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French rocker Hallyday must wait longer for Belgian passport
2007-03-07
Veteran French rock star Johnny Hallyday will have to wait another six months to find out whether he will be granted a Belgian passport, which critics say he covets for tax purposes. "There are elements, notably financial, which have been reported in the press and which we wish to verify," Belgian MP Guy Hove, the head of the Belgian parliament's naturalisation committee, said Tuesday, adding the MPs wanted to be sure of "his sincerity". Hallyday, 63, is one of a string of famous French nationals who have upped sticks in order to avoid the country's high taxes. In December he admitted that he was effectively an economic migrant. "Like many French people, I've had enough of the taxes we are forced to pay and this is it, I've made my choice," he told a French radio station. The Elvis-influenced singer, who has sold 100 million records over the past 40 years, already lives part of the year at his Swiss chalet in the ski resort of Gstaad. In Paris, the singer's press service issued a statement saying he still hoped his application would succeed. "Johnny Hallyday maintains (his demand for Belgian nationality) and remains confident in the commission's decision, given the sincerity of his motives," his press service said. The Belgian naturalisation committee, made up of 17 MPs, had a long discussion on the Hallyday case before deciding, by majority decision, that it needed six more months to look into the situation Hove said. Recent newspaper reports have suggested that Hallyday wants to become Belgian so that he can then go and live in Monaco, where Belgian citizens enjoy tax advantages unavailable to the French. The singer denies the charge. In order to gain Belgian residency he should in principle have his primary residence in the country for at least three years. France's most famous rock singer was born Jean-Philippe Smet in Paris on June 15, 1943 of a French mother and a Belgian father. The Belgian family link apart, Belgian legislation "allows nationality to be granted to people who raise the prestige of the country through their activities, for example scientific, artistic or sporting," said Socialist MP Mohammed Boukourna. Other French personalities who chosen to live abroad include actor Alain Delon, actor/singer Charles Aznavour, former formula one champion Alain Prost and tennis champion Amelie Mauresmo.
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