Public finances are down due to fall in property’s sale, says Cyprus Finance Minister

 Public finances have witnessed a set back due to the dramatic drop in the prices and sales of property in Cyprus and the recent great reduction in the income from corporative taxes, Minister of Finance Charilaos Stavrakis has said.

Invited on Tuesday to comment on the reduction, which the income from tourism figures recorded in the first six months of 2009, Stavrakis told the Executive Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry that income from tourism affects public finances through VAT (money, which the tourists spend) but this is not directly related to public finances.

Stavrakis said that the big reduction in the income from corporative tax is the result of the fact that the profitability of foreign companies, which are registered in Cyprus and Cypriot companies, have been significantly affected this year by the lagging economy.