Johnny Depp quits France over tax

Pirates star says country "has made me very happy" but he will not give up American citizenship

PIRATES of the Carribean star Johnny Depp has said he is quitting France even although he says in an interview in the December issue of The Connexion it is a "country that has made me very happy - the culture, the feeling of the place".

Depp, long-time partner Vanessa Paradis and their two children have moved back to the US and he said in an interview with The Guardian it was because France wanted him to become a permanent resident - and to pay taxes.

As an American citizen he has to pay US taxes wherever he is in the world and said that if he spent more than 183 days in France a year he would have to pay French and US taxes. He told the paper's Decca Aitkenhead: "So, you essentially work for free."

He added: "I'm certainly not ready to give up my American citizenship. You don't have to give up your American citizenship.”