[desdiv]

From your second link:

>Speculation is rampant that the move has allowed Depardieu to shift his legal residence to Belgium to dodge the 75% tax on income over $1.27 million that Socialist President François Hollande will apply as of 2013 as part of his response to France’s debt crisis.

Two things stand out:

1. Depardieu is avoiding a hit on his future income. The story is from 2012 talking about a future French tax hike in 2013. Avoiding tax on past income i.e. unrealized capital gains would be much harder I believe.

2. The story doesn't mention capital gains at all. I'm specifically interested in cases where people have successfully avoided a capital gains tax.

[charlesdm]

As long as the country you live in does not levy an "exit" tax of some sorts (on the individual, not the company), you should be able to move. Only the individual shareholder is moving, you are not moving the company abroad.

This is a relevant article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2001-07-22/if-youre-w.... It's from 2001, but still relevant today.

Another article, specifically on Belgium: http://www.bespaarbelastingen.be/algemeen/belgium-tax-haven/

Third: http://www.wealthprotectionreport.co.uk/public/704.cfm

This law does not just apply on the disposition of shares, but on nearly all types of assets, with the exception of property.