Recently, Gerard Depardieu, France's most famous actor, announced that he would be moving from France to Belgium in response to the ever increasing French tax rates on the wealthy. This announcement was not met kindly and Depardieu was vilified by the French press, with Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault calling Depardieu “pathetic” and “unpatriotic”.
Depardieu didn't take the attack lying down and fired back a letter to the Prime Minister, returning his French passport and social security card. “We no longer have the same country. I’m a true European, a citizen of the world,” Depardieu wrote. The actor said his 2012 tax bill – 85 percent of his revenue – is fully paid. Depardieu said he’s been working since age 14. In the last 45 years he claims to have paid €145 million ($190 million) in taxes. The letter finished with “I hand over my passport to you and my social security card, which I have never used.”
