Friday, January 3/2014

Another reminder of Cyprus's financial woes. As of January 13 VAT will move from 18 to 19 percent. A pretty hefty tax rate. Some significant reductions and exemptions though. Food is taxed, but at 8% (not including alcohol which is the regular) as are books and newspapers. Assumed that the increase would be effective January 1, but it seems not. Some truly ugly measures as well, though. Foreign domestic workers, who had their salary reduced by 5% from €484 to €460 are going to see it reduced again as part of the austerity plan. From this is deducted an employment tax and their room and board. And a depressing number of them have difficulty in collecting even what they're owed by comparatively affluent employers. A Sri Lankan friend of Maggi's has just had to threaten to quit if she was not paid, as she had not been for the whole time she had worked for the family, looking after an elderly woman with dementia. She was alone in the flat with the woman so got no time off and the family kept fobbing her off, saying that it was inconvenient or they were saving the money to give her later. Like most of these women M's friend relied on the money to send home to her family.