EDITORIAL
Public debates in recent weeks have been looking into the high cost of living in Cyprus and whether it is affordable by any group of people (tourists, long-term residents, British expats, and even Cypriots), prompting them to consider staying here or moving elsewhere.
For some people, the like-for-like comparison of a shopping basket is a good benchmark to measure cost and whether Cyprus is cheaper than home, wherever that may be. For others, it is the premium services that count, as the relatively high cost of living is balanced by an open and democratic society that claims a low crime rate, family values, warm weather, a fair justice system, high caliber employment and a somewhat advanced technology-based infrastructure.
Where Cyprus finds itself on the expensive side of the scale are some of the other services that can be compared with the rest of the EU 27.
For example, with a uniform tax rate for car imports, and a comparative table for fuel cost easily accessible, it is incomprehensible how taxis in Cyprus can charge twice or more of what their colleagues ask for an equal distance. Taking a cab from Larnaca airport to Nicosia or Ayia Napa costs as much as Heathrow to London City and double from Eleftherios Venizelos to Athens, while a night fare from any town centre is charged double because of the late hours and doubled again on public holidays. No wonder tourists accuse Cypriot cabbies of ripping them off! Had we had a decent public transport system, the benefits would have been tremendous – to the consumer, to the economy and to the environment.
If you decide to drive yourself, you are faced with the daylight robbery of up to 5 euros per parking space in the capital, for which the Nicosia Municipality does not bother to do anything about, despite losing millions in unpaid town council taxes.
Then you go to the beach and are robbed 3 euros for a bottle of water, while you walk into a restaurant and are skinned alive when you see the ridiculous mark-up on the wine list or a dried-up steak sold for 20 euros or more.
The final nail in the coffin came from the government’s schizophrenic decision to reduce VAT for hotels, but did not extend the same discount to restaurants, cafes and pubs, with the reduction doing little to attract quality tourism, at the time when all the major airline operators and travel companies are screaming about very high tax rates at the two airports.
Cyprus may be slightly cheaper or as expensive as other destinations, but the levels of gross national earnings and individual pay-cheques are far below other countries with equal costs.
Though the price observatories for supermarkets and fuel are a good standard to keep and compare, other costs (rent, education, clothing, health, transport, insurance, personal finance) must also be taken into consideration when issuing consumer basket prices.
