Mar 19, 2013

Cyprus Considers Zero Tax On Smaller Bank Deposits


The Cyprus finance ministry suggests savers holding less than 20,000 euros (£17,000) would be exempt from a bank levy which has caused much alarm.

The plan was changed following outrage that ordinary savers would be forced to pay a levy of 6.75%.

However, President Nicos Anastasiades has said that parliament is still likely to reject the levy.

The controversial tax is a condition for Cyprus to get a 10bn-euro loan from the EU and IMF, to rescue its banks.

The president of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, emphasised on Monday that no other eurozone country would be forced to impose such a levy.

"It won't happen in other countries because the banking sector is not so unbalanced, not overweighed with so many risks," Mr Dijsselbloem told the Dutch parliament on Tuesday.

The new plan would keep the 6.75% levy on deposits over 20,000 euros, with those over 100,000 euros charged at 9.9%.

A crucial vote on the bailout deal in the Cypriot parliament is expected to start at 18:00 (16:00 GMT), but it may be delayed again. Protesters have gathered outside the parliament building ahead of the vote.

Mr Anastasiades has urged all parties to back the bailout, saying Cyprus will be bankrupt if the deal does not go ahead.

The Cyprus central bank chief, Panicos Demetriades, has warned that scrapping the tax on small savers would scupper the plan to raise 5.8bn euros in total from bank deposits. He also predicted account holders could suddenly withdraw 10% or more of the total in Cypriot banks if the levy was imposed.

At the same time, Mr Demetriades said he favoured imposing the levy only on accounts above 100,000.

Late on Monday eurozone finance ministers urged Cyprus to rethink the levy on bank deposits, which had been agreed on Saturday in Brussels. They have warned that Cyprus's two biggest banks will collapse if the deal does not go through in some form.

Fearing a run on accounts, Cyprus has shut its banks until at least Thursday. The local stock exchange also remains closed.

Cyprus' banks were badly exposed to Greece, which has itself been the recipient of two huge bailouts.

Source: BBC News

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