HONG KONG – French film star Gerard Depardieu moved to Belgium to avoid a 75 percent income tax on millionaires proposed by France’s Socialist government. Eduardo Saverin, an American, took the extreme step of giving up his citizenship and could see a resulting tax savings of $39 million on his Facebook investment, according to the research firm Wealth-X.

I had read about financially motivated expatriates, but I never knew one until I visited with my longtime friend “Sam” (I’m withholding his real name to protect his current employment). Sam works for a large investment firm. He has lived here for the last 25 years.