Jerk the tax rate up to 75%? Watch your citizens leave. From France24/AFP:
Critics savage Depardieu's new role as tax exile
French politicians reacted with dismay on Monday after it emerged the country's leading actor, Gerard Depardieu, has taken up the role of tax exile in neighbouring Belgium.
The article gets a bit snarky with his personal life and then goes on:
Local mayor Daniel Senesael suggested Depardieu had been drawn to Nechin by the attractions of country life as much as the fiscal shelter it offers.
"He wanted to find somewhere to stay in Belgium to escape French taxes but he could just as easily have settled in Brussels," the mayor told Belgian TV.
"He wanted to get out of Paris with all its noise and find a bit of peace and quiet."
Nechin's bucolic charm has already seduced a number of Depardieu's compatriots. A quarter of the village's population is French, among them the Meunier and Mulliez families, respective owners of the Carrefour and Auchan supermarket chains.
And a bit more:
"It is sad because he is a great actor and someone I know and like," said Bertrand Delanoe, the Socialist mayor of Paris. "He is a generous man but in this instance he is not showing that."
Hey Mr. Delanoe -- Pants on Fire.
You just wanted to spend his money on your 'pet' social programs and you are pissed because he grew a pair and said Non!
What happens when France runs out of other people's money? Do you have a plan for that because it will happen...
