In no way was this a good plan. It doesn't net a significant amount of money in terms of EU GDP, and it enrages and frightens a lot of people.
The difference between a government switching what it taxes and this is that the former goes through intense oversight and debate by the elected officials of the country involved. People can influence the decision and it is an internal matter.
In this case, it was an external force that decided the seizure was necessary. More, it was a German-led decision. Germany imposing its will on the southern countries hasn't been well received in the past and I don't believe it will be now.
mdasen gave some very reasonable arguments that in fact, yes, in some ways it was a good plan. Fr the reasons you gave, you can certainly argue not a good plan on balance. And I would tend to agree with you, although I would confess significant ignorance to the particulars of the situation
But it is misapplication of the affect heuristic to say that because the plan stinks over all, there is nothing good about it.
He really only gave two arguments. One, that it is easier to implement, and two, that it spread the burden to foreigners.
I don't actually think this is easier to implement. Perhaps faster. In the long run, however, this is the hard way to go.
As to spreading the burden to foreigners, that's only a good thing if you're not a foreigner and you don't plan on doing business with foreigners in Cyprus.
If you are a wealthy man who has his fortune elsewhere, this is still not a good plan, because there is potential for personal repercussions.
The difference between a government switching what it taxes and this is that the former goes through intense oversight and debate by the elected officials of the country involved. People can influence the decision and it is an internal matter.
In this case, it was an external force that decided the seizure was necessary. More, it was a German-led decision. Germany imposing its will on the southern countries hasn't been well received in the past and I don't believe it will be now.