Gstaad welcomes Johnny Hallyday

Here at GstaadLife.com, we've watched with some bemusement over the past week how the international press has taken the "Johnny Hallyday affair" and found every possible angle to bash the French government. Unfortunately some of the bashing has even extended to Gstaad. For those of you who haven't read the international pages for a few days, French rock icon Johnny Hallyday (pictured left) has very publicly announced that he is taking up residency in Gstaad to avoid paying what he believes are the onerous levels of taxation to France's dreaded "fisc". Normally such high profile players would talk up the beauty of the region or the need to slow down in life (or wouldn't talk at all), but Hallyday, whose real name is Jean-Phillipe Smet and who already has a chalet and extended family here in Gstaad, publicly denounced the broken promises of his friend and French interior minister, Nicholas Sarkozy, and France's broken taxation system as his reasons for leaving. As some of our readers will know, Hallyday is a pillar of the French music scene (for those of you who don't know him, he's like a French Mick Jagger) who is reported to earn as much as SFr 10 million a year, of which more than 60% goes to the fisc.

No longer, as his residency in Gstaad will allow him to take advantage of CH's famously beneficial tax scheme for wealthy individuals. Sure he'll have to spend at least 6 months and 1 day a year here, but as we all know that should be no hardship (despite the efforts of Le Matin editor-in-chief Peter Rothenbühler to paint Gstaad as boring). And how will anyone know how long he stays? The Gemeinde can initiate enquiries if they have reason to believe abuse, but most importantly the French government has the ability to review credit card transactions and the like to verify his movements (scary). So the big debate rages on in the international press, and according to an announcement yesterday by French finance minister, Thierry Breton, France might even get a new pay-as-you-go taxation system from the furore. Jacques Chirac is disappointed with Hallyday's behavior as a citizen, and the French will probably riot anyway over any changes to the tax code. For us here in Gstaad, we simply say "welcome Johnny, it's nice to have ya...but keep it down won't you?!"

UPDATE December 24 2006: Le Matin Online has an exclusive interview with Hallyday speaking about his move to Gstaad and his reaction to all the recent press attention. Worth a read, even if it smacks of Le Matin making nice after Rothenbühler's editorial and the paper's paparazzi-style coverage of his arrival in Gstaad earlier in the week.

Comments

[los jets]

greetings music