He could simply want to live elsewhere. If you don't live in the US, you wouldn't want to keep paying them taxes for no reason. I see no problem with renouncing his citizenship for tax reasons if those tax reasons are "I don't want to keep paying a country I no longer have ties to".
Taxes probably played a role in the decision, but it could easily have been a minor one rather than just "split[ting] for a tax haven".
Would he also have to pay taxes in Singapore? If so, I can see how this move would be acceptable.
Even if not, I don't think many would find this unacceptable if he had done this before the mention of the IPO. It's possible that he has been considering the move for a while, and hasn't bothered to go through with it until a significant chunk of his income became at risk.
I'm not a lawyer, but this seems plausible. Singapore doesn't have a comprehensive tax treaty for the USA[1], which would otherwise prevent double taxation.
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If you are a US Citizen, you have to pay taxes, regardless of where you live, so I am guessing taxes paid a role in his decision.
He could simply want to live elsewhere. If you don't live in the US, you wouldn't want to keep paying them taxes for no reason. I see no problem with renouncing his citizenship for tax reasons if those tax reasons are "I don't want to keep paying a country I no longer have ties to".
Taxes probably played a role in the decision, but it could easily have been a minor one rather than just "split[ting] for a tax haven".
Would he also have to pay taxes in Singapore? If so, I can see how this move would be acceptable.
Even if not, I don't think many would find this unacceptable if he had done this before the mention of the IPO. It's possible that he has been considering the move for a while, and hasn't bothered to go through with it until a significant chunk of his income became at risk.
I'm not a lawyer, but this seems plausible. Singapore doesn't have a comprehensive tax treaty for the USA[1], which would otherwise prevent double taxation.
[1] http://www.iras.gov.sg/irasHome/page.aspx?id=812
Singapore doesn’t have a capital gains tax.
A 15% long-term capital gains tax rate on $3.84B (4% of Facebook),
He saved $576 Million by giving up his citizenship and moving to Singapore.