dollarvigilante.com / By Justin O’Connell / January 9, 2013
The fourth-richest man in the world, worth $41 billion according to Forbes, is not all that savvy when it comes to picking the right nations in which to store wealth. France’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, would have done himself some good by subscribing to The Dollar Vigilante before embarking upon his current fiasco or, for that matter, reading any of the freedom press available on the Internet.
In recent weeks, a report from the French daily De Morgen, saying that Arnault cannot become Belgian, topped news in both Belgium and France, as Belgian MP Georges Dallamagne cautioned the paper was merely expressing an opinion, albeit an “opinion [that] is not surprising given that we all know that Mr. Arnault has not lived in Belgium for three years,” he added.
The paper claimed that the interior ministry’s Office for Foreigners had turned down the request on the grounds Arnault had not resided in Belgium for the required three years. But, Dallemagne riposted that this was not grounds alone to dismiss the request. For now, Dallemagne’s committee would “study the opinion” of the Office for Foreigners, but described it as solely an “administrative body.” The law in regards to the request clearly states that “in the absence of three years of residence we can grant citizenship if the applicant has ‘real links’ with Belgium,” Dallemagne added. Although Mr. Arnault has denied that his request is tax-related – namely, to avoid a proposed 75% tax on millionaires – the world’s fourth-richest man would have done better getting away from the disintegrating Eurozone out in the former periphery of Western civilization.
Not only could Mr Arnault be denied Belgian citizenship, but the 75% tax rate proposed for France’s top tax bracket, introduced by Communist President Francois Hollande, has been rejected by France’s constitutional council. Raising taxes for many in France (those making one million euros and more) has been a central policy objective of Hollande.
