73-year-old Tina Turner will be granted Swiss citizenship, reports say. She has decided to give up her U.S. citizen card, making her move to the European country official.
Turner and partner Erwin Bach, a music manager and German native, moved to Zurich more than 15 years ago, in the mid-1990s. They reside at the lake-side Chateau Algonquin, in the suburb of Kuesnacht.
According to the
Daily Mail, the singer has filed for citizenship in Switzerland and has already passed a civics test and an interview with authorities.
Although the town council has approved her documentation, she is still waiting for a response from state and federal officials.
“I'm very happy in Switzerland and I feel at home here. I cannot imagine a better place to live,” she says.
Her agent has announced her decision to legally “clarify her situation,” adding that she will be renouncing her U.S. passport.
“Tina Turner will therefore also give back her US citizenship,” she says.
Naysayers suggested that she planned to make the move official for tax reasons, however Forbes magazine has noted that taxes in Switzerland are too steep to justify the decision.
“There’s little to suggest taxes motivate the decision, and Swiss rates are high,” they wrote.
The move has left many at home bewildered, including the mayor in her hometown of Brownsville, Tennessee.
“I think anytime a person, whether they’re world-renowned or the most meek and mild, makes the decision to change their citizenship we need to step back and think what causes that decision,” mayor Jo Matherne told reporters.
“We’ve been in recent contact with some of her people talking about some projects we have in Brownsville,” stressing that the singer is still involved in giving back to the community.
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