in-cyprus 19 October 2022 - by Annie Charalambous
If unpaid, the imposed 0.4% tax on all sales of immovable property will become a civil debt to the Cyprus Republic.
This is a provision added by the House Refugee Committee to the law voted in February this year by the plenum, Philenews reported on Wednesday.
The amended bill will go before the plenum for approval on Thursday and pave the way for violators to be taken to court.
The collected funds will go into a central fund managed by the Central Agency for the Equal Distribution of Burdens, the state agency assisting Greek-Cypriot refugees created after the 1974 Turkish invasion and war.
This law aims to compensate refugees for their inability to possess, access, or rightfully use their properties. The 0.4% levy will be paid by the seller of the property and not by the buyer.
It is imposed on any sale or transfer of real estate in Cyprus, the transfer of shares in a company – if that company owns immovable property – or when the transfer of the shares aims for the buyer to take control of the company or to develop the immovable property.
However, 19 months after the bill was voted in and the state has not collected a single cent since neither the method of payment nor the competent service to collect the 0.4% fee had been clarified.
