On 8.11.2012 the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus signed a new convention for the avoidance of double taxation (the “Convention”). The draft of the Convention was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in November 2012 and on 16.05.2013 a draft law was submitted for ratification by the…
Following the amendment of the Immovable Property Tax Law (No. 24/1980) on the 30.04.2013 by Law 33/2013 , all owners of property in Cyprus are now liable to pay an annual tax to the Inland Revenue based on their aggregate property holdings as of the 1st of January each year, on the basis of the…
On the 23.04.2013 the Supreme Court of Cyprus began reviewing the first administrative recourses filed against the decree issued on the 29.03.2013. The decree implemented the Eurogroup’s decision to wind down Laiki Bank and impose massive losses (“haircuts”) on all deposits in excess of €100.000 at both Laiki and the Bank of Cyprus. The recourses…
The following unprecedented decision was taken by Eurogroup in dealing with the recapitalisation of the two largest banks in Cyprus: 1. For Bank of Cyprus, all credit balances greater than the guaranteed threshold of €100.000, will be converted into shares to the extent required for the bank to reach a Tier 1 capital of 9%.…
US Noble Energy reported discovering between 141 billion to 226 billion cubic metres in Cyprus’s first attempt to find natural resources offshore in December 2011. Noble`s find was after being granted the country`s first offshore exploration license. As part of the second offshore exploration licensing round, launched by the Cypriot government in 2012, Italy`s ENI…
The Late Payments in Commercial Transactions Law, Law 123(I) of 2012, published on the 27.12.2012, repeals the previous legislation regarding late payments in commercial transactions. The purpose of this new legislation is to give legal effect to Directive 2011/07/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment…
New guidelines have been issued by the Ministry of Interior concerning the accelerated procedure for granting Immigration Permit to applicants who are third country nationals and intend to invest in the Republic of Cyprus. The relevant parts of the announcement are as follows: 1. According to the provisions of Regulation 6(2) of the Aliens…
A recent ruling in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has clarified that, irrespective of whether the sickness commenced before or during the period of scheduled annual leave, an employee whose illness coincides with their annual leave is entitled to rearrange their annual leave to a later date. In Asociación Nacional de…
Cyprus has concluded numerous Double Tax Agreements whilst certain other agreements are pending enforcement. The main purpose of these treaties is the avoidance of double taxation on income earned in any of these countries. Under these agreements, a credit is usually allowed against the tax levied by the country in which the taxpayer resides for…
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…