TOS Blog: Daily Commentary from an Objectivist Perspective

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Depardieu Justly Condemns France’s Theft by Taxation

Posted by Ari Armstrong at 11:35 am ET

French actor Gérard Depardieu justly condemned his nation’s 75 percent marginal tax rate, explaining that, in France, “success, creation, talent—difference, in fact—must be punished.” Depardieu renounced his French citizenship and moved to Belgium, where taxes are lower.

Although various French politicians and commentators have harshly criticized Depardieu, the actor deserves praise for his courageous decision to renounce his citizenship in protest of France’s obscene tax rates. Depardieu has produced an extraordinary body of work (IMDB lists his 194 titles) including a version of Cyrano de Bergerac; he has created great wealth in the process; and he has a moral right to keep the product of his effort and to use it as he sees fit.

Depardieu’s panache recalls that of Rostand’s Cyrano, who says, “I know you now, old enemies of mine! Falsehood! Have at you! Ha! and Compromise! . . . Surrender, I? Parley? No, never!”

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Posted in: Taxation

Comments are welcome so long as they are civil.
  • http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Kenny/1485457284 John Kenny

    I don’t think he renounced French citizenship. He did turn over his Fr. passport, but I hear it’s difficult to actually give up French citizenship. Bravo, in any event. I wonder if he rejects the doctrine of “social justice”.

  • Anonymous

    I can’t imagine giving up my U.S. citizenship. Let the freaking Xns and the left give up theirs; I’m stayin’. I don’t think there’s a way in hell to make me feel like a 2nd class citizen. …’em.

  • Anonymous

    Rand sounds nutty and confused about a lot of things, except to the Objectivist dead-enders. But she did have one practical, powerful idea: Society’s producers don’t have to put up with this “giving back” nonsense from abusive governments, when they can shop around for governments in other countries which offer to treat them better. The French socialists in government should study their country’s own history, because Louis XIV damaged France’s economy by revoking toleration for protestants in 1685 and driving out many productive French Huguenots, who took whatever material capital they could salvage, along with the capital in their minds, and moved to other countries which accepted them and let them prosper.

  • Anonymous

    If changing countries for economic freedom was understood in 1685, I don’t see how it was Rand’s powerful idea. “Reason is man’s basic means of survival” is a powerful, even if nutty, Rand idea. Axiomatic concepts at the base of cognition is an even nuttier Rand idea. Aplying them to the problem of religion, is…well…hahaha.

  • Doug

    Throwing out arbitrary charges of being “nutty” is mere ad hominem and does not help make either your or advancedatheist’s point.

  • Anonymous

    Sarcasm Doug – just sarcasm. I almost never do that and it looks like I’m not any good at it.