself.
 
Here in canada were taxed even more then you guys south of the border, I came to realize a year ago I can work my shifts, put in my hours, pay my taxes and make a certain amount....

or I can take a full day unpaid off each pay period, and I still make the exact same amount, but pay less in taxes (sitting on the border of two tax brackets)


You can guess which one I did, I pay enough taxes already why should I work more and pay more if I don't have to.
 
jpm100 said:
Its funny that people believe you can heap taxes on top people and they won't change their behavior.

The rich can afford to dodge taxes, the middle class and poor, not so much. So when governments try to ream the rich (or the "1%" as they get called), they get almost nothing out of it and turn to the next 74% and take it from them. This happens time and time again. Seems every 30 or 40 years the public has to learn this the hard way.
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+1 - There 's nothing more mobile than rich people and thier taxes.

I'm also surprise that people NEVER learn. Like when the implemented the Luxury tax in the 90's, and many of the middle class people who worked in the yacht business lost their jobs, because the rich either stopped buying or went out of the country an bought. Everytime they raise taxes on the "rich" out here in California, they never end up collecting even close to what they project.
 
qdemn7 said:
Ordinary people in France got fed the hell up with the excesses of their 1% and cut their heads off. No reason to say it can't happen right here in the US. They might run to another country, but they can't run forever.
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And the newly elected leader of France has vowed to raise the top tax rate to 75% (about double the current rate). Meanwhile, the rich French are already shopping for homes in the UK.
So instead of the government getting a 40% income tax from the rich, they will be getting NOTHING.
 
nutzo said:
And the newly elected leader of France has vowed to raise the top tax rate to 75% (about double the current rate). Meanwhile, the rich French are already shopping for homes in the UK.
So instead of the government getting a 40% income tax from the rich, they will be getting NOTHING.
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Don't reply to that. The French Revolution was caused by the pressure put on by the absolute monarchy running a feudal state ragged and an oppressive clergy living in excess - NOT rich peeople who don't even live in this country renouncing citizenship months and months in advance of stock going IPO.

The article has nothing to do with class warfare, I'm not sure why this shit went sideways.
 
Gav80K said:
Good on him.

According to Wikipedia Facebook employees 3000+ as of 2011. He does the nation a great service by employing 3000 people and the government wants to reward him by taking his money. I'd say that is very wrong.

Just because he grew up here doesn't mean he owes the government anything. Yes, he was educated in the US, but given the low standard of education the US government offers I would say this was a distinct disadvantage and a waste of many years of his life.

When the government is robbing people of their future by providing such an abysmal standard of education I'd say that paying tax is morally wrong.
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Take your misinformed libertarian propaganda to Fox News where it belongs. The higher education system in the US is among the best in the world. Don't bring morality into this, I have a strong argument what he is doing is morally wrong. "Robbing people of their futures." lol. Such an obvious parrot of what your Neo Conservative figureheads are telling you.
 
haste. said:
Take your misinformed libertarian propaganda to Fox News where it belongs. The higher education system in the US is among the best in the world. Don't bring morality into this, I have a strong argument what he is doing is morally wrong. "Robbing people of their futures." lol. Such an obvious parrot of what your Neo Conservative figureheads are telling you.
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Make up your mind. Is he a libertarian, a NeoCon, or a Fox viewer? :)
 
ninjaturtle said:
I would too, why should I share my money with an over-bloated government that has no sense of direction and doesn't encourage it's population to thrive to be healthier, more intelligent or take pride in things?
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Because if this country's "overbloated government" and the nation that it represents found out you'd bail on it after utilizing its systemic resources (people, protection, healthcare, transportation, education) it probably would have shown you the door in the beginning. And good luck trying to even frame your reference in such a way that you can imagine what your life would be like without all that because self-awareness doesn't seem to be a strong trait here.

ninjaturtle said:
Most of the people in this country think they are entitled to everything including the kitchen sink even if they choose poor health habits, make poor decisions, ect ect....
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Just like how you think you can exploit the public education system, police protection, and ease of transportation/movement to other countries to make money here then fly away with your wealth and condemn it. Classy.

ninjaturtle said:
I have no problem in paying taxes as long as the government and it's citizens know what the fuck they are doing.
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I have no problem with you not paying taxes as long as you get put in jail for avoiding them or trying to cheat the country out of them. Go live somewhere else like singapore from the start and make your money there with lower taxes if that's what you want.
 
Hey libertarians, why don't you renounce your citizenship and move to Somalia, where gun rights are guaranteed, taxes are 0, and there's no big government to get in your way?
 
chockomonkey said:
Wouldn't a percentage-based tax that's the same for everyone make everyone happy? :confused:
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Well, that might make some people happy, but I don't agree with it. A flat tax as you suggested hurts the people at the bottom of the income scale a lot more than the people at the top.

Lets take a 20% tax rate for example.

if your income is say $40k per year, then your NET is only $32k. 40k is a decent salary (IMHO) for many professions and many parts of the country, especially if you live frugal as I do. But since you make less, that tax takes quite a bit out of what you have available for say a savings account.

But if you make $100k, then you still have $80k net to work with.
 
InternationalHat said:
Just like how you think you can exploit the public education system, police protection, and ease of transportation/movement to other countries to make money here then fly away with your wealth and condemn it. Classy.
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Hm, I think he went to private schools and his family paid for him to go to Harvard as well. I don't see where he condemns anything, at all. He lives in Singapore and is investing quite a bit of money into asian corporations. While he was in the US, he paid his taxes.

What's the big deal?
 
coynatha said:
Singapore = no capital gains taxes.

Keep punishing the 1%'s with taxes, and you'll find there won't be any left. Then who's gonna pay your taxes? The government can only keep printing money for so long.
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YEah boo FUCKING hoo, that he'd actually have to pay taxes on income from an investment that's at tax rate that's almost the lowest rate in the country..... I'm crying a god damn river, yet if I win the lottery, or have my aunt leave me money, or whatever I pay the full fucking taxes on it.

chockomonkey said:
Wouldn't a percentage-based tax that's the same for everyone make everyone happy? :confused:
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I'd be happy with the current graduated tax system (hell reduce every level by 5%) as long as all income was counted and there were no deductions. Every income tax bracket pays lower on average than the bracket states.
 
:rolleyes: turned into another moronic flame fest by people who can't understand tax is required to pay for stuff.

You people seriously need to get smacked across the face and have a discussion about the non-existence of a money tree.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
Hm, I think he went to private schools and his family paid for him to go to Harvard as well. I don't see where he condemns anything, at all. He lives in Singapore and is investing quite a bit of money into asian corporations. While he was in the US, he paid his taxes.

What's the big deal?
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Well all taxes except that magic lottery ticket that just hit when Facebook decided to go public with IPO.

Does raise an interesting point, of how much taxes did he pay for his stake in Facebook? From what I understand the 4% of the company that he owns was given to him when Facebook was basically worthless, as result because there was nothing he could sell (stockwise) he's paid no taxes on it. Granted he will be slapped with an exit tax when he leaves, however you'll be damn sure he's going to argue that his inability to sell his shares on the open market makes it worth less than it should have been, as a result still come out ahead.
 
I would never stop laughing if he got nailed with exit tax for pulling this little stunt. He really does deserve it.
 
I also find it Interesting that it only costs $450 to renounce your US citizenship, yet it costs $595 to apply for it.....
 
zsec said:
Just learned this today and I'm in my 20's!

I would do the same if I lived abroad.
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Someone who worked with me in Canada found out last year that she had to pay for taxes because she was born in the US, but worked in Canada.

Simply retarded IMO.
 
His money, his life. In my opinion he can do whatever he damned well pleases. I'm sure he's paid his share of taxes while living here. Now he wants to take his money and move on. I'd do the same thing. I call this a success story...with people who are jealous shitting all over the pages ;)
 
refraxion said:
Someone who worked with me in Canada found out last year that she had to pay for taxes because she was born in the US, but worked in Canada.

Simply retarded IMO.
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Her Canadian income tax is a credit on the US tax form. So...big deal. She will almost certainly owe nothing. Has to fill out a form once a year, boo hoo.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Well all taxes except that magic lottery ticket that just hit when Facebook decided to go public with IPO.

Does raise an interesting point, of how much taxes did he pay for his stake in Facebook? From what I understand the 4% of the company that he owns was given to him when Facebook was basically worthless, as result because there was nothing he could sell (stockwise) he's paid no taxes on it. Granted he will be slapped with an exit tax when he leaves, however you'll be damn sure he's going to argue that his inability to sell his shares on the open market makes it worth less than it should have been, as a result still come out ahead.
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Yes, but is there proof of intent? The article says he renounced citizenship in September of last year.
 
cthulhuiscool said:
USA is one of the few countries that charges federal income tax to citizens who live outside the country, I'd do the same damn thing if I were him
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Regardless of where he lives he's making the money here in the U.S.A. Of course he has to pay income taxes here.
 
I appreciate the concern that there is a lack of social responsibility in at least some of the currents in business. Let's hope that is not the case with the Facebook co-founder.

Some argue that there are no strings attached to the profits of business. There comes a point where laws saying that there are no-strings-attached are just dusty pages, or irrelevant language. The strings of cause and effect are not the same as laws. To thrive as a species we work together.

With wealth concentrating the way that it is there seems to be a lack of cooperation.

We do not need the wealthy, but we need order to manage things, and the wealthy are in control of organizations. All things being equal, as the population figures out to value their abilities even the wealthy will cooperate IMO. The trouble is adapting the establishment to improved efficiency that will enable more people to be wealthy.

A lot of people are very passive about influencing the world. I changed my party affiliation last time that I moved so that I could influence the GOP caucus here. What would you know, I was one of two people that showed up in my district, so I became a county delegate.... where were the hundreds of other people in my district?:p
 
sfsuphysics said:
YEah boo FUCKING hoo, that he'd actually have to pay taxes on income from an investment that's at tax rate that's almost the lowest rate in the country..... I'm crying a god damn river, yet if I win the lottery, or have my aunt leave me money, or whatever I pay the full fucking taxes on it.
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Guarantee you'd change your tune once you saw the tax man dipping his hand in over and over and over - first when you inherit wealth, then when you sell some stock to access the wealth, and even when you go to USE it, they hit you again.

Death tax + Capital Gains + Sales tax = more than half your money stolen before you've raised your own personal standard of living. Where's his incentive to keep the money here if other people get to enjoy it more than he does? HE EARNED IT, NOT YOU.
 
coynatha said:
Guarantee you'd change your tune once you saw the tax man dipping his hand in over and over and over - first when you inherit wealth, then when you sell some stock to access the wealth, and even when you go to USE it, they hit you again.

Death tax + Capital Gains + Sales tax = more than half your money stolen before you've raised your own personal standard of living. Where's his incentive to keep the money here if other people get to enjoy it more than he does? HE EARNED IT, NOT YOU.
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Tell me again how inheriting wealth and selling stocks to access that wealth is earned income?
 
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