Wednesday, January 9, 2013

France's most prominent exiles


Tax policy rarely makes headlines in France, but the row between the country's best-known actor and the government has given the issue unusual prominence in recent weeks.
Gerard Depardieu's opposition to plans for a new 75% rate of income tax prompted him to announce last month that he was leaving the country. When Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called the move "shabby", the actor said he would tear up his French passport.
The row took a new twist last week, when Mr Depardieu applied for Russian citizenship, professing his love for a "great democracy". President Vladimir Putin gave him his new passport in person at the weekend.
The very public row between a larger-than-life personality and the Socialist government has put the issue of tax exiles to the fore.
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