Italian actress Monica Bellucci is adamant her planned move from France to Brazil has nothing to do with an upcoming tax hike which prompted Gerard Depardieu to flee the European country.

French star Depardieu recently moved to neighbouring Belgium and accepted Russian citizenship after fiercely criticising politicians in his home country over plans to implement a 75 per cent tax on France's most wealthy residents.

Bellucci has lived in Paris for many years with her French actor husband Vincent Cassel, but they recently purchased a property in Brazil, prompting fears she too has decided to move abroad to avoid the new tax rates.

However, The Matrix Reloaded star insists they are emigrating to Brazil because they both fell in love with the country many years ago and decided to make a change.

In an interview with Brazil's Vogue magazine, she says, "I fell in love with (this country) 18 years ago. All the places in the world have their problems but I love the way you react to yours - with poetry... Maybe in five years time I will return to Rome, my favourite city, but now my place is here, on the beach, watching people on the streets and feeling the energy of the sea."