????多虧島上一系列有利的投資法規(guī)，加之有4萬名俄羅斯人在此定居，塞浦路斯因此吸引了更多俄羅斯人。塞浦路斯與俄羅斯兩國之間有一個雙重課稅條約，對許多投資項目征稅稅率予以限制，比如利息稅僅為5%，而對股息以及特許使用金則免于征稅。

????由于該島與俄羅斯相距不遠，再加上它所有具有的歐盟成員國地位、國民友好待人的品質、共有的東正教傳統(tǒng)以及宜人的氣候，塞浦路斯成為俄羅斯人在國土之外存放資金的首選之地。

????但是，如果塞浦路斯對這些存款征稅40%甚至100%的話，所有上述優(yōu)勢就將變得無足輕重。俄羅斯人不會欣然接受塞浦路斯政府的打劫；而且，塞浦路斯能這樣攫取資金而不付出代價嗎？這一點讓人高度懷疑。俄羅斯肯定會采取行動撕毀雙重課稅條約來保護俄羅斯人，使之不再繼續(xù)往塞浦路斯多存哪怕一盧布。俄羅斯人會卷走他們存放的一切資本，大批出逃的俄羅斯資金無疑會一夜之間摧毀塞浦路斯銀行業(yè)。如果俄羅斯人提取資金，那么100億歐元的救助基金會被形成的存款空洞瞬間吞沒；繼而導致成千上萬的人一夜之間失業(yè)，使這個國家陷入難以想象的經(jīng)濟衰退。

????而且遠不止此。隨著俄羅斯資金的撤離，塞浦路斯的另一主要支柱產(chǎn)業(yè)，占塞浦路斯GDP 20%的旅游業(yè)也會受到一定沖擊。假使你的錢被洗劫一空的話，你不可能還有心思端著邁泰雞尾酒在沙灘上優(yōu)哉游哉，也沒有心思窩在星散于全島的某間五星級海灘度假村每晚一擲千金、甚至是萬金。很多度假村，尤其是在享有“利馬索爾格勒”之稱的利馬索爾附近的度假村，都是專以富有的俄羅斯旅游者為目標游客而建設的。大多數(shù)度假村都有講俄羅斯語的工作人員；精品店都主打花里胡哨的名牌服飾以吸引俄羅斯新貴。

????根據(jù)塞浦路斯政府的調查報告，去年11月，俄羅斯游客人均每天在塞浦路斯花費約115歐元，高于其他任何國籍的游客。這個金額幾乎是來自相對富有地區(qū)，比如英國等地游客人均日消費金額的兩倍，超過來自荷蘭和愛爾蘭旅游者來此度假時人均日消費金額的兩倍。俄羅斯超級富豪不會住酒店，他們在此擁有寬敞、且通常是花哨的海景別墅。然而，他們依然每晚在迪斯科和餐館招待賓朋，或者在觥籌交錯、衣香鬟影的VIP區(qū)洽談業(yè)務，揮金如土。

????毫無疑問，塞浦路斯的旅游業(yè)也許不會就此衰亡。但鑒于俄羅斯資金的撤出，游客們每天的消費總額很有可能會下滑。盡管與高級度假區(qū)相距甚遠，發(fā)生在塞浦路斯首都尼科西亞街上的暴動仍然足以令來自俄羅斯或者其他地區(qū)經(jīng)驗豐富的旅行者們望而卻步。

????我們不妨退后一步，從更宏觀的角度來看這場危機。當考慮到我們在此討論的這筆救助基金時，與歐元區(qū)危機這最新一章有關的各種戲劇性演變和國際陰謀看起來有點不真實的感覺。塞浦路斯人曾請求約170億歐元幫助紓困。這筆資金聽起來數(shù)額巨大，但與意大利高達兩萬億歐元的負債總額規(guī)模相比只是九牛一毛。塞浦路斯人需要的170億歐元，實質上能挽救這個島國的整個經(jīng)濟免于崩潰，又能避免銀行業(yè)危機的恐慌情緒在整個歐洲蔓延，卻僅相當于歐元區(qū)12.1萬億歐元GDP總量的0.14%。這個比例低到有點不真實。（德國總理）安吉拉?默克爾每年花在啤酒和椒鹽脆餅上的支出恐怕都比這多。

????Russians are drawn to the island thanks to a range of favorable investment laws and the fact that 40,000 Russians call Cyprus home. Cyprus and Russia have a double-taxation treaty that limits taxes on a number of investments like a 5% rate on interest and 0% rate on dividends and royalty payments.

????The island's close proximity to Russia, EU status, friendly people, shared Christian Orthodox traditions and great weather made it one of the best places for Russians to store their cash outside of the country.

????But all of that means nothing if Cyprus taxes those deposits at 40% or even 100%. Theft is something Russians don't take kindly to and it is highly doubtful that Cyprus can get away with this cash grab. Russia will surely move to cancel its double-taxation treaty with Cyprus to protect Russians from parking one more ruble in Cyprus. A mass exodus of Russian money will basically destroy the Cypriot banking industry overnight as it would drain whatever capital they had left. That 10 billion euro bailout would be eaten up in a flash filling the hole left by the Russian withdrawals. Thousands of jobs would be lost overnight, plunging the nation into a recession of unimaginable proportion.

????It gets worse. With Russian money out you can bet that the nation's other main industry, tourism, which makes up 20% of Cypriot GDP, will also take a bit of a hit. Having your money stolen doesn't make you want to relax on the beach with a Mai-Tai or spend hundreds or even thousands of euros per night to stay at one of the five-star beach resorts dotted around the island. Many of those resorts, especially those around Limassol (nickname "Limassolgrad"), were built specifically for the well-off Russian traveler in mind. Most have Russian speaking-staff complete with boutiques featuring flashy designer clothes meant to attract Russia's nouveau riche.

????The average Russian traveler spent around 115 euros per day on holiday in Cyprus last November, more than any other nationality surveyed by the Cypriot government. That is nearly double that of holiday goers from relatively well-off places like the United Kingdom and more than double what tourists from the Netherlands and Ireland dropped on their vacation. The super rich Russians don't stay at hotels; rather, they own large, usually gaudy, beachfront estates. Nevertheless, they still drop thousands of euros per night at discos and restaurants entertaining friends and business contacts in the VIP area complete with bottles and models.

????To be sure, tourism in Cyprus will probably never die. But the amount spent per day will probably fall given the pullout of Russian cash. Riots on the streets in Nicosia, Cyprus' capital, while far from many of the posh resorts, is still close enough to deter even the most seasoned of traveler, Russian or not, from making the voyage.

????Let's take a step back for a moment and try to put some perspective on all this mess. The amount of drama and international intrigue associated with this latest chapter of the Eurozone crisis seems a bit unreal when you consider the amount of money we are talking about here. The Cypriots asked for around 17 billion euros to basically get back on their feet. While that sounds like a lot of money it is really a pittance when compared to the size of, say, Italy's total debt load of around two trillion euros. The 17 billion euros needed by Cyprus to essentially save the island's entire economy from collapse and avoid contagion fears of a banking crisis spreading across Europe was equal to roughly 0.14% of the EU's GDP of 12.1 trillion euros. That's so low it's sort of unreal. Angela Merkle probably spends more on beer and pretzels on an annual basis.