Why Cyprus
Political system
Presidential Democratic State. The Executive authority is vested in the President, who is elected for a 5-year term by Cypriot citizens, and is exercised by a Council of Ministers appointed by the President. The Legislative authority is exercised by the House of Representatives, whose Members are elected by Cypriot citizens every 5 years. The administration of Justice is exercised by the Judiciary, which is a separate and independent body.
Culture
The rich cultural landscape is reflected in the archaeological sites, museums and monuments located throughout the island. Local and international festivals, music concerts and other cultural events take place throughout the year.
Outdoor activities
With over 320 days of sunshine, Cyprus is the ideal place to enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities Running in Pedieos River Linear Park in Nicosia, cycling along the coast of Paphos and Limassol, swimming in Ayia Napa and Protaras, windsurfing in Larnaca and hiking in Troodos are just few of the activities one can enjoy.
Education and Human Talent
Human talent constitutes Cyprus’ most compelling advantage, complemented by a broad range of high quality professional services. As a dynamic business centre, Cyprus holds an abundance of highly educated and skilled individuals, multilingual in their majority, ready to serve the needs of any business
· Over 20 reputable English speaking primary and secondary schools
· Internationally recognised colleges and universities
· The island ranks among the highest in the EU in respect of university graduates in proportion to its population
Healthcare
Cyprus has an easily accessible healthcare system, both in the public and in the private sector. EU citizens and people who are permanent residents in Cyprus are eligible forstate healthcare, whilst non-EU citizens need private healthcare, the cost of which is relatively affordable. Cyprus has six public general hospitals, a modern oncology centre and more than 70 private hospitals and healthcare clinics. Finally, a general healthcare system has been recently introduced and is effective as of 1 June 2019.
Doing Business in Cyprus
Cyprus’ competitive advantages are significantly enhanced by a robust and transparent legal and regulatory framework and an attractive tax regime, which offers a wide range of incentives and benefits both for legal and natural persons.
The country’s legal system, based on English Common Law principles, is widely recognised as a business-friendly and effective system that ensures transparency and reliability in business practices. Providing foreign businesses a familiar and reliable framework within which to operate, Cyprus’ legal system is also fully compliant with the EU, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), OECD, FATCA, the Financial Stability Forum laws and regulations and EU AML directives.
Moreover, Cyprus offers an attractive and transparent tax regime, fully compliant with EU, OECD and international laws and regulations. Providing access to an extensive network of more than 60 Double Tax Treaties, and maintaining a corporate tax rate of 12.5%, one of the lowest in the EU, Cyprus offers international investors and domestic businesses confidence to invest, grow and prosper.
Tax System
Cyprus with an excellent infrastructure and a large number of trained and qualified professionals and strategic geographical position, is an attractive financial centre which combines the advantages of a traditional offshore centre with those of the full membership of the European Union. The business of its kind in Cyprus is dedicated to add real substance in their tax planning, in the form of completed operations on the island.
Despite the fact that there are a number of countries that have established themselves as reliable financial centers in the European Union which are able to offer some very attractive tax advantages, none of these countries have managed to combine these benefits to the same extent as Cyprus, which apart from the wide network of double taxation agreements and the full implementation of EU directives, has been put in an enviable position in both the European Union and globally.
The main features of the tax laws that determine the attractiveness of optimizing international tax structures are as follows:
• One of the lowest corporate tax rates in the European Union: 12.5%
• Extensive network of double taxation with EU countries and other jurisdictions.
• Access to all tax EU directives
• No taxation on profits from the disposal of Securities
• No tax is withheld on transfers abroad
• Infinite store profit in Cypriot companies where shareholders are not tax residents in Cyprus (either directly or indirectly)
• Dividends received by a Cyprus company is exempt from Corporation Tax and from Special Defence Contribution (under conditions)
• No withholding taxes on dividend, interest and royalty payments abroad
• No capital gains tax (except for disposal of real estate in Cyprus or shares of company holding real estate in Cyprus to the extent gains is attributable to the real estate holding)
• Attractive ‘’IP Box’’ regime on intellectual property rights
• Notional interest deduction (NID) on the new capital introduced into the Cypriot company.
• Personal tax exemptions for new residents and non-domiciled individual
• Advanced tax system