France's wealthiest resident flees taxes

(WASHINGTON TIMES) France’s wealthiest resident has transferred his fortune to Belgium, citing “family inheritance reasons” and the desire to ensure his fortune is passed to his five children when he dies, according to one media report.

Bernard Arnault, the billionaire head of the luxury products group LVMH, has moved his fortune to Belgium, The Daily Mail says.

Alhough Mr. Arnault doesn’t blame France President Francois Hollande’s new 75 percent tax rate on the wealthy as cause for the money transfer, critics do — and coincidentally, he did apply for a Belgian passport as soon as the Socialist Party won elections in 2012, the Daily Mail report notes.