Get yer money whilst you can...

[Scouse]

...and whilst it's still worth something. (Which won't be long, in the UK at least).

If you're a hard-worker, a good saver and a model citizen the government's gonna grab yer shit sooner or later.

Just like in Cyprus...

Hide it under your matresses people, it's safer

 

[Raven]

I think it's highly unlikely that will happen here!

 

[Ctuchik]

Funny thing about that though is that the "tax" share got frozen before they announced it. So the people taking out all their money still aren't eluding it.

 

[soze]

Funny thing about that though is that the "tax" share got frozen before they announced it. So the people taking out all their money still aren't eluding it.

Not this time round but there is nothing to stop the government doing it again in a month. I don't have much in the way of savings but if I did and lived there I would be taking the rest out quick smart.

 

[Olgaline]

Hide it under your matresses people, it's safer

I've said it before - Invest in whisky!
it may or may not turn into a gold mine,
But it will never, ever decline in value - unless you drink it ofcause

 

[Zenith]

I've said it before - Invest in whisky!
it may or may not turn into a gold mine,
But it will never, ever decline in value - unless you drink it ofcause

We've been hearing that loads of smaller distilleries have been facing economical troubles up here though Olga. May have quite an considerable risk attached to it as well

 

[DaGaffer]

Sorry Scouse, but the Cypriots deserve all they get, worse than the Greeks for tax avoidance and for ramping up ludicrous levels of personal debt. They should never have been allowed to join the Euro in the first place. My folks were predicting disaster for the Cypriot economy when they lived there before my Dad died and that was back in 2006.
*edit* in fact the worst thing about the levy is it will probably affect foreigners more than Cypriots, because the ex-pats and retirees are the only ones who haven't treated their finances like monopoly money.

 

[Olgaline]

We've been hearing that loads of smaller distilleries have been facing economical troubles up here though Olga. May have quite an considerable risk attached to it as well

Not as long as you invest in the product and not the producer!
imagine what will happen to the value of that bottle you bought if the distillery is mothballed

Also stocks of old whisky are in fast decline due to new markets - the distilleries simply cannot keep up with demand.
And we're therefore now beginging to see the effects of the industies mothballing tactics of the 80's aka we're looking at
a at least 10-15 year gap which will be hard to fill, and with rising prices to match.

As for the small destilleries, they arent struggeling because of lack of demand.
They are struggeling due to cartel-like conditions within the whisky industry led by Diagio & Pernod Ricard

 

[old.Tohtori]

Scouse in a doomsday rant shocker? Well i never.

 

[Gwadien]

Greece & Cyprus in the Euro

=

Putting a cake infront of a fat-kid, telling him it's all good, and nice, then his 3rd mouthful tell him he has to go on a diet.

 

[Tom]

I think it's highly unlikely that will happen here!

It's been happening for years, low interest rates, high inflation and printing more money.

 

[DaGaffer]

Greece & Cyprus in the Euro

=

Putting a cake infront of a fat-kid, telling him it's all good, and nice, then his 3rd mouthful tell him he has to go on a diet.

In the case of the Cypriots, they were behaving like that before the Euro. Joining the Euro was their way to keep the wheels from falling off the whole dodgy enterprise, not realising there were bigger fish already poisoning the water (to mix a metaphor or two).

 

[Scouse]

Sorry Scouse, but the Cypriots deserve all they get

I hope you say that about the British, who if you rack up all the debt, public and private, cranks ~900% GDP

Our debt is unpayable so sooner or later something'll have to give. Or we'll go the Jap route of two generations of total stagnation and 60+ hour weeks for everyone.

But last I looked I'd been very responsible with my money, and everyone I know has too. So what gives?


Seems to me that you're confusing the term "Cypriots" and "government lackeys" m8

 

[Chilly]

The worst thing about it is that it's a cash tax and not a wealth tax. Anyone who's worth any serious money will only have a relatively small percentage of that in cash. The rest will be in stocks etc. It's a tax on the poor and middle classes. Yet again the top dogs get away with it.

 

[Scouse]

Scouse in a doomsday rant shocker? Well i never.

Actually, it's a "Scouse making light of government-sponsored theft"-er


I wonder what the knock-on will be for UK bank share prices? It can't be confidence-inspiring...

 

[Chilly]

I honestly hope there's a fucking massive run on banks world wide. Teach those cunts a lesson.

 

[DaGaffer]

Seems to me that you're confusing the term "Cypriots" and "government lackeys" m8

No, I'm pretty sure I mean Cypriots. People who routinely bought their kids brand new convertibles on the never-never when they graduated from school (not college, school), didn't pay their taxes (the "unfinished building" syndrome) etc. etc. Then add in the fact the whole place is a giant money-laundering operation for the Russians (which is actually the real reason this is happening).

 

[Scouse]

the "unfinished building" syndrome

...is a symptom of government not "the people".

When the government makes a law designed to be used like that and allows it to continue for many years without closing the loophole then the government is encouraging the people to act like that.

You're stupid if you voluntarily pay taxes that nobody else pays. Idiotic. (Or so rich it doesn't matter and you've got another agenda).

add in the fact the whole place is a giant money-laundering operation for the Russians (which is actually the real reason this is happening)

1. Rumour.
2. If it was the "real reason" then they'd have grabbed all deposits above a value - which was on the table - but instead they're hitting the man with £5 in his account...

 

[old.Tohtori]

Actually, it's a "Scouse making light of government-sponsored theft"-er

Fair enough

 

[rynnor]

More than half the deposits in cyprus banks were made by Russians - the banks are basically turning a blind eye to money laundering.

 

[DaGaffer]

...is a symptom of government not "the people".

When the government makes a law designed to be used like that and allows it to continue for many years without closing the loophole then the government is encouraging the people to act like that.

You're stupid if you voluntarily pay taxes that nobody else pays. Idiotic. (Or so rich it doesn't matter and you've got another agenda).

1. Rumour.
2. was the "real reason" then they'd have grabbed all deposits above a value - which was on the table - but instead they're hitting the man with £5 in his account...

It's really not just a rumour; and the logic of taking all deposits above a certain amount doesn't make sense (basic there are legit accounts like all those pensioners).

As for your logic about not paying tax; that's "big country" thinking; everyone thinks the problem can be carried by someone else; Cyprus is tiny and claims to be proud of its independence (EOKA is still revered there) but it always struck me that they want someone else to fix their problems and foot the bill; the British, Greece and now the EU. If a Cypriot avoids tax he knows the neighbour he's beggaring; but that's ok, Brussels will fix it.

 

[Raven]

I know a few ex-pats that live there who have said they are about ready to ditch the place. I think this might be the final straw.

It will be bad for them in the long run if they lose their rich, money spending guests.

 

[DaGaffer]

I know a few ex-pats that live there who have said they are about ready to ditch the place. I think this might be the final straw.

It will be bad for them in the long run if they lose their rich, money spending guests.

Most of my parents' friends have sold up already. My Mum was lucky and it only took her 12 months to sell the house, others have really struggled but are probably breathing a sigh of relief right now

 

[Scouse]

It's really not just a rumour

The news outlets say "may" - not "definitely is", so I still say rumour...

and the logic of taking all deposits above a certain amount doesn't make sense (basic there are legit accounts like all those pensioners)

The IMF wanted 30-40% of deposits above 100k - because the rich can wear it better than the poor.

That makes sense - if there is a lot of money laundering going on then the criminals get hit hard and the rich, well, they're still rich...

As for your logic about not paying tax; that's "big country" thinking; everyone thinks the problem can be carried by someone else; Cyprus is tiny and claims to be proud of its independence (EOKA is still revered there) but it always struck me that they want someone else to fix their problems and foot the bill; the British, Greece and now the EU. If a Cypriot avoids tax he knows the neighbour he's beggaring; but that's ok, Brussels will fix it.

Cyprus's government claims it's people are proud of it's independence, like my friends and I are apparently proud to be British - when generally we don't actually give a fuck.

The problems created by governments are the problems created by governments - taxation is one of them - and it goes back to the point that nobody voluntarily pays taxes that their neighbour doesn't. It's government responsibility to govern correctly.

Labelling Cypriots tax-dodgers that deserve what they get is simply lazy thinking - it's much easier to feel that way about a people that are basically having their hard-earned wealth stolen off them at the behest of the European Central Bank than it is to think of the complexities of real life. The vast majority of Cypriots have lived and worked to the government's rules - they've paid the taxes the governments have made them pay and they shouldn't have to start thinking in terms of pan-european tax laws to live their lives.

Half of humans simply aren't capable of thinking like that anyway so to hold them responsible for the actions of others is simply mean-spirited and pusilanimous in the face of reality.

 

[rynnor]

Will anyone really notice when the 'real' inflation rate is between 5-10% for the past few years?

 

[DaGaffer]

The news outlets say "may" - not "definitely is", so I still say rumour...


The IMF wanted 30-40% of deposits above 100k - because the rich can wear it better than the poor.

That makes sense - if there is a lot of money laundering going on then the criminals get hit hard and the rich, well, they're still rich...



Cyprus's government claims it's people are proud of it's independence, like my friends and I are apparently proud to be British - when generally we don't actually give a fuck.

The problems created by governments are the problems created by governments - taxation is one of them - and it goes back to the point that nobody voluntarily pays taxes that their neighbour doesn't. It's government responsibility to govern correctly.

Labelling Cypriots tax-dodgers that deserve what they get is simply lazy thinking - it's much easier to feel that way about a people that are basically having their hard-earned wealth stolen off them at the behest of the European Central Bank than it is to think of the complexities of real life. The vast majority of Cypriots have lived and worked to the government's rules - they've paid the taxes the governments have made them pay and they shouldn't have to start thinking in terms of pan-european tax laws to live their lives.

Half of humans simply aren't capable of thinking like that anyway so to hold them responsible for the actions of others is simply mean-spirited and pusilanimous in the face of reality.

Scouse, I've spent a lot of time in Cyprus, with Cypriots, the sense of entitlement is endemic, you're talking out of your arse.

 

[Scouse]

Scouse, I've spent a lot of time in Cyprus, with Cypriots, the sense of entitlement is endemic, you're talking out of your arse.

A) Did the rules that the government laid down say they didn't have to pay tax on unfinished houses?
B) Did the government know about that?
C) If the answer to B is "yes" - did the government do anything about it?

Governments create a sense of entitlement in a people. No sane human pays additional tax voluntarily - and government sets the example.

If Cypriots have a sense of entitlement that's endemic you have to ask why, not blame them for acting rationally and according to their environment...

 

[DaGaffer]

A) Did the rules that the government laid down say they didn't have to pay tax on unfinished houses?
B) Did the government know about that?
C) If the answer to B is "yes" - did the government do anything about it?

Governments create a sense of entitlement in a people. No sane human pays additional tax voluntarily - and government sets the example.

If Cypriots have a sense of entitlement that's endemic you have to ask why, not blame them for acting rationally and according to their environment...

The unfinished house thing is one example amongst many (shown because everyone knows it from the Greek debacle). They are not acting rationally; they have a schizophrenic "we're independent, but you're going to pay for it" attitude. Its too easy to simply blame government, but this comes from top to bottom (you can see the irrational thinking in other areas too; the constant wailing about the Turks and acting like they're the victim when the whole thing was entirely the Greek Cypriots' fault for initiating a pogrom against the Turks). At a personal level I thought most Cypriots I met were great, but Jesus their attitudes to everything, and money in particular, were properly fucked-up, and the younger ones were especially bad.

 

[Scouse]

Attitudes in societies, as in corporations, come from the top old bean.


Edit: Add to that - the banks the world over are guilty of using criminal liquidity to stay afloat - they're all at it. Even if Cypriots are guilty as you say (and I still don't accept it) then they're hardly the worst culprits.

Retail customers should never have to bail out immoral and illegal practices by their governments and the banks.

 

[Wij]

As I understood it, vast quantities of money in Cypriot bank accounts is being laundered. Simpler to just grab a chunk and flick two fingers than prosecute every case in a country that wants to ignore it.