It's becoming a trend, the ultra rich denouncing their US Citizenship in order to horde more cash. They escape taxes when they leave the country, even though they continue to make money from US investments and from US sources. Some like billionaire Facebook part-owner Eduardo Saverin. He denounced his US citizenship in favor of one from Singapore where he can stash his profits from the sale of Facebook's stock and pay no US taxes.
Second case is Denise Rich, yes the songwriter Denise Rich, whose husband Mark Rich fled the US in 1983 for tax evasion, has decided to take the legal way out. In November, she renounced her citizenship and stashed much of her wealth in the Cook Islands. That tiny South Pacific country has become the new Switzerland for hiding massive amounts of wealth.
The trend has seen 1800 ultra-rich US citizens bail the country to avoid paying their fair share of taxes to the country where they made their billions. Add to this the many companies who shifted their "headquarters" to off shore locations like the Cayman Islands. Because of a nice tax loophole companies having "headquarters" offshore get big tax breaks. There is a building on Grand Cayman housing what some estimate as 12,000 corporations including Coca-Cola and Halliburton. Though not illegal, the practice is a sham and needs to be stopped.
The idea that the super-wealthy are above our laws and are "Citizens of the World" is not new, but when their businesses and investments make their fortunes here, they need to pay their taxes here. Just because they are obscenely rich does not give them any more rights than any other US citizen....oh wait, they are no longer US citizens! See how it works?
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