'Famous actors' do not pay taxes in Spain, says Montoro

SPAIN / Madrid Cristóbal Montoro, Minister for Taxes (Hacienda), said recently at a session in the Senate that 'some famous actors' do not pay taxes in Spain. He mentioned no names, and none could be elicited from him at interviews afterwards. His statement comes after numerous prize winners at Spain's equivalent of the Oscars, the Goya Awards, made their opinions about the Rajoy government and the number of corruption cases now appearing, known to the audience. Montoro said, "We do not have our Depardieu (a reference to the French star who moved to Belgium to avoid taxes) - we haven't needed to." He defended the government's efforts in its fight against tax evasion, which, he added, "has benefited the whole society" and which in 2012 amounted to €11,500 million, 10% more than the previous year.