Gerard Depardieu and Russian President Vladimir Putin pictured in St. Petersburg in 2010.
France’s most famous movie star, Gerard Depardieu, is giving a big “F*ck You!” to France’s new Socialist goverment’s plans to tax earnings of $1.3 million-plus at a rate of 75 percent.
But the Green Card star isn’t going to be tanning his beautiful man breasts in a tax haven Caribbean island like a normal person. He’s instead being welcomed by the “Democratically” elected leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
Depardieu recently became a citizen of Belgium, a slightly lower-taxed nation, which has been the source of controversy in his homeland.
Putin out-and-about hunting bears, probably.
But now, in an eff-you to arch enemy French President Francois Hollande — and on a slow day with no bears to be killed — President Putin has signed a decree making the Jean De Florette actor a Russian national.
Dmitri Peskov, a spokesman for the bear killer, is reported by the New York Times as saying:
The thing is that Depardieu has been a part of large film projects and has acted many parts, including the part of Rasputin. This film has not been shown here, but it is a very bold and innovative interpretation of the character.
Gerard Depardieu as Russian monk “Rasputin”.
Depardieu sent a letter to a Russian news channel, which read in part:
I adore your country, Russia, your people, your history and your writers, I love your president, Vladimir Putin, very much and it’s mutual.
In a shocking bit of hypocrisy, Depardieu goes on to state that his father was a communist and loved Moscow radio. Wait … don’t communists enjoy paying taxes?
So if Depardieu decides to move to Moscow, he would be removed from the massive French taxes. Currently in Belgium he pays a still huge 60 percent income tax; in Russia it would be a mere 13 percent on income.
The French A-Lister should be sitting pretty drinking vodka and hunting bears with Putin.