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Nicosia - Cyprus and Russia have agreed on an amendment of their 1998 tax treaty, earlier this month. The agreement was reached following negotiations between the two countries’ Finance Ministries on 10 August. 15% WHT on Dividend and Interest payments According to the agreement reached, the existing Withholding Tax (WHT) rates on dividend and interest payments made from Russia to Cyprus will increase to 15% subject to certain exceptions noted below. Exceptions from the 15% WHT The two countries have agreed that a 5% WHT should apply, where the recipient/beneficial owner of a dividend is: a regulated entity such as a pension fund or insurance undertaking; a company the shares of which are listed on a registered stock exchange (subject to conditions); the Government or a political subdivision or a local authority; the Central Bank. In addition, the two countries have agreed that no WHT shall apply on interest payments if the beneficial owner is: an insurance undertaking or a pension fund; the Government or a political subdivision or a local authority; the Central Bank; a banking institution. Furthermore, no WHT shall apply in respect of interest earned on the following listed bonds: corporate bonds; government bonds and Eurobonds. Finally, where the beneficial owner of the interest is a company whose shares are listed on a registered stock exchange (subject to conditions), the WHT shall not exceed 5%. Nil WHT on Royalty Payments The nil WHT on royalty payments from Russia to Cyprus will not change. Cyprus Withholding Tax Rates Remain at 0% Cyprus will continue to apply no withholding tax on dividend and interest payments to non-residents of Cyprus as per the local domestic legislation. Effective Date The intention of both countries is for the revised WHT rates to go into effect from 1 January 2021, through the signing of a protocol amending the existing tax treaty over the next few months. Malta and Luxembourg have also agreed to amend their respective DTTs with Russia and raise the tax rates on interest and dividends from Russia to 15% while negotiations are now ongoing with The Netherlands with the exact same terms. As always, the Taxation Department of Costas Tsielepis & Co Ltd is at your disposal should you require any further information or clarifications on this or any other tax issue.

Nicosia - Deposits and loans in the Cyprus banking system registered a net increase in June with total deposits amounting to €47.8 billion and total loans to €32.2 billion. Data published earlier this week by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), show that total deposits in June 2020 recorded a net increase of €106.4 million, compared with a net decrease of €30.8 million in May 2020. The annual growth rate stood at -0.7%, compared with -0.8% in May 2020. The outstanding amount of deposits reached €47.8 billion in June 2020. However, the CBC added that total loans in June 2020 exhibited a net increase of €264.7 million, compared with a net increase of €35.2 million in May 2020. Nevertheless, the outstanding amount of loans decreased by €568.1 million in June 2020 and reached €32.2 billion. The difference between the net change and the change of the outstanding amount of loans is attributed to reclassification, revaluation, exchange rate or other adjustments, the CBC said. The annual growth rate stood at -4.0%, compared with -4.4% in May 2020. The CBC also noted that the above changes in loans were positively affected by the suspension of instalments related to loans from MFIs to households and non-financial corporations amounting to €10.5 billion, according to a Covid-19 induced Decree on the suspension of loan instalments by the Minister of Finance.

Nicosia - Cyprus raised earlier this month €1 billion in a double European bond issue through the reopening of existing bonds maturing on 3 December 2024 and 21 January 2040. The total demand exceeded 10 times the minimum amount announced of €250 million for each transaction. In a written statement, Minister of Finance, Constantinos Petrides, expressed his satisfaction with “the extremely positive response by the markets.” In particular, the demand for the bond maturing in 2024 exceeded €2 billion, while for the bond maturing in 2040 the demand exceeded €3 billion. As for the interest rates, at this stage, it appears that they will be around 0,34% for the five-year period and 1,47% for the twenty-year period. The books have been closed and the processing of the results is currently in progress. “Based on the above data, the Republic of Cyprus has decided to absorb a total of €1 billion," the Finance Minister said. According to Petrides, the total offer has exceeded €5 billion, an amount that exceeds 10 times the amount initially announced, a fact that demonstrates the confidence of the international markets to the Cypriot economy. “Increasing the state’s liquidity creates more options for possible repayment of more expensive or short-term debt in the near future, reducing both the cost and the risks of public debt,” he added. Petrides also noted that public debt will only increase temporarily, as the funds collected will soon be used exclusively to repay the existing debt.

Nicosia - The Cyprus Tax Department launched in early July its much-awaited digital Tax Portal, putting an end to tax payments at local district offices on 1 September 2020. The Tax Department launched the Portal with an announcement on its website, in which it outlines its purpose, features and access method. The Tax Portal can be accessed via the link below with the same credentials used for TAXISnet: https://taxportal.mof.gov.cy/ “Time consuming and bureaucratic procedures that up until now required the physical presence of citizens in district offices of the Tax Department can now be carried out through their computer or mobile, through the tax portal,” the announcement said. The Tax Portal now serves as a general information and payment venue. Taxable persons are able to see what taxes they owe to the Tax Department, calculate dues and penalties and make the relevant payments via internet banking. The system also features a payment history function. However, for tax payers in a net refundable position, this is not currently visible. It also does not include a VAT statement of account function, as was originally expected. As of 1 September 2020, taxes can only be paid electronically through the portal as cashiers at all District Offices will terminate their operations. More features and functionalities are expected to be added to the system in due course.

Nicosia - The Cyprus Tax Department launched yesterday its much-awaited digital Tax Portal, putting an end to tax payments at local district offices on 1 September 2020. The Tax Department launched the Portal with an announcement on its website, in which it outlines its purpose, features and access method. The Tax Portal can be accessed via the link below with the same credentials used for TAXISnet: https://taxportal.mof.gov.cy/ “Time consuming and bureaucratic procedures that up until now required the physical presence of citizens in district offices of the Tax Department can now be carried out through their computer or mobile, through the tax portal,” the announcement said. The Tax Portal now serves as a general information and payment venue. Taxable persons are able to see what taxes they owe to the Tax Department, calculate dues and penalties and make the relevant payments via internet banking. The system also features a payment history function. However, for tax payers in a net refundable position, this is not currently visible. It also does not include a VAT statement of account function, as was originally expected. As of 1 September 2020, taxes can only be paid electronically through the portal as cashiers at all District Offices will terminate their operations. More features and functionalities are expected to be added to the system in due course. For more news and updates visit our website and LinkedIn account.

Nicosia - The much-awaited ‘Tax Portal’ will soon be made available to the public. The launching of the portal was announced by the Tax Department on 26 June 2020 here, saying it will be functional in “the next few days.” The Portal will be the new digital point of contact between taxpayers and the Tax Department. It will consolidate all the tax information from the various current infrastructures of the Tax Department so as to gather all information in a single portal. It remains to be seen what will the full functionality of this portal be once it goes live. Access to the Tax Portal will be made possible by using the same login credentials as for TAXISnet. Meanwhile, on 29 June 2020, a second announcement was issued from the Tax Department noting that the VAT forms for requesting or cancelling access to TAXISnet have been updated and that going forward, only the updated forms duly completed and signed would be accepted. It is understood that this change is in line with the requirements of the new Tax Portal which has already been noted that it will share login credentials with TAXISnet. Steps to take  All taxable persons need to ensure that they provide/update their TAXISnet profile with an active email address which is monitored and ensure that the TAXISnet emails are not filtered as spam/junk. This is important because with the launch of the Tax Portal, emails will be the means of communicating the above noted changes/updates.

Nicosia - President Nicos Anastasiades announced in a televised address last night a new set of economic measures to help businesses, the self-employed and employees soften the devastating financial effects of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The President elaborated that the new package of measures, which includes €430 million in direct government assistance and the unlocking of up to €1.7 billion in new credit facilities, includes the following: A liquidity grant amounting to €800 million for the financing of Small and Medium Enterprises, through the Cyprus Entrepreneurship Fund. The beneficiaries will be small and medium enterprises with maximum personnel of 250 per enterprise. For the purpose of providing loans to Cypriot small and medium enterprises and companies of medium capitalization, the Government has decided, in conjunction with the European Investment Bank, to increase the lending scheme by €500 million. The beneficiaries will be enterprises which have been registered and are operating in Cyprus employing up to 3.000 workers per enterprise. The Council of Ministers has approved the participation of the Republic of Cyprus in the Pan-European Guarantee Fund, which has been set up to combat the consequences from the Covid-19 pandemic in the member-states of the EU. Cyprus is expected to draw an amount of €300 to €400 million from this fund for the needs of the Cypriot economy. The beneficiaries will be Small and Medium Size enterprises and companies of Medium Capitalization, which have been hit by the pandemic. An Interest Subsidy Scheme for new business loans to enterprises, including self-employed, who are facing a lack of liquidity as a result of the pandemic. It concerns loans which have been contracted or will be contracted as of 1 March 2020 up until 31 December 2020. The beneficiaries will be all of the enterprises and self-employed, under the basic requirement of not being considered problematic (NPLs). The interest will be partly subsidized by the government for four years. In order to support home ownership, the government will subsidize the interest of house loans for a specified period of time and for a fixed maximum loan amount. It concerns loans contracted or to be contracted as of 1 March 2020 until 31 December 2020 and do not exceed €300.000. The duration of the subsidy will be four years and will amount to 1.5% of the interest. Subsidy Scheme for Small Enterprises and Self-Employed. The total amount of the subsidy exceeds €100 million and concerns 50.000 small companies that occupy up to 50 employees as well as the self-employed. Self-employed and small companies that had fully or partly suspended their activities and had joined the Special Schemes of the Ministry of Labour for the period 13 April - 12 May 2020, will receive a one-time, lump-sum subsidy based on their number of employees as follows: a)  Up to one person: €1.250 b)  From 2 to 5 persons: €3.000 c)  From 6 to 9 persons: €4.000 d)  From 10 to 50 persons: €6.000 All relevant authorities (local and national) will invite immediate tenders for…

Nicosia - The Cyprus Tax Department has extended its opening hours from 18 May to 31 May 2020. Beyond their normal business hours of 8.30am to 2.30pm daily, the Department will also accept visitors at all district offices on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2.30pm to 5.30pm for certain services and in designated areas. The extended hours initiative has become necessary since only a small number of visitors are allowed at the Department’s premises at any given time, to protect staff and the public from the Covid-19 virus. For the full Tax Department announcement (GR), click here.

Singapore - A Singapore University of Technology and Design study predicted that the Covid-19 virus will be eradicated in Cyprus in the second half of May. In a study published on 28 April, the University predicted the lifecycle of the Coronavirus pandemic in many countries, including Cyprus. According to the findings, the pandemic peaked in Cyprus on 5 April, while the virus is reported to have left the community by a rate of 97% on 29 April. The University predicts that by 8 May that percentage will reach 99% in Cyprus and will reach 100% on 24 May. The study reports that the pandemic will disappear from the planet by 9 December 2020. The study’s predictions methodology is based on the life cycle of past pandemics and the factors that affect it as well as geographical particularities for each country. “Such a life cycle is the result of the adaptive and countering behaviours of agents including individuals (avoiding physical contact) and governments (locking down cities) as well as the natural limitations of the ecosystem,” the author writes. The study notes that the pandemic life cycles vary by countries, and different countries might be in different phases of the life cycles at a specific point in time. The theoretical ends for France, the United States and Italy all fall in August. For Greece the study predicts the virus will leave the community by 99% on 24 May and by 100% on 12 July 2020. Cyprus one of the safest countries in the world Meanwhile, French travel insurance company Insurly identified earlier this year the top 10 safest countries in the world for 2020, placing Cyprus in 5th place. The study, which was released just before the Coronavirus pandemic, collected data on natural disasters, transport, the quality of healthcare systems and levels of violent crime and terrorist threat. Switzerland was crowned the safest country on the planet, while Singapore came 2nd with Norway trailing in 3rd. Luxembourg and Cyprus followed in 4th and 5th place respectively. The USA ranked much further down the list, only coming in at 44th place while Turkey came in 69th.

The Cyprus Tax Department recently published a list of contact details of their District Offices and other useful information, in an effort to promote communication electronically or by telephone. Direct Tax District Telephone Email Nicosia 22 807 266 22 807 214 [email protected] Limassol 25 803 700 25 803 773 [email protected] Paphos 26 804 370 [email protected] Larnaca 24 803 634 24 803 635 [email protected] Famagusta 23 811 447 23 812 146 [email protected] Indirect Tax (VAT) District Telephone Email Nicosia 22 404 615 [email protected] Limassol 25 848 888 [email protected] Paphos 26 804 310 [email protected] Larnaca 24 801 190 [email protected] Famagusta 23 811 313 23 811435 [email protected]   lease find the Tax Department announcement in Greek here.