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Sally Eli vehiclesshockme
7:12 am - 01/03/2013

Gerard Depardieu Granted Russian Citizenship to Avoid Paying Taxes

Gerard Depardieu, the French actor who has waged a battle against a proposed super-tax on millionaires in his native country, has been granted Russian citizenship.

A brief announcement on the Kremlin website revealed that President Vladimir Putin signed the citizenship grant on Thursday.

The former Oscar nominee and star of the movie "Green Card" has been vocal in his opposition to French President Francois Hollande’s plans to raise the tax on earned income above (EURO)1 million ($1.33 million) to 75 percent from the current high of 41 percent.

"I have never killed anyone, I don’t think I’ve been unworthy, I’ve paid (EURO)145 million in taxes over 45 years," Depardieu wrote in an open letter in mid-December to Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who had called the actor "pathetic."

"I will neither complain nor brag, but I refuse to be called `pathetic," Depardieu wrote in his response.

( Insert ''In Soviet Russia'' joke hereCollapse )

Source
Not someone that I would normally post about but I keep seeing this story everywhere and it progressively gets more and more ridiculous each time. The 75% tax on the super rich apparently didn't pass but Gerard said that it changed nothing and he still is leaving France because of it. Mostly this reminded me that the movie 'Green Card' existed and that I probably haven't seen it in ten years or more and I'm adding it to my Netflix queue.
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in_suburb 3rd-Jan-2013 02:38 pm (UTC)
I think he still has to pay taxes to the French government as long as he's in France?
in_suburb 3rd-Jan-2013 02:44 pm (UTC)
He's going to move to Russia? I'm confused.
childish 3rd-Jan-2013 04:04 pm (UTC)
He's going to be a Russian citizen legally now, and has given up his French citizenship.
x_butterfly19_x 3rd-Jan-2013 02:44 pm (UTC)
lol
missjersey 3rd-Jan-2013 02:48 pm (UTC)
I'll always remember him in "The Man in the Iron Mask" and "My Father, The Hero".
age_of_green 3rd-Jan-2013 02:49 pm (UTC)
At least France can get away with actually doing this, while the majority of the American government panics at the mere mention of taxes. Never mind that most of the population would benefit instead of pay them.

I thought Russia was still a mess for the average person to live in though.
crimps4 3rd-Jan-2013 05:09 pm (UTC)
He's not the average person, though. And I think he's living in Belgium anyways.
darkbloom 3rd-Jan-2013 07:04 pm (UTC)
The US has historically raised taxes on the rich even higher than 75% to get it through hard times.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_history_of_the_United_States#Development_of_the_modern_income_tax
saturdaysinbed 3rd-Jan-2013 02:50 pm (UTC)
75% is a fuckton of money though. there should have been more stipulations to the tax because there are people that hoard their money but there are people who donate it to charity or use their money to create employment. but at the end of the day, he's still a dick. didn't he pee on a plane?
in_suburb 3rd-Jan-2013 03:16 pm (UTC)
I think donations are usually tax deductible or something, though?
paarycia 3rd-Jan-2013 05:46 pm (UTC)
They are in France ;)
janacjb 3rd-Jan-2013 02:55 pm (UTC)
Cool, maybe he can adopt the thousands of Russian children who are now being forced to live in orphanages instead of raised in loving families.
x_butterfly19_x 3rd-Jan-2013 02:57 pm (UTC)
I doubt it's 75% on his whole income.

Whatever.
xdecadentx 3rd-Jan-2013 03:00 pm (UTC)
75% of what's earned over €1 million.

So if he makes €10million a year, €9million will be taxed at 75%.
x_butterfly19_x 3rd-Jan-2013 03:01 pm (UTC)
That is still incredibly steep steep, but he'll still be left with more than what most of the country earn in a year.

This isn't permanent, right?

*is fuzzy on details*
cluelessraf 3rd-Jan-2013 02:58 pm (UTC)
Didn't that other young actor do the same thing? I forgot his name.
ponpiri 3rd-Jan-2013 03:05 pm (UTC)
Goodamn he got big!
mementox 3rd-Jan-2013 03:06 pm (UTC)
75% tax is kind of insane. Yeah he's rich but he earned that money.

Also damn I thought France's debt burden sounded high til I looked this up

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/774/economics/list-of-national-debt-by-country/

DANG JAPAN WUTCHU DOIN
pacificway 3rd-Jan-2013 03:16 pm (UTC)
Thanks for the link - Canada is higher than the UK? (barely) Blows my mind - Harper is ruining us.
ediesedgwick 3rd-Jan-2013 03:28 pm (UTC)
Canada has one of the worst debt loads in the world now and an economy that fucks over young people, so we'll continue to get poorer as our population ages. We're fucked.
in_suburb 3rd-Jan-2013 03:19 pm (UTC)
ugh..
evridis 3rd-Jan-2013 03:23 pm (UTC)
HAhahhaha the USs is higher than ours??? And everyone keeps whining about our debt lmao

But yeah jfc Japan o.O
ponpiri 3rd-Jan-2013 03:24 pm (UTC)
Thank you for the link.
lady_mercury 3rd-Jan-2013 05:57 pm (UTC)
this country (japan) is a hot mess. and its such a consumerist society. idek
nene718 3rd-Jan-2013 08:44 pm (UTC)
lol damn
kurtvonnegut 3rd-Jan-2013 03:07 pm (UTC)
why doesn't he just move to america, the super rich here bitch about 25%
mementox 3rd-Jan-2013 03:13 pm (UTC)
IKR
pacificway 3rd-Jan-2013 03:15 pm (UTC)
Then there are all kinds of loopholes - didn't Romney pay just 14% one year?
kurtvonnegut 3rd-Jan-2013 03:21 pm (UTC)
lol yep. plus it's not like he'll have a visa problem, he's not brown.
ediesedgwick 3rd-Jan-2013 03:30 pm (UTC)
Also he only took half his deductions in 2011 so he'll get some of that 14% back
tobesurrounded 3rd-Jan-2013 03:48 pm (UTC)
there's no wonder americuh is in deep in dept. time to raise the taxes.
windsong_moon 3rd-Jan-2013 03:14 pm (UTC)
I don't see what's unreasonable about 75% tax on everything over a million...
wauwy 3rd-Jan-2013 03:16 pm (UTC)
DEAR SWEET GOD.



PUT DOWN THE BAGUETTE.
peddlestools 3rd-Jan-2013 05:19 pm (UTC)
he bought crates filled with his fave french cheese to take w. him to belgium
sugarcrawler 3rd-Jan-2013 06:38 pm (UTC)
lol irl
londonshowers 3rd-Jan-2013 08:21 pm (UTC)
eh he's at that age where no fucks are given
can't wait to get there myself
pretty_hostel 3rd-Jan-2013 11:50 pm (UTC)
I'm actually so excited to reach that age where i can just stop giving a fuck and be all EAT AN ENTIRE CAKE FOR BREAKFAST DON'T MIND IF I DO
my grandfather is at that stage right now he puts ice cream on his cereal
wauwy 3rd-Jan-2013 03:19 pm (UTC)
How ironic that France is more socialist than Russia nao, too.

Edited at 2013-01-03 03:19 pm (UTC)
imonthelist 3rd-Jan-2013 03:21 pm (UTC)
MTE!
thelovehater 3rd-Jan-2013 03:25 pm (UTC)
Lots of people are going to leave as a result, but it is not like the government didn't know that going into this. I can't even judge because I am sweating bullets over the tax changes that are coming up soon.

Obvs I'm not a multi-millionaire with the luxury of leaving a place for tax reasons, but money makes people do all sorts of drastic things.
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