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Go Johnny Go
French rock legend Johnny Hallyday is at the centre of another scandal. This time there's not a dolly bird or rolled-up fifty Euro dotted with suspicious powder to be seen: The 63 year-old rocker has fled France, seeking tax exile in Switzerland.
"Like many people in France, I have had enough of paying these ridiculous taxes," Hallyday told French TV, "That's it, I've made my decision."
Hallyday's main complaint refers to France's wealth tax, which can rise to up to 1.8 percent of a person's assets, as well as income tax levels which he claims swallows nearly 70 percent of his earnings.
In recent years, "Johnny", as the French call him, has been looking into claiming Belgian citizenship (his father is Belgian). Up to last year, he assured fans that he was determined to remain French - the move to Gstaad, in Switzerland, allows him to keep his nationality while giving up his residency status. He must spend a day more than six months every year there in order to avoid French taxes - hardly a struggle for the gregarious superstar, particularly as Switzerland, like Belgium, teems with French tax exiles. Up to 100,000 French citizens have fled the wealth tax - which kicks in when assets reach a value of just under $1 million.
As property values can count towards assets taxed, many French people have found themselves counted as wealthy as their homes, particularly if they are in picturesque villages, have soared in value.
The tax was introduced by Francois Mitterand's government. While state officials admit it is counterproductive - it costs more to police than it earns, while it drives billions of euros overseas every year - it has powerful symbolic value.
The government has taken to warning taxpayers - who make up only 50 percent of the population - that forking out to the state is a "patriotic duty."
The scandal quickly became political. Johnny is a prominent supporter of centre-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential bid. Francois Hollande, leader of the socialists and partner of the PS contender Ségolène Royal, quipped "That's a nice way to support your candidate" when he heard of the news.
Royal, for her part, threatens to crack down on wealth tax evasion if she wins the presidency.
However, Johnny might not have to vote with his feet if his man wins next spring. One of Sarko's aims if elected president is to bring France up to date with its European neighbours by abolishing the wealth tax - something even Dominque de Villepin, who describes himself as a fan of Johnny Hallyday, has refused to countenance.
France's finance minister Thierry Breton has announced that from January 2009, French taxpayers will have their tax payments deducted "at source". Currently, taxpayers have to declare their earnings annually and are presented with a bill the following autumn (though tax payments are split into three separate payouts). The new system, a kind of Pay As You Earn setup, will simplify life for voters and also give the state the opportunity to get its hands on workers earnings earlier: As Breton pointed out in an interview discussing the change, taxes for the year 2009 will be coming in before 2008's tax is paid in full...
