Gérard Depardieu has said he is handing back his French passport and social security card, lambasting the French government for punishing “success, creation, talent” in his homeland.
A popular and colourful figure in France, the 63-year-old actor is the latest wealthy Frenchman to seek shelter outside his native country by buying a house just over the border in Belgium in response to tax increases by the Socialist president, François Hollande.
Well, I cannot blame him. Belgium does not punish people for having wealth, so why not? I would. Hollande’s vicious, spiteful wealth tax; 75% – yup 75 fucking% – is typical socialist politics of envy. Depardieu, being a high earner has already paid millions in tax over his working life, but for the greedy socialists this is not enough. It is never enough. Nothing less than penury will satisfy these evil bastards.
I have to say, that given Hollande’s desire to go after UK expats with property in France, I am beginning to think that my enforced return to my homeland is probably for the best. What a nasty, mean, spiteful little man the French have elected for their president.
XX Gérard Depardieu has said he is handing back his French passport and social security card,XX
Knee jerk gesture politics.
What does he do for I.D then? Because Belgium is the same as Germany. You do not get an official ID card, until you have your citizinship documents, which can take five years. Up until then, you must use your origional passport.
His footstamping fit of pique would be more impressive if he actualy gave up his French citizenship.
(But then, they will not allow you to do that until you have the citizenship of another country first (Belgioum, again about five years). Because it is illegal to make a person stateless.
Given that they are both EU states, he can do as I did and become tax resident in another state. Gesture politics it may be, but it is a gesture that needs to be made.
Hi Furor,
I do not know about European states but you can renounce Australian citizenship if you are not a mental case.
So they wouldn’t let me do it 🙂
Drawing attention to the iniquitous taxes in France can only be a good thing. My office has many beautiful French women. And they all smoke. And have shinny, long legs.
XX you can renounce Australian citizenship if you are not a mental case. So they wouldn’t let me do it 🙂 XX
🙂
Only if you have another citizenship “in the bag”.
U.N law. (E.U as well, but they stole it from the U.N charter). So any country that is a member of the U.N, can not renounce, if it would make you “stateless”.
Aye. But giving up his passport is meaningles, when not totaly impossible.
Hollande’s 75% as I understand it, is a tax on anything earned over 1 million euros and it will only be in force for 2 years, by saying that I do not in any way allude to agreeing with it, Hollande is sadly, despite being ( apparently ) a pragmatist is a very blinkered socialist who still likes to believe in the France of the seventies, everyone except himself and a few of his ministers know what his tax policy will do to France, it just means we who live here will have to wait and see what the outcome is, as to the ex-pat policy again more complex than what is written, not only do I own chez moi I have 2 flats that I rent here and have received demands for more tax on the income earned, but so have many other French pals I know, I am married to a French national and it revolves around her income but as soon as I obtain my French nationality ( there are advantages ) it will be interesting to see how the situation changes.
It’s still an obscene amount to steal from those who have earned it. The socialists are evil – always have been, always will be. Theft of others’ labour is all they know.
Yes, we will have to wait and see how it all pans out.
XX and it will only be in force for 2 years, XX
And pub licensing laws “will only be in force until the end of the present difficulties.” (The “difficulties” were World war one!).
Completely agree – have a post coming up on it too. How long is it going to take them to wake up?
Suppose Depardieu wants to come here?
No passport – no entry – we claim our borders are “open” but have you tried to get back in?
It’s bloody ridiculous.