Panayiotis Rougalas
The amount of government revenue generated by the Cyprus Investment Programme (CIP) cannot be calculated and linked to the individuals covered by the CIP.
According to the Minister of Finance, Constantinos Petrides, in response to a question from the MP for the Nicosia constituency, Alexandra Attalidou, notified the House of Representatives, regarding the revenue from investment tax, he emphasizes that it cannot be calculated because different types of taxes are involved, and depending on the type of tax, it can be paid by the applicant or by another person.
According to the Minister's written response, where real estate is purchased or an investment is made through the purchase of shares in a company that directly or indirectly owns real estate, the seller is liable to pay Capital Gains Tax under the current legislation.
It also emphasizes that when a reduced VAT rate approval is granted for the purchase/construction of a house, a compliance campaign is underway, which includes auditing the reporting persons.
Concerning the CCP criteria, Mr. Petrides responds that, in the case of employment contracts, these are presented to the Tax Department for Census purposes but are not kept.
In his written response, he concludes that, in accordance with the program's criteria, when the Tax Department's Collection Certificate is mentioned, the applicant prints it through the Tax Portal based on the amounts paid.
