Understandably this got some attention in the media. Mrs. Moussaieff and the President were quick to affirm that they were not at all separating, and that the First Lady was not moving permanently to England, "I could never leave Sámur (her dog), Ólafur could visit me but Sámur couldn't" said Mrs. Moussaieff jokingly to reporters.
Mr. and Mrs. President
The law in fact states that a husband and wife should be registered with the same residence, unless they have separated. It has however been reported that the census bureau allows couples to register as formally 'separated' when either spouse has moved and works abroad while the other stays in Iceland.
The First Lady has explained that the reasons for the legal move has to do with her taking over more responsibilities in her family business, a distinguished and old jewelry company, and that since she spends more than 90 days in England, she should be registered with her residence there. (She has not said exactly how much time she stays there and how many days she is in Iceland though, and the press hasn't asked her.) She said her parents were getting quite old and she had started to plan this in the spring of 2012 when she expected that her husband would step down as President. He however announced later that same spring that he would run for a 5th term and was indeed re-elected in June 2012, but that apparently did not change his wife's plans.
In August of last year it was reported that the First Lady paid no wealth tax in Iceland. The Moussaieff family fortune is worth tens of millions of pounds. "The income and property of Mrs. Moussaieff is abroad and is taxed abroad" said in a very short response from the President's office to Viðskiptablaðið, who broke the story. I cannot find whether Viðskiptablaðið or any other news media ever asked a tax lawyer whether this seemed ok.
When asked about the residence move, Mrs. Moussaieff insisted this had nothing at all to do with taxes. It was further reported that the couple's tax advisor is a former director of the Tax Office.
However, the day before yesterday, it was reported that the Ministry of Finance is investigating the tax issues of the First Lady. The Ministry has however declined to give any details, as this concerns an investigation into private matters.
As an interesting anecdote to this story, it may be added that the President himself was the minister of Finance in the years 1988-1991, and earned the nickname 'Skattmann' (Taxman).
"Skattmann" scene from the New Year's Eve TV Satire show in 1989
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