€9m tax bill for Johnny Hallyday

TAX EXILE rocker Johnny Hallyday has received a tax demand for €9 million, according to Canard Enchaîné.

The demand for unpaid tax comes after a year-long investigation by the Brigade Nationale des Enquêtes Fiscales.

Hallyday last night started his 2012 tour in Los Angeles, his first public engagements since his latest health battles, and his press agent told reporters they had "no comment to make at the moment".

Tax inspectors were said to have found a network of companies with transfers of funds and holdings to Luxembourg and Liberia.

Hallyday has been battling the taxman for the past 30 years and more and has been resident in Switzerland since 2007.

There he falls under a very favourable tax regime for his earnings. However, the vast bulk of his business activities and earnings are in France and fall under French law.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, a friend of the star, has said previously that there were problems in the French tax system if it made the richest people leave the country.
Photo: Georges Biard