Cyprus heads for cliffhanger parliamentary vote on bank deposits tax

NICOSIA: The government of Cyprus is hoping to push a divisive tax on bank deposits through parliament on Tuesday in a bid to stave off a default that could reignite the euro zone crisis.

Breaking with previous practice that depositors' savings were inviolable, euro zone finance ministers announced over the weekend a one-off tax on Cypriot bank accounts would be imposed as part of a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout by the European Union.