Former French President Sarkozy may leave country to avoid high taxes

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy may be planning to move out of the country to London to avoid a potential 75 percent tax rate.

The move would be made to set up a billion-dollar investment fund, according to materials recovered in a raid on Sarkozy’s home in June, Mediapart reports, cited in the London Evening Standard.

Sarkozy is under investigation in France over allegations that he took money from L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt to bankroll his 2007 presidential election campaign.

However, Alain Minc, an adviser to Sarkozy, told French newspaper Le Figaro that he doesn’t think the move will happen, according to The Connexion.

He said it was “absurd to imagine he might go and live in London and stop paying taxes in France.”

The announcement of the Sarkozy move comes French actor Gerard Depardieu received Russian citizenship to avoid the potential tax rates.

Click for more from the London Evening Standard.