French actor Gerard Depardieu granted Russian citizenship

Depardieu is granted a Russian passport by Vladimir Putin as the actor continues his bid to become a tax exile.

13:22 05 January 2013

French actor Gerard Depardieu, who has been very vocal about his disapproval over his native country’s tax laws on super rich, has been granted a Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin.

 

This news was announced on the Kremlin website where it was confirmed that the citizenship was granted on Thursday. Depardieu is supposedly angered by Francois Hollande’s attempt to increase taxes on the mega-rich to 75per cent. Russia’s tax on income is 13per cent flat. 

 

Depardieu’s representative has declined to comment as to whether the actor had accepted or declined the offer. 

 

The actor, who has made more than 150 films, reportedly said in an open letter in mid-December that he would turn over his passport and French social security card. He later decided to move to tax-friendly Belgium, but the French government slammed this decision. 

 

The tax on millionaires was ruled unconstitutional by the highest court, but the government has promised to resubmit the law in a slightly different form soon. 

 

France civil code states that for someone to give up French citizenship, a person must have another nationality, because being stateless is supposedly unacceptable. Putin’s decision on Thursday seemed to have fulfilled that requirement.