FSMO | CYPRUS

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CYPRUS

Why to invest in Cyprus?

Cyprus is a small island with a long history and a rich culture that spans 10.000 years, making it one of the oldest civilisations in the Mediterranean – as evidenced by the many fascinating cultural sights, museums, monuments and galleries. Situated at the crossroads of three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa – the island’s unique geographic position has played an important part in its turbulent past since antiquity. Its Prehistoric Age inhabitants were joined 3,500 years ago by the Mycenaean Greeks, who introduced and established their civilisation, thus permanently instilling the island’s Greek roots. Many other cultures followed thereafter, including Phoenicians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Romans, Franks, Venetians, Ottomans and British, who all left behind visible remnants of their passage, and have thus created a mosaic of different cultures and periods.

Strategic location

Access point to the EU market for foreign investors.
Crossroads of three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia) and providing a gateway to and from each one of them.
EU’s key trading post in the Eastern Mediterranean, providing a point of exchange between Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Member of the European Union

A member of the European Union since 2004.
A member of the Eurozone since 2008.
Full access to European markets.
Participates in EU programs, focusing on strengthening growth in various economic sectors, as well as entrepreneurship and innovation across sectors and processes.
Access to all EU directives.

Attractive Tax Regime

One of the lowest corporate tax rates in the EU at 12,5%.
Double tax treaties with over 60 countries.
Dividend income exceptions based on related conditions.
Capital gains tax exceptions.
An attractive personal tax regime for international professionals and non-domiciled individuals.
Gains from trading in securities are exempt.
No inheritance taxes.
Tonnage Tax for Shipping companies.

Cyprus Economy and positive outlook

One of the fastest growing EU economies.
Consecutive upgrades by credit ratings agencies.
Consecutive growth in GDP.
Positive Macroeconomic forecasts.

Competent workforce

Its workforce is amongst the most educated and trained in the EU.
Most commonly spoken languages are English and Russian.
Visa Free access to European markets.
Excellent private education sector with English taught programs.

Cyprus Infrastructure

Lower labor costs in comparison with major EU capital.
Lowest office rental costs in Europe.
Excellent services provided by registered accounting and law firms.
Wide range of services makes starting and running a business easy.
Establishing business is simple and fast.
The legal system is aligned to the English common law legal system.

Living and working

Wonderful environment for a very comfortable standard of living.
Crime rates are very low and the sense of safety and security is quite high across the country.
Best climates worldwide.
Excellent retirement destination.
Strong and stable telecommunications system.
Very good transport infrastructure, including two international airports (Larnaca and Paphos) and two deep sea ports.

International Shipping Centre

3rd largest merchant fleet in the EU and among the largest merchant fleets worldwide.
One of the largest shipping registries in the EU.
Competitive EU approved tonnage tax system.
Advance maritime infrastructure and shipping favorable legislations Cyprus is a signatory to maritime conventions on pollution reduction, safety, and security.
More than 140 shipping firms.

Expats tax incentives

Cyprus offers a number of personal tax incentives that aim to attract multinational companies to relocate key personnel to perform their duties from Cyprus. The tax incentives also appeal to high-net-worth individuals who are willing to relocate to Cyprus.

An expatriate individual relocating to Cyprus (irrespective of his/her tax residency or domicile status) is eligible to one of the following income tax exemptions on employment income:

• 50% of the remuneration from any employment exercised in Cyprus by an individual who was resident outside Cyprus before the commencement of his/her employment in Cyprus. The exemption applies for a period of ten years starting from the first year of employment provided that the employment income of the employee exceeds €100,000 per annum.

The 50% tax exemption would not be granted to an individual who has been a Cypriot tax resident for at least three out of the last five years immediately prior to the year of commencement of employment or to an individual who has been a Cypriot tax resident in the tax year immediately prior to the year of commencement of employment.

• 20% of the remuneration or €8,550 (whichever is the lower) from any employment exercised in Cyprus by an individual who was resident outside Cyprus before the commencement of his/her employment in Cyprus. The exemption applies for a period of five years from 1 January following the year of commencement of the employment and applies for tax years up to 2020.

More details about Cyprus

Cyprus officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean, located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel, north of Egypt, and southeast of Greece. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded the north. The island was effectively partitioned with the northern third inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and the southern two-thirds by Greek Cypriots. Greek is spoken predominately in the south and Turkish is spoken predominantly in the north. English is very widely spoken in south by locals of all ages – partially because of previous British rule and partially due to the tourism industry.

Overcoming the challenges of recent years, Cyprus has continued on a solid growth path and maintained its status as one of the fastest growing Eurozone economies. With strong fiscal performance and new large-scale projects in the pipeline, the small EU country has exceeded international expectations and kept a steady pace in improving efficiency, implementing reforms and boosting investor confidence.Cyprus has reclaimed its status as a self-determining and thriving economy. Having shown remarkable resilience following the financial crisis of 2013, it implemented tough austerity measures to restructure and diversify its economy and was able to exit the economic adjustment programme earlier than scheduled in 2016. Economic growth has surpassed all expectations in 2015-18, with the priority now shifting to ensure that the recent strong growth momentum is maintained.

Key Sectors

Cyprus offers numerous structural advantages for investors in a variety of key growth sectors, such as:

Cyprus’ emerging sector, is expected to play a catalytic role in the future development of the country and its economy as a whole. The existence of world-class deep- water natural gas reserves in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has attracted significant attention from potential international investors, in both energy and the sectors which support its development. With similar resource exploitation in neighbouring countries, Cyprus has the opportunity to become a long-term energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Cyprus has the 10th largest merchant fleet in the world, the 3rd largest merchant
fleet in the EU and the 2nd largest Ship Management centre in the world.

Cyprus provides an array of high quality services in the accounting and legal areas.

Cyprus has a diverse sector with international banking units,
insurance companies, subsidiaries and more. Also it is emerging into an investment funds jurisdiction.

An emerging sector with great potential with the availability of luxurious hotels and internationally educated doctors.

Cyprus offers a variety of projects which are available to investors today that range from hotel and golf courses to the old airport of Larnaca and the utilization of prime real estate in the heart of the capital of Cyprus. Other upcoming investment opportunities include the Casino, Technology Park and more.

Other sectors include: information and communication technologies, education, research and development. Many of these sectors benefit from vibrant clusters of support services and expertise that allow the industry to flourish.

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