They’re giving the Democratic Party ideas.
In a move that could set off new fears of contagion across the eurozone, anxious depositors drained cash from ATMs in Cyprus on Saturday, hours after European officials in Brussels required that part of a new $13 billion bailout must be paid for directly from the bank accounts of ordinary savers.
The move — a first in the 3-year-old European financial crisis — raised questions over whether bank runs could be set off elsewhere in the eurozone.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the president of the group of euro-area ministers, declined Saturday to rule out taxes on depositors in countries beyond Cyprus, although he said such a measure was not currently being considered.
When you tell people that the money they’re holding in particular banks is going to be skimmed, they’re going to remove it as fast as they can. It does not matter where they are residing.
Which is why this happened:
Although banks placed withdrawal limits of about $520 on ATMs, most of them had run out of cash by early evening. People around the country reacted with disbelief and anger.
And it will happen again elsewhere.
While it is a good idea to take your money out before they can skim it for you, I have little doubt that the bureaucrats in Brussels will simply ask for the account records from before the announcement and then tax that amount. If you do not have enough in the account to cover your “tax payment”, they will send you a bill.
After all, they have all the information. Including when the direct deposits happen.
But don’t worry folks, this couldn’t happen here with your 401K that you don’t pay taxes on (this makes the bureaucrats really sad).
Unless we lose the House in 2014.
