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18 Mar 2013
Cyprus bank deposit tax to be voted on Monday
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - After early reports suggested that Cyprus's parliament would decide on Sunday the fate for thousands of small savers in the country, whose deposit are being threatened with a hugely injustice 6.75% tax on deposits as part of a deal struck between the Eurozone and the government, final talks were postponed until Monday, Reuters reports.
Unless the levy is ratified by parliament, where no party enjoys a majority, President Nicos Anastasiades has been very bold on his comments, saying that Cyprus's two largest banks would collapse.
Markets have been acting as if the levy on bank deposit is a done deal, which appears to be as Cyprus looks like being totally cornered, the Associated Press and Reuters note that with approval from this unpopular act of robbery is far from certain.
According to AP: "Cyprus' president said Sunday that he is trying to amend an unpopular euro zone bailout plan that would tax deposits in the country's banks to reduce its effect on small savers."
"I completely share the unpleasant sentiment that this difficult and onerous decision has caused," Anastasiades said, AP cites.
"That's why I continue to battle so that the decisions of the eurozone are amended in the next hours to limit the effect on small depositors."
At the same time, Mr. Anastasiades urged lawmakers to approve the tax as otherwise the country would go bust. The choice is between "the catastrophic scenario of disorderly bankruptcy or the scenario of a painful but controlled management of the crisis," President Anastasiades said in a written statement, Reuters reports.
According to Reuters: "The Cypriot government was on Sunday discussing with lenders the possibility of changing the levy to 3.0 percent for deposits below 100,000 euros, and to 12.5 percent for above that sum, a source close to the consultations told Reuters on condition of anonymity."
Unless the levy is ratified by parliament, where no party enjoys a majority, President Nicos Anastasiades has been very bold on his comments, saying that Cyprus's two largest banks would collapse.
Markets have been acting as if the levy on bank deposit is a done deal, which appears to be as Cyprus looks like being totally cornered, the Associated Press and Reuters note that with approval from this unpopular act of robbery is far from certain.
According to AP: "Cyprus' president said Sunday that he is trying to amend an unpopular euro zone bailout plan that would tax deposits in the country's banks to reduce its effect on small savers."
"I completely share the unpleasant sentiment that this difficult and onerous decision has caused," Anastasiades said, AP cites.
"That's why I continue to battle so that the decisions of the eurozone are amended in the next hours to limit the effect on small depositors."
At the same time, Mr. Anastasiades urged lawmakers to approve the tax as otherwise the country would go bust. The choice is between "the catastrophic scenario of disorderly bankruptcy or the scenario of a painful but controlled management of the crisis," President Anastasiades said in a written statement, Reuters reports.
According to Reuters: "The Cypriot government was on Sunday discussing with lenders the possibility of changing the levy to 3.0 percent for deposits below 100,000 euros, and to 12.5 percent for above that sum, a source close to the consultations told Reuters on condition of anonymity."