Cyprus: Savers With Below 100K Euros 'To Be Protected'
The group of Eurozone countries tells Cyprus it must not tax savers with small deposits but must still repay its debts.The Eurogroup is to tell Cyprus it has to protect savers with less than 100,000 euros (£86,000) in their accounts. The move comes ahead of a vote that was expected to see Cyprus take a levy of up to 6.7% on all savings under 100,000 euros in Cypriot banks. The Eurogroup, the body that oversees monetary policy in the Eurozone, met on Monday night and afterwards released a statement saying that savers with small deposits should protected. On Saturday the Eurogroup had told debt-ridden Cyprus that it was not going to give it a bailout unless it recouped some of the money it needed from savers. Cyprus had planned to take up to 6.7% on all deposits under 100,000 euros (£86,000) then changed its plans to taking 6.7% on all savings between 20,000 and 100,000 euros and 9.9% on all saving over 100,000 euros. The scheme had to potential to affect thousands of Britons who had either moved to Cyprus to live or had money saved in Cypriot accounts. Russia, whose citizens are thought to have up to $30bn of their cash tied up in Cypriot accounts, was left furious by the proposal. A statement from the Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem, issued after the meeting finished at about 8.30pm on Monday said: "The Eurogroup continues to be of the view that small depositors should be treated differently from large depositors and reaffirms the importance of fully guaranteeing deposits below EUR 100,000. "The Cypriot authorities will introduce more progressivity in the one-off levy compared to what was agreed on 16 March, provided that it continues yielding the targeted reduction of the financing envelope and, hence, not impact the overall amount of financial assistance up to EUR 10bn." Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday that Britain had been "separated" from contributing towards the 10bn euro (£8.6bn) bailout, adding that 3,000 Britons in the country would not suffer in the proposed raid on bank savings. It is believed however that many British Cypriots may have millions in accounts that are not protected by UK rules. While the Eurogroup is urging Cyprus not to tax those with savings of less than 100,000 euros, it said that in order to do so, those with greater savings should be taxed more heavily. Eurozone finance ministers proposed a higher tax rate of 15.6%. Cyprus had been due to vote on the levy on Sunday but it was first pushed back until Monday and then Tuesday. The plan to tax savers which was announced on Sunday resulted in a run on Cyprus's banks in the countries in which they were open. In Cyprus the banks were closed on Monday because of a bank holiday which prevented people withdrawing their money but cash machines across the country were emptied. The country's authorities announced on Monday that the banks would stay shut for another two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) to prevent people removing all their cash. The decision to target bank accounts stunned Cypriots, and police sealed off parliament as about 400 people staged a noisy protest outside, aggrieved that their small island of one million people should be singled out for such treatment. It is the first time in the EU it has been proposed to tax savers in a country to pay for the failings of their government. The euro and stock markets fell on concern that developments in tiny Cyprus could reignite the financial crisis in the 17-nation eurozone, while angry Cypriots staged protests outside their heavily guarded parliament. If Cyprus does tax large savers heavily there are fears that money could flood out of the country as two thirds of deposits are from abroad. Кипр: Savers с ниже 100 тыс. евро "на защиту" Κύπρος: Με Savers Παρακάτω 100K ευρώ »πρέπει να προστατεύονται" Cipro: Savers con sotto 100K euro "da proteggere ' Zypern: Savers Mit Unterhalb 100K Euro "zu schützen" Chipre: Savers más adelante 100K Euros a estar protegidas ' Chypre: Avec Savers ci-dessous 100K Euros »d'être protégés"
- published: 18 Mar 2013
- views: 140
http://wn.com/Cyprus_Savers_With_Below_100K_Euros_'To_Be_Protected' The group of Eurozone countries tells Cyprus it must not tax savers with small deposits but must still repay its debts.The Eurogroup is to tell Cyprus it has to protect savers with less than 100,000 euros (£86,000) in their accounts. The move comes ahead of a vote that was expected to see Cyprus take a levy of up to 6.7% on all savings under 100,000 euros in Cypriot banks. The Eurogroup, the body that oversees monetary policy in the Eurozone, met on Monday night and afterwards released a statement saying that savers with small deposits should protected. On Saturday the Eurogroup had told debt-ridden Cyprus that it was not going to give it a bailout unless it recouped some of the money it needed from savers. Cyprus had planned to take up to 6.7% on all deposits under 100,000 euros (£86,000) then changed its plans to taking 6.7% on all savings between 20,000 and 100,000 euros and 9.9% on all saving over 100,000 euros. The scheme had to potential to affect thousands of Britons who had either moved to Cyprus to live or had money saved in Cypriot accounts. Russia, whose citizens are thought to have up to $30bn of their cash tied up in Cypriot accounts, was left furious by the proposal. A statement from the Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem, issued after the meeting finished at about 8.30pm on Monday said: "The Eurogroup continues to be of the view that small depositors should be treated differently from large depositors and reaffirms the importance of fully guaranteeing deposits below EUR 100,000. "The Cypriot authorities will introduce more progressivity in the one-off levy compared to what was agreed on 16 March, provided that it continues yielding the targeted reduction of the financing envelope and, hence, not impact the overall amount of financial assistance up to EUR 10bn." Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday that Britain had been "separated" from contributing towards the 10bn euro (£8.6bn) bailout, adding that 3,000 Britons in the country would not suffer in the proposed raid on bank savings. It is believed however that many British Cypriots may have millions in accounts that are not protected by UK rules. While the Eurogroup is urging Cyprus not to tax those with savings of less than 100,000 euros, it said that in order to do so, those with greater savings should be taxed more heavily. Eurozone finance ministers proposed a higher tax rate of 15.6%. Cyprus had been due to vote on the levy on Sunday but it was first pushed back until Monday and then Tuesday. The plan to tax savers which was announced on Sunday resulted in a run on Cyprus's banks in the countries in which they were open. In Cyprus the banks were closed on Monday because of a bank holiday which prevented people withdrawing their money but cash machines across the country were emptied. The country's authorities announced on Monday that the banks would stay shut for another two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) to prevent people removing all their cash. The decision to target bank accounts stunned Cypriots, and police sealed off parliament as about 400 people staged a noisy protest outside, aggrieved that their small island of one million people should be singled out for such treatment. It is the first time in the EU it has been proposed to tax savers in a country to pay for the failings of their government. The euro and stock markets fell on concern that developments in tiny Cyprus could reignite the financial crisis in the 17-nation eurozone, while angry Cypriots staged protests outside their heavily guarded parliament. If Cyprus does tax large savers heavily there are fears that money could flood out of the country as two thirds of deposits are from abroad. Кипр: Savers с ниже 100 тыс. евро "на защиту" Κύπρος: Με Savers Παρακάτω 100K ευρώ »πρέπει να προστατεύονται" Cipro: Savers con sotto 100K euro "da proteggere ' Zypern: Savers Mit Unterhalb 100K Euro "zu schützen" Chipre: Savers más adelante 100K Euros a estar protegidas ' Chypre: Avec Savers ci-dessous 100K Euros »d'être protégés"
- published: 18 Mar 2013
- views: 140
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