When Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen isn’t flying around the world urging lawmakers to regulate her ex-employer, she’s apparently living off little-taxed cryptocurrency profits in her new home of Puerto Rico.
“For the foreseeable future, I’m fine, because I did buy crypto at the right time,” Haugen said in an interview with the New York Times published Sunday when asked how she’s supported herself since leaving Facebook.
Her move to Puerto Rico in March was motivated by a desire to join her “crypto friends” on the island, as well as a health condition, Haugen added.
Puerto Rico — a US territory known for its beaches, rainforests and Spanish Colonial architecture — has become a hub for cryptocurrency investors like Haugen in recent years thanks largely to its status as a tax haven.
Under a law called Act 22, people who live in Puerto Rico for at least half of the year are exempt from taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains — meaning they can cash in on earnings from crypto and other investments without forking over money to Uncle Sam.
In a bid to take advantage of the loose tax laws, top crypto firms including the hedge fund Pantera Capital and NFT marketplace SuperRare have ditched New York and Silicon Valley for Puerto Rico in recent years.
Other crypto investors, flush with cash amid the crypto boom, have used their little-taxed profits to buy up property in San Juan with a vision to build a new society called “Puertopia.” >>Keep Reading>>>
