We need be mindfull of how we treat the wealthy and taxes.
We live in a competitive world and if you have enough dough you can vote with your feet
mad2
chiefexecutive.net
CEO Briefing Newsletter Print Filed under: CEO Briefing Newsletter
Facebook Founder Renounces US Citizenship: Why Are We Driving Away Entrepreneurs? May 17 2012 by ChiefExecutive.net
One of the founders of Facebook, Eduardo Saverin, is going to save $67 million in taxes by renouncing his U.S. citizenship before Facebook’s IPO. Saverin was born in Brazil and now resides in Singapore.
This Facebook founder is joining what seems to be a growing trend. According to Bloomberg,1,780 people gave up their U.S. citizenship in 2011. This is a large jump from the 235 who did so in 2008.
Singapore doesn’t have a capital gains tax, but of course the U.S. does. And it is about to rise to 60 percent with expiration of the 2003 tax cut that was extended through the end of this year.
So the question is: do we want to drive our entrepreneurs into the arms of foreign domains to prove some nebulous point? Mr. Saverin, and others that may follow his example, may yet prove useful as poster boys for tax reform.
Let’s hope home grown types like Michael Dell don’t pick up and leave.
chiefexecutive.net
Why This Best-Selling Business Author & Owner Says He’ll Leave California May 17 2012 by ChiefExecutive.net
Once again, CEOs have voted California the worst state in the U.S. in which to do business. In our eighth annual Best/Worst States for Business survey, 650 CEOs shared their experiences on doing business in America. CEOs call the state a “disaster” and a “complete mess.” One CEO even said, “California is the worst! They are doing everything possible to drive a business out of their state. If the environment in CA was not so good, they would have lost half of their population.”
Grant Cardone, a New York Times best-selling business author and business owner, reinforced our findings when he wrote an open letter in The Huffington Post to California Governor Jerry Brown.
Here’s some of what Cardone had to say.
“Over the last 20 years my companies and myself have willingly and without resentment paid MILLIONS of dollars in taxes in the form of property taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes, and income taxes. I have funded the educational budget and never had a child in the system. I have created hundreds of jobs in this state through my hard work and risk-taking. 90% of my companies’ income is generated outside the state while 100% of the jobs created are here. Also I spend and invest a majority of the monies I earn around the U.S. in California.
I am from middle-class America and started each of my businesses with no money and without being a burden to the system. I have never used government funding for any of our projects. My family doesn’t use the public school system, hospitals, or any other social services. We are not a burden to the system. During the most recent economic collapse I didn’t let anyone go despite the brutal financial pounding that my companies experienced. Rather than cutting employees, I cut my pay instead and financed my personal life from savings.”
And as a consequence, even though he loves California, Cardone says that if there is another tax hike he will take his family and business out of the state. And Cardone isn’t the only one.
Another of our CEOs said, “California taxes and regulation are just plain silly. They actively work to drive companies out of their state.”
When will California learn? And will they be able to turn things around?
Read: Open Letter to Gov. Jerry Brown |
