The Icelandic rebels are at it again: taxing banks to write down home mortgages

[BelgianMadCow]

Last edited Sun Dec 1, 2013, 04:07 PM - Edit history (1)

The government plans to provide homeowners with as much as 70 billion kronur in direct writedowns of home-loan debt and give 80 billion kronur of tax exemptions over three years, according to a statement handed out in Reykjavik today. The deal is equivalent to 9 percent of Iceland’s $14 billion economy.

“The action requires the Treasury to serve as an intermediary in financing and implementing it,” according to the statement. “There is no need to establish a debt-relief fund, as the action will be fully financed. The net impact on the Treasury is expected to be insignificant each year during the period 2014-2017.”

Iceland’s Financial Services Association estimates the nation’s banks have forgiven about $2 billion in debt since 2008. At 14 percent of gross domestic product, that’s the highest in the world. Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson won April elections on promises to provide even more relief to households.

Iceland’s government intends to finance the writedowns by raising taxes on financial institutions, a move Finance Minister Bjarni Benediktsson said today would bring 37.5 billion kronur into Treasury coffers next year. The tax will also be levied on Kaupthing Bank hf, Glitnir Bank hf and Landsbanki Islands hf, all of which are undergoing winding-up proceedings.

More at WaPo.

It would seem protest DOES pay, as does collective rewriting of one's constitution.

On edit: the new constitution hasn't been voted on, yet. TY muriel_volestrangler!

[truedelphi]

1. Are you fibbing about this? Are the Icelandic People?

Is this one Big Lie, a Big Lie created just to set the rest of the world's populace's teeth on edge?

Obama's all go to, all the time, economic man, one Tim Geithner said before Congress that the only way anyone anywhere in a government could deal with such a crisis was to Bail Out the Big Banks.

So how could any of this be true? (Unless Geithner was lying, but surely someone so close to the President wouldn't be lying, would they?)

[BelgianMadCow]

2. Dunno! I've heard whispers about Iceland here and there

but it's hard to find anything in Teh Media, you know. So it must have unhappened. Besides, it's easy to find bad numbers about Iceland since the crash - never mind that they have regained sovereignty, pff what value does THAt have...

There Are No Alternatives! Please reconsider your thoughtcrime, or Agent Mike will be unpleased!

On edit: I so did not post this docu of the notoriously unreliable BBC (which actually is reporting zilch on the NSA, so consider them M$M)

Just over four years ago, the tiny island republic of Iceland experienced the worst economic collapse of any European country. Growth sank, house prices plunged, unemployment soared and all the banks had to be nationalised. But unlike here, Iceland let its troubled banks simply die and since 2011, the country has seen growth average at over 2% - comfortably more than the UK. The macro economic good news however masks the pain being felt by many ordinary Icelanders.
Joe Lynam was there to ask what can we learn from the Icelandic experience.

And here's Cenk explaining just how different the route of Iceland has been:

Former CEO of 3 largest banks indicted, 200 ciminal charges for bankers

[Enthusiast]

13. We're not allowed to protest here.

In the land of freedumb.

[colsohlibgal]

3. Watch "Inside Job"

Right at the top of that movie it shows how Iceland took back control from the banksters bankrupting them.

[BelgianMadCow]

4. Indeed. I remember now, wasn't sure, thanks. LINK

Narrated by Matt Damon, too.

On edit: on my way to bed, thought this thread could do with this chart:

[nikto]

5. The Tea-Baggerz and Neocons have no choice now...

America will have to start bombing Iceland, filling Iceland's skies with drones, etc


Iceland has clearly joined Al Qaeda in the Axis Of Evil.


Bjork is the new Bin Laden.


"Since your banks are people, we shall separate their heads from their bodies.
And The Sugarcubes will not be doing a re-union Tour until 2017, at least."

[WillyT]

6. HUGE K & R !!!

[Oakenshield]

7. Hah!

And once again my kinsmen in Iceland demonstrate how your properly bring economic justice to the people.

[ReRe]

8. K&R

Iceland:

[bvar22]

9. Thats what I'm talking about.

Isn't it wonderful when a government represents Main Street instead of Wall Street!!!

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Iceland has not changed its constitution

Democracy on ice: a post-mortem of the Icelandic constitution

Whence the fierce opposition to constitutional reform? The chief opponents were the usual suspects: the political allies of special interest groups such as the fishing vessel owners whom the politicians had turned into a state within the state through gratis, or practically gratis, allocation of valuable fishing licenses. The opposition also came from politicians who would not stand much chance of being reelected to parliament under the principle of ‘one person, one vote' (as the current system requires much more votes to be elected as an MP in Reykjavik than in one of the more rural areas). Indeed, constitutionally protected national ownership of natural resources and electoral reform to ensure ’one person, one vote’ were the two principal hallmarks of the bill.
...
Parliament does not vote in secret, however, and this was key. In an attempt to ensure that the constitutional bill would have to be brought to a vote, Margrét Tryggvadóttir MP presented the bill put forward by the parliamentary committee in charge (of which she was a member) as an amendment to another related last-minute bill. But the president of the parliament put the last-minute bill to a vote without first presenting the amendment, thereby failing to bring the constitutional bill to a vote, in violation of parliamentary procedure. This happened at 2 A.M. on the morning of the last session of parliament before recess. The enemies of constitutional reform carried the day and democracy was put on ice. The government blamed the misbehaving opposition for the debacle, while the outgoing prime minister who had launched the process in 2009 said this was the saddest day of her 35 years in parliament.

The April 2013 election produced a coalition government of the Independence Party and the Progressives, the two parties that privatized the banks à la Russe and set the stage for the crash of 2008. The parties represented in parliament hardly mentioned the constitution in the campaign; they wanted to avoid the subject. The Progressives won the election by promising instant household debt relief. In office, the first thing they did – surprise, surprise – was arrange instant tax relief for the vessel owners. It is clear that the two parties have no intention of reviving the constitutional bill. To them, it does not matter that 67 percent of the electorate expressed support for the bill and its key provisions. Further, they have decided to put Iceland’s 2009 application for EU membership on ice. Expect more ice to come.

As always, however, there will be a new parliament after this one. One day, most probably, the constitutional bill approved by the people of Iceland in the 2012 referendum or a similar one will become the law of the land. Stay tuned.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/thorvaldur-gylfason/democracy-on-ice-post-mortem-of-icelandic-constitution

[BelgianMadCow]

15. So they constructed a new one but it wasn't voted yet - thanks for the rectification

am editing my OP accordingly.

[malaise]

11. That's how it's done

Simple mathematics over special interests. Go Iceland!!!

[Enthusiast]

12. I have great admiration for Iceland's freedom fighters.

[Egalitarian Thug]

14. Personally, I think Iceland is the creation of the disturbed minds of the lunatic left.

It doesn't actually exist at all but rather serves as a source of "proof" for whatever crazy notion that passes for "the right thing to do" at any given moment in their drug addled, fevered brains.

In short, Iceland is just another Communist plot to sow dissatisfaction among the God-blessed American People!

Can I get a RA-MEN?!?

[KoKo]

16. Recommend!