Cyprus Government pledges to keep low taxation

Cyprus government pledges to maintain low corporate taxation thus supporting private initiative and the inflow of foreign investments, Cypriot Minister of Finance Charilaos Stavrakis said.

Speaking during a conference titled ''Future of Cyprus as an International Business Centre'', held in Nicosia , Stavrakis said that “Cyprus has a comparative and competitive advantage as regards the effort to attract foreign investments”.

Elaborating on Cyprus’ advantages, Stavrakis underlined the fact that “Cyprus is an EU full member and Euro area, but it also applies the lowest taxation compared to other EU members, while it has agreements for avoiding double taxation with a number of countries. It also has a robust and flexible banking system, which has not been directly affected by the global financial crisis”.

The aforementioned advantages, Stavrakis said, have turn Cyprus into a reliable financial and investing center therefore the government remains committed to maintain low taxation thus supporting private initiative and the effort to attract foreign investments”.

Furthermore, the Cypriot Financial Minister made special reference to the agreement Cyprus have signed with Russia for avoiding double taxation, noting that it is probably one of the best agreements of this kind worldwide. Due to this agreement, Stavrakis said, the majority of investments made in Russia by American and European companies are made via Cyprus.

Stavrakis also referred to the global financial crisis, noting that services and the sector of foreign investments continue to be the main pillars of the Cyprus’ economy.