Cyprus VAT revenue up by â‚¬3.1 mln in August

VAT revenue was up by €3.1 mln in August to €103.2 mln, compared to €100.1 mln in August 2012, the VAT Service announced on Tuesday.
"In view of the economic crisis and the recession, the 3.1% increase of VAT income is considered particularly important since it contributes in the effort undertaken by the Ministry of Finance to achieve fiscal targets set," a government announcement said.

The Cypriot economy has been hampered by recession since the third quarter of 2011. Excluded from international markets since May 2011, Cyprus requested and received a €10 bln financial assistance package from the Troika (EC, ECB, IMF).

The package featured a sizeable reduction of the island’s banking sector, as well as bail-in of uninsured deposits, which hampered the services sector, one of the island's main source of income.
Recent data showed that the economy shrank 5.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2013, marking its eighth consecutive quarterly GDP reduction. The Troika estimates that the country’s GDP will shrink by 8.7% in 2013.