Facebook Founder Zuckerberg Faces $1 Billion-Plus Tax Bill - Feb. 7, 2012
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Facebook’s upcoming IPO will make founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg a billionaire — but it will also stick him with an eye-popping tax bill that could reach as high as $2 billion.
Industry experts say that might be one for the record books.
“I personally have never seen a bill into the billions — close, but not quite,” said Anthony Nitti, a Colorado-based CPA and partner with Withum, Smith and Brown. “I talked to a few buddies of mine at the Big Four accounting firms, and it’s something not many people have seen.”
The giant tax hit is a consequence of Zuckerberg’s plan to exercise stock options worth billions. The move will significantly increase his ownership stake in the company he founded eight years ago.