Johnny to Become Belgian - Shock

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Perhaps everyone already knows this, but it came as a shock to me. I

quote from the BBC website (which I rarely read in detail these days

because it is usually so DULL):

Quote

French icon wants to be Belgian

French rock icon Johnny Hallyday is bidding to become a Belgian citizen.

The 62-year-old singer lodged a naturalisation application in November last year, Belgian officials confirmed.

Pierre-Dominique Schmidt, the country's ambassador in

Paris, told Belgian newspaper La Derniere Heure: "He adores France...

but he has our spirit."

Hallyday, real name Jean-Philippe Smet, whose father was Belgian, only recently realised he did not have dual nationality.

According to the ambassador, Hallyday had presumed he had dual nationality.

But his father, Leon Smet, had not been married to his

mother but another woman at the time of Hallyday's birth and so could

not pass on his citizenship.

Mr Schmidt said it would take between 15 and 18 months

to make a decision, adding that under Belgian law Hallyday would have

to give up his French passport.

"Johnny's decision, to put it simply, comes from the heart," he added.

The singer helped introduce rock 'n' roll to France and has been an icon in the country for decades.

French culture minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres said "Vive Europe - but for me,

he is French."

The move follows several lengthy court battles involving the singer once dubbed the French Elvis.

A legal wrangle with his record label, Universal,

resulted in his departure from the company last week after 43 years to

join rival Warner Music.

An investigation into an allegation of rape made against

Hallyday by a former employee in 2003 was also finalised this week,

with no charges being brought against the singer.

End Quote

Appearantly this is nothing to do with Belgium imposing neither Capital

Gains Tax nor "Wealthy Tax" upon its citizens (or so I am informed by a

friend who has enough money to be worried about such things).

[LesLauriers]

No, nothing to do with wealth tax. !

[Val_2]

The people round here are Johnny nuts so had better keep our heads down and not mention his name as the fur is sure to fly when they discover this fact.

[Clair]

[quote user="jond"]French icon wants to be Belgian

French rock icon Johnny Hallyday is bidding to become a Belgian citizen.

Appearantly this is nothing to do with Belgium imposing neither Capital

Gains Tax nor "Wealthy Tax" upon its citizens (or so I am informed by a

friend who has enough money to be worried about such things).

[/quote]

According to the French online paper I've read this morning (La dépêche du Midi), as he would still be living in France (so a French resident), the tax question would not apply anyway...

[Opalienne]

I spend time in Belgium during the week and this has been a big story for the last two days.   According to the Belgian ambassador in Paris Johnny will continue to live in France so he won't escape wealth tax that way.   Though lots of people do do this - there are almost as many Dutch as Belgians living in the far north of Belgium and they are all there to escape Dutch wealth tax.   The ambassador says that with Johnny it's 'une question de coeur'...........