"Bitcoin Jesus" Roger Ver renounced his U.S. citizenship to avoid taxes, and ten years later was pursued for nearly 50 million dollars in expatriation taxes

According to Reuters, earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a deferred prosecution agreement with "Bitcoin Jesus" Roger Ver, under which his fraud and tax evasion charges will be dismissed in exchange for a payment of up to $49.9 million in fines.

Roger Ver, one of the earliest Bitcoin evangelists, bought a large amount of Bitcoin in 2011 for less than $3 million. In February 2014, to avoid high tax burdens, he acquired citizenship in the Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis and renounced his U.S. citizenship the following month. At that time, he and his companies held at least 131,000 Bitcoins, valued at over $70 million based on the price at that time. He believed that by changing his nationality, he could put an end to the high tax burden in the U.S.

However, the U.S.'s stringent "exit tax" completely thwarted his plans. According to U.S. tax law, eligible expatriates must treat their global assets as if they were "sold the day before expatriation" and pay capital gains tax. Although Ver reported and paid $1.03 million in taxes, he not only failed to report his personal holdings of Bitcoin but also severely undervalued his company's assets. Ten years later, the IRS confirmed his fraudulent tax evasion (which is not subject to the statute of limitations), ultimately forcing him to pay back up to $49.9 million in taxes, fines, and interest, which is 48 times the amount he reported paying in taxes that year.