The Cyprus Parliament unanimously passed a bill on the 3.11.2011 suspending the payment of property transfer fees on properties subject to VAT for a period of 6 months. The bill also provided that the property transfer fee for purchases not subject to VAT will be reduced by 50% of the current level for the same…
A 35% income tax rate has been introduced for taxable income in excess of €60,000. The tax bands and rates are therefore now as follows: ChargeableIncomeEUR € TaxRates% TaxAmountEUR € CumulativeTaxEUR € 0-19.500 0 _ _ 19.501-28.000 20 1.700 1.700 28.001-36.300 25 2.075 3.775 36.301 – €60,000 30 7.110 10.885 over €60,001 35 …
On the 26 August 2011 the House of Representatives approved legislation aimed at stimulating the local property market. The legislation passed provides that eligible persons will be subject to a lower VAT rate of 5% on the purchase or construction of a first residence. The rate will apply for the first 200 square meters of…
On 14.12.2010, following a consultation process, the European Commission published a draft revised (recast) Brussels Regulation. The key areas addressed in the Commission’s legislative proposal are as follows: New rules concerning third state (non-EU) matters and defendants The Brussels Regulation provides jurisdiction rules mainly with respect to defendants domiciled in the EU Member States. The Commission proposes to extend…
In the case of Jivraj v Hashwani [1], the U.K. Court of Appeal held that an arbitration agreement which provided that only persons of a certain religious belief could act as arbitrator was void because arbitrators fall within the scope of English anti-discrimination employment legislation in relation to religion and belief (the Employment Equality (Religion…
On the 19th July 2011, Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Luc Frieden conducted an official visit to Cyprus. According to the Luxembourg government Mr Frieden exchanged views with his Cypriot counterpart Charilaos Stavrakis, on recent developments in their respective financial sectors and on European and national legislation in this area. Within this context, Cyprus and Luxembourg agreed…
The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and the Central Bank of Cyprus, expressing their mutual interest and willingness in promoting further the bilateral ties in the domain of supervision of credit institutions, concluded on 15 July 2011 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU has been signed on behalf of the CBRC by its Chairman…
The Qatar Exchange and the Cyprus Stock Exchange signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the 6th of June 2011 . The purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding was to formalize cooperation between the two markets. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Mr. Andre Went, CEO of Qatar Exchange and by Mr Epaminondas Metaxas, CEO…
The Ministry of Interior issued the following bulletin regarding the Town Planning Amnesty legislation which came into force on April 8 2011. The legislation aims at simplifying and modernising the procedures and legal provisions that eventually lead to the securing of updated title deeds by respective property owners. PLANNING AMNESTY BULLETIN LEGISLATION FOR THE MODERNISATION…
The European Commission has formally requested Cyprus to amend its legislation on depreciation scales for the calculation of excise duties on second-hand motorcycles because the current rules discriminate against imported motorcycles. Under current Cypriot legislation, owners of second-hand motorcycles have to pay an excise duty depending on the depreciation of these vehicles, i.e. their loss…