Va te faire foutre, Gerard Depardieu

[marmar]

(Reuters) - Actor Gerard Depardieu has become the latest Frenchman to look for shelter outside his native country after a series of tax hikes by Socialist President Francois Hollande on the wealthy.

The "Cyrano de Bergerac" star has bought a house in the Belgian village of Nechin near the French border, local mayor Daniel Senesael told French media on Sunday, adding he had also enquired about procedures for acquiring Belgian residency.

Senesael said Depardieu would join some 2,800 French living in the same area a few minutes drive from the border, including the Mulliez family, owners of French hypermarket chain Auchan and Decathlon sports stores, who have lived there for years.

Belgian residents do not pay wealth tax, which in France is now slapped on individuals with assets over 1.3 million euros, nor do they pay capital gains tax on the sale of shares. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/12/09/uk-france-tax-depardieu-idUKBRE8B80FO20121209

[alfredo]

1. They would have sided with the Vichy regime.

[Honeycombe8]

2. I don't blame him. I would, too. France has a wealth tax? Wow. No wonder Depp is moving. nt

[marmar]

3. You don't blame him for being a greedy a-hole?

nt

[Honeycombe8]

15. I don't blame him for not wanting to give to the govt half of his wealth....not just his income.

Who would? I wouldn't. I'd move. That's not greed. That's common sense. There's a difference between a reasonable tax rate on income, and the govt just taxing what you have, that it already taxed when you made it. There is also a difference between that and the inheritance tax.

[HiPointDem]

31. but he's happy to use the free services, though. btw, he doesn't give the gov't half his income.

top tax rate is 48% & applies only to income above 500K euros.

income under that is taxed at progressively lower rates.

no problems if he doesn't want to pay the taxes, let him renounce his citizenship.

[tledford]

64. "no problems if he doesn't want to pay the taxes, let him renounce his citizenship."

BINGO!

I've often thought we should offer the same deal to Americans. You don't want to pay federal taxes? Fine, renounce your citizenship.

[muriel_volestrangler]

39. The maximum wealth tax rate is 1.8%, above 16 million Euros

The Hollande rates for 2012 start at 0.55% for wealth valued between 800,000 euros and 1,310,000 euros.

The rates then increase progressively on bands of wealth above that level.

The highest rate is 1.8% for the taxable wealth that exceeds 16,790,000 euros.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19464110

Throwing around phrases like "half of his wealth" is just a waste of everyone's time, including your own.

[banned from Kos]

4. The Beatles established residency in Monaco when British taxes became punitive

Tax policy is not something to take lightly.

ETA - According to this it was only Ringo http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/music-taxexiles/1/

But U2, the Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Freddie Mercury all became tax exiles.

[Honeycombe8]

16. McCartney doesn't live in Britain, to begin with. nt

[marmar]

20. He has a residence is East Sussex, England and in Scotland.

[Honeycombe8]

17. Rod Stewart moved to America from Britain years ago, for tax reasons. nt

[laundry_queen]

58. Then he's a greedy asshole too. Nt

[Honeycombe8]

62. Not in my opinion. A progressive tax makes sense to me, but taxing what a person owns...

after it's already been taxed when you earned it, makes no sense to me, and is a money grab. It's his money. He earned it.

I'm willing to pay a reasonable tax for government services, like street lights, highways, infrastructure, Medicaid for the poor, subsidies for health care for lower middle income, Medicare, Social Security, etc. But there's a limit to the govt taking what is left after they taxed it reasonably (or heavily) when I earned it.

I believe this, regardless of how much money a person earns or has. The progressive tax takes care of taxing the wealthy more....if we really do progressively tax their income.

And we here in the States get the benefit of Stewart's and others' wealth! Which helps our economy.

[laundry_queen]

69. Well I simply disagree

People are double taxed ALL the time. What suddenly makes that income so special that it doesn't get to be double taxed?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. And JK Rowling, who is at least as rich as they,

Has declared her intention of staying in the UK.

[LTR]

59. I don't blame any of them

Paying a fair share is one thing, but an income tax rate that back in the 60s and 70s ranged at times between 75-90% for top earners was a bit extreme.

[ChazII]

5. Johnny moved too

http://blog.chron.com/celebritybuzz/2011/11/johnny-depp-moves-back-to-america-to-avoid-paying-taxes-in-france/

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. Idiots like that act as if they'd starve if they made ONLY two million dollars a year

instead of four.

The Beatles were only between 19 and 21 years old when they became multi-millionaires, so perhaps you can excuse their attitude, but really...

It's like the online comments in my local paper a few years ago when someone won a large lottery price. Whatever the prize was, the winner would have "only" ten million dollars after taxes, and all the right-wing types were piling on that, talking about how "Obama needs that money more than the winner does" or "The winner is getting cheated."

I got disgusted and posted, "Only ten million dollars? Hmm, I could SO live on that." And I got more "likes" than any of the right-wingers.

[Honeycombe8]

18. People act so high and mighty, when it's not their money. YOu wouldn't want to give away half

the money you earned, either...which, btw, was taxed already when you made it.

It's an oppressive tax, IMO, and totally different from a reasonable tax rate on income. Taxing a person's wealth is just a grab by the govt. of someone else's money that that person made. There's no basis in reason for it, like there is in income tax.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. Really? Who's acting high and mighty?

The person who isn't willing to pay for the society that makes his wealth possible, or the person who points out that the lottery winner in the high tax bracket will still have 2000 times the US median annual income to retire on?

Depardieu and the other wealthy can easily lose their sense of perspective and forget how much luck plays a part in a person's success.

[Warren Stupidity]

30. So you think estate taxes should be abolished?

Oh and the "reason for it", is that the widepsread accumulation of wealth is only possible within a functioning society with a functioning government. Otherwise we could just revert to despotism and feudalism and wealth accumulation would require private armies to protect that wealth.

[HiPointDem]

32. the money was taxed when you made it? how's that?

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. So, estate taxes should go away too?

Really?

Excuse me for saying this, but greed is at the heart of our problems.

[Chan790]

45. I would.

If the only roadblock I faced was a 1.8% wealth-tax and a 48% income tax...alors je serais tombée de la nuit parisienne.

Adieu.

[Egalitarian Thug]

49. Well there you go again, exposing your true nature and projecting it on others.

Before Clinton/Bush wrecked the economy, I paid over $60K a year in income taxes and was happy that I made so much that I could.

My only complaint was that so much of that money was wasted on corporate welfare when there were many other places it was, and still is, needed.

[Democracyinkind]

54. Get a clue ...

Or stop lying... Whatever it is you're doing here. Pure bigotry, stereotypes, severly lacking facts. Where do you get your info about Europe? The John Birch Society?

[HangOnKids]

57. Oh Good Gawd I Am Applauding!

[Starry Messenger]

7. Bon Voyage.

My partner got incredibly sick from drinking water in Brussels. Good luck dude.

[CTyankee]

23. That's horrible. I was just in Brussels in October and found it incredibly advanced. I'm surprised

to hear that she got sick. My travel buddy and I took trains to Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp and never had a problem anywhere we went...that's disturbing. Did you figure out where the problem was?

[Starry Messenger]

70. He, actually.

We don't know. He came home and was sick for four days. He drank copious amounts of tap water from the hotel across the street from the airport. When he checked in it was too late to get dinner, so it wasn't food.

[CTyankee]

71. I am wondering if he was in contact with a bad virus on his flight home. I had a similar problem

on a trip to northern Italy. Very soon after getting there, getting really sick and it was a virus tearing through our group. A doc in our group said he thought it was probably contracted on the flight coming over. Thank god I travel with packs of Immodium.

[Starry Messenger]

72. He's usually pretty hardy, with an immune system of steel.

We were both surprised by how debilitated he was as soon as he started his trip home and after. Hard to say. I am pissed enough with M. Depardieu to hope that it might be something visited on him, but he probably drinks bottled water.

[CTyankee]

74. I've never had a problem in the western European countries I have visited.

But I am wary of those flights over and back. Lots of people in very close quarters. I am careful about washing my hands a lot on those flights. And actually the flight over/back from Belgium were the least crowded ones I have been on (to Europe) with the exception of an Air France flight to and from Paris. I loved the Air France Airbus.

[Enrique]

8. France will survive

[Nye Bevan]

9. Wow. Who would have thought that when France imposed a 75% tax rate on the rich,

that rich people would move out of France (bearing in mind that French citizens have the right of abode anywhere in the EU)?

I'm just flabbergasted.

[RobertEarl]

10. Weeds out the selfish

I'm sure the French people will be glad to see them leave. Good way to weed out the greedy bastards.

[Nye Bevan]

11. I guess US states could use the same approach.

For example, NJ could raise its top state income tax rate to 30%. The combined Federal plus state top rate of 70% or so would certainly cause any rich selfish bastards to leave the state.

[RobertEarl]

12. And go where?

How else are we ever going to pay for corporate welfare if we don't tax the corporate gold diggers who are getting the most benefits from government?

IOW, who else can we tax besides the rich?

[Honeycombe8]

19. It's not greed. Would YOU want to pay income tax on money you earned, then additional

heavy tax on what you OWN, which was taxed already in the past? That's a money grab, not an income tax based on reason and necessity.

I would move in a heartbeat, and so would you, if we were able to.

Think about it. You own a house and a car. Besides the other permits and license fees you pay, the govt then wants you to pay it 30% of the VALUE of those things. Nonsense. I'd move. Oppressive and a money grab.

[RobertEarl]

35. You against property tax?

You should be happy in Somalia then.

[Honeycombe8]

63. I said the govt tax was ABOVE the other fees and taxes for property & $ you own. You against

a tax on the $1,000 sitting in your savings account? If not, you can move to France!

[muriel_volestrangler]

40. Stop making things up - it makes you look ridiculous

Now you've pulled "30%" out of your arse. The figure is 1.8%.

[Honeycombe8]

65. Actually, it's not 1.8%. But in any case, it's a stupid tax. France is the ONLY European country

that still has that tax.

It causes so many people to leave France, that it actually takes away money from the government. Stupid.

A wealth tax is a stupid idea, IMO. Just a money grab. Increase the income tax, if you want to get more $ from people.

[Chan790]

46. "heavy tax on what you OWN" = wealth-tax of 1.8%?

Yes, I'd pay that if I got citizenship in an EU nation and to live someplace with socialized medicine and a decent standard of living.

[Honeycombe8]

66. Many people get those benefits w/o having to pay that tax. Taht's not what the tax is for.

France is the only European country left that still has that tax. It's a tax of wealth, not FOR anything, just for the purpose of taking it and preventing the person from accumulating even more wealth. It's a stupid tax,IMO. As evidenced by the fact that the other countries have stopped it, and people move from France because of it.

If a tax doesn't result in more money to the govt, as in the case of the wealth tax, then it serves no purpose except for punishment.

[Democracyinkind]

56. I pay all of the above and am not "oppressed"

Actually, I'm quite happy as it is, knowing what those taxes fund ( and doubly so, considering how wasteful those taxes would be spent in the US on an ineffective war machine and corporate welfare...)


While I am "opressed" by the US to pay taxes on income that is already locally taxed. Funny how the world works...

[Honeycombe8]

67. Those taxes don't fund anything. It's estimated that France loses $2B a year...

because of the tax, from people leaving France to avoid paying it. That's why Sweden and all the other European countries who used to have a wealth tax have stopped it. France is the only one that still does it...and it decreased the tax.

You do not pay a wealth tax here in the U.S. There is no such tax here.

I wonder how you'd feel if your $10,000 in savings were taxed by teh government. Not the 1% investment income. But the $10k you saved. I expect you'd be unhappy about taht. It serves no purpose, except to punish you for saving.

[Democracyinkind]

73. I live in Europe. Pay income, wealth tax.

Your hypotheticals are lost on me. I'm living it and I'm so totally getting the better deal, no matter how much that irks you.

This thread makes it apparent that you haven't gotten the faintest idea of what you are talking about. Just rumors and other "I heard that..." nonsense... No more wealth tax my ass... It's true that there has been a trend away from them.. France, Norway and Switzerland still have it, and there's a good chance that the Spaniards and the Germans are going to reintroduce it. By the way... France, Norway, Switzerland... Does something about that list jump at you (hint: eurocrisis?) ... Wealth tax is the way to go, where I live, it's here to stay, and no one feels oppressed.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

25. 75% MARGINAL rate

Not 75% of everything. They'll still have plenty.

[Nye Bevan]

28. Maybe. But when people can save millions a yearby relocating from Paris

to London or Belgium, is it really that surprising when they choose to do so?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

36. If they can "save millions," then they're already more fortunate than 99.9%

of their fellow citizens. They need to get over themselves.

They remind me of the crybaby rich woman in Oregon who wrote a letter to the editor of The Oregonian that began, "I pay $100,000 a year in income taxes, but I'm not rich."

Sure you aren't. Maybe you're not rich in comparison to Bill Gates, but in comparison to 99% of Oregonians, you're rolling in it.

[HiPointDem]

33. please give evidence of this 75% rate, because my research says top rate = 48% & only for

income over 500K euros.

[Nye Bevan]

34. .

http://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=france+75%25+tax&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGLL_enUS387US388&ie=UTF-8

[HiPointDem]

37. that's a temporary marginal rate on income over a million euro. not on all his income.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=france+75%25+tax&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGLL_enUS387US388&ie=UTF-8#hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1B3GGLL_enUS387US388&sclient=psy-ab&q=france+75%25+tax+marginal+rate&oq=france+75%25+tax+marginal+rate&gs_l=serp.3..0i8.29007.31104.1.31269.14.14.0.0.0.0.238.2628.0j7j6.13.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.IilU0w-7DB4&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=36ad7c0967172426&bpcl=39650382&biw=1024&bih=580

[Nye Bevan]

38. OK. So if someone earns 10 million euro, they will pay 75% tax on 9 million of that.

So the rational thing is to move to London (temporarily, if it turns out that the tax is really only temporary) to save about 2.7 million euro. The tax savings could easily pay for the cost of a London apartment, with money left over.

[HiPointDem]

41. the logical thing is to renounce your citizenship, since the reason for the temporary tax is

france's fiscal emergency. depardieu doesn't want to help, fine, let him become a brit them, but quit leeching off the french dime, including its rather significant subsidies to the arts.

for me the logical thing is never to pay to watch one of his films, the fat drunk.

[Nye Bevan]

42. I don't think that's necessary, as I believe that the tax is based upon residency, not citizenship

(unlike the US).

[HiPointDem]

44. i don't care what it's based on; if you won't pay taxes in a fiscal emergency when you are more

than capable, you should lose your citizenship and all benefits derived from taxes other people are forced to pay in your stead.

[Chan790]

47. agreed. +1 n/t

[Nye Bevan]

50. What do you think about people who move from NY or NJ to Florida or New Hampshire

to reduce their state income tax from 9% to zero? Do these people deserve equal contempt for abandoning NY and NJ to these states' fiscal emergencies?

[Mass]

13. The guy is a moron and a drunk.

I remember, when I lived in Paris, that he ran into me when rushing out of the restaurant, nearly knocked me down (I am about 5' and 110 lbs), and then continue without excusing himself.

In addition, he has always been very right wing, close to the FN. Good riddance.

[pinboy3niner]

14. And public urinator

Which led to a classic AC360 giggle segment on CNN...

[obamanut2012]

68. And a self-admitted rapist

Then got ticked when people called him one. Because, well, it was "rape."

[xchrom]

21. and france is relieved to be rid of such a boor. nt

[MrScorpio]

22. Compared to France, much of Belgium is underdeveloped

I've been to France, Germany and BENELUX and in that entire region. But unlike everywhere else, Belgium still looks like it's recovering from the last war.

You get what you pay for, I imagine.

[Nye Bevan]

29. Top tax rate in London is 45%. Many French are moving there (nt)

[librechik]

27. Liberte, oui, but forget about the fraternite and especially the egalite--typical

if the rich don't want to be hated, they know what they can do.

[GoldenOldie]

51. Please check out US Tax Rates paid during late 1940 - 1950's

This is the period when Interstate Highways, and much of our infrastructure growth was accomplished......new schools built, VA college benefits/college grads, home ownership, along with re-building Europe. My hourly salary during the early 50's, was $.70 an hour. At that time the extremely wealthy were paying up to 90%. We all shared in the hardships of the pre and post-war and our Nation thrived.

Now, the Mitt Romney's who are multi-billionaires/millionaires are bitching because they arehaving to pay as little as 15% on a small portion of their wealth, but hiding the majority of their wealth in Foreign countries. Because of the lust for more money and power we now lay claim to crumbling infrastucture....roads, bridges, schools, and lives. and it is accepted.....because "they built," their wealth????

[librechik]

52. exactly--we are being punked big-time

I'm sick of their lies and procrastination while they collect extraordinary benefits!

[Rex]

48. Awww those poorwittle wich people having

to move so they don't have to cough up money. Makes me want to...nah I don't really care, they can all go jump off a cliff for all I care.

[Nye Bevan]

53. I don't think they are looking for sympathy. They are simply moving out (nt)

[Rex]

55. Who cares, I cannot even believe this is news.

Rich spoiled brats won't eat their peas...news at 10.

[Shivering Jemmy]

60. What should be done?

?

[Rex]

61. Ignore it.

What rich people do is tabloid news. So I guess someone should be informed. What should be done? Let those that have no shame be.