The decision by France’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, to seek Belgian citizenship has created a media frenzy over tax exiles, giving the increasingly unpopular Socialist President Francois Hollande a chance to grandstand.
Arnault, the chief executive officer of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world’s biggest luxury-goods company, said his “personal action” is not aimed at sending a political message or escaping Hollande’s 75 percent tax on earnings of more than 1 million euros ($1.28 million). Still, Liberation newspaper yesterday ran a front-page headline that said “Get lost, rich bastard,” and Hollande in a televised interview on Sept. 9 said it’s patriotic to pay taxes.
Via BusinessWeek
