Cyprus as a place to live and work
Cyprus is a well-established business location known for its neutral tax regime, investor friendly business culture, highly educated work force, solid banking system and legal system.
The Cyprus Republic is a state member of the European Union since 2004 which offers the country a great prospective in all aspects of quality of living, stable health care system, internationally recognised education system and a liberal economy. Cyprus population is counted in 2017 to be 847.000. The vast majority of residence are Greek Orthodox (78%) and around 18% of Muslim.
Cyprus has more than 3000 thousand years of history and culture and many of the island’s treasures are on the revered UNESCO Word Heritage List. The country is one of the most beautiful islands of Eastern Europe, offering sunny beaches and is a great place for a family to reside mainly due to the genuine local hospitality, low crime figures and high quality of life.
Facts about Cyprus
Cyprus’ unique geographical location positions itself at the entry point of three continents, Europe, Africa and Asia and plays a vital role in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The island is an ideal investment gateway to the European Union, a portal for investment outside the EU, particularly the Middle East, India and China.
Cyprus offers one of the most attractive tax regimes in Europe, fully compliant with EU, OECD and international laws and regulations.
Some of the appealing benefits are:
- One of the lowest corporate income tax rates in the EU at 12.5%
- Dividend participation exemption
- Exemption on disposal of securities (e.g. shares, bonds, debentures)
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 are attributable to the real estate holding)
- No succession taxes
- Attractive IP regime
- Tonnage tax for shipping companies
- National interest deduction for investments into Cyprus companies
- Personal tax exemptions for new residents and non-domiciled individuals
- More than 60 double tax treaties
Cyprus is a full member of the European Union since 1st of May 2004 and adopted the Euro as its official currency of the Republic on 1st of January 2008. This has launched a new era of opportunities for Cyprus companies and the Cyprus economy. New funding opportunities have arisen from European funds to support Cyprus companies. In addition to this, Cyprus has established itself as an ideal location for inbound and outbound investments in the EU.
Furthermore, the accession to the EU has provided more advantages for businesses in the single market. Cyprus provides a tax friendly environment in association with the Parent Subsidiary EU Directive. This creates the opportunity to other Member State Companies to enjoy 0% on profit distributions from Cyprus subsidiaries.
Cyprus’ comprehensive and robust legal and regulatory framework is based on the English Common Law principles. The Cyprus legal system is recognised as business-friendly, very effective and ensures transparency and reliability in business practices. Cyprus offers foreign businesses a familiar and reliable framework within which to operate. The 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.
The high level of skilled human talent constitutes one of Cyprus most compelling advantages, complemented by a broad range of high quality professional services. As a dynamic business center, Cyprus offers an abundance of highly educated and skilled individuals, multilingual and ready to serve the needs of any business. Cyprus ranks amongst the top countries in Europe for tertiary education per capita.
Cyprus offers a sophisticated road; air and sea transport solutions and services, which are widely recognised as an important competitive advantage in attracting foreign direct investment. Cyprus has two multi-purpose deep-sea ports and are located in the coastal cities of Limassol and Larnaca. The Limassol port handles both passenger and freight cargo while offering logistic solutions through advanced facilities for cost-effective transport and processing. In addition, the Limassol port is a renowned cruise liner hub and a popular “stop-over” for international cruise ships. Cyprus has two modern international airports in Larnaca and Paphos, which offer services to approximately 10 million visitors per year, connecting the island to the most popular transit hubs throughout the world. Considerable investment has also been made to transform the island into a major telecommunications hub in the region, connecting Cyprus via submarine fiber optic cable and satellite to other networks in the Eastern Mediterranean basin and beyond.
Cyprus offers a very high quality lifestyle with high living standards in a safe, clean and healthy environment.
The low crime levels, 340 days of sunshine, centuries of art and culture, and a unique Mediterranean gastronomy all contribute to a high quality of life. Safety is amongst the biggest advantages of Cyprus, which has been ranked the safest smaller country in Value Penguin’s Safest Countries in the world (2015) and fifth worldwide.
The government’s commitment to the continuous introduction of progressive measures for reform and growth has resulted in the impressive recovery of the Cypriot economy much earlier than expected. Cyprus constitutes today a success story for the EU, a fact enhanced by continuous upgrades from credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and Moody’s. Cyprus’ key economic sectors are constantly being developed and improved including introducing structural changes and important reductions in expenses and operational costs. This evolvement has been instrumental in Cyprus regaining its credibility and reinforced its competitiveness as an attractive investment destination offering numerous opportunities and potential.
![business in cyprus](https://businessrelocation.com.cy/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Relocation-page-images.jpg)
More reasons entrepreneurs and organizations choose Cyprus.
People in Cyprus are amongst the most educated individuals in the world, specializing in accounting, legal and other business professions with studies in well-known Universities in UK and the US.
The Cyprus legal system is fundamentally based on the English legal system, which is one of the most efficient and reliable legal systems in the world. The legal system has some minor influences from the continental European legal system but its foundation is based on the Anglo-Saxon judicial system.
The Cyprus Company Registrar is based on the UK’s Companies House system, its legal aspects and is fully computerised.
Cyprus Companies are obliged to fully implement and follow the International Financial Reporting Standards of Accounting in accordance with all the provisions of International Accounting Standards Board.
The country is a member of the United Nations and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. It fully adopts the UN charts as well uses OECD recommendations for economic governance and development.
Furthermore, the Cyprus banking system is also based on the Anglo – Saxon system where its foundations are based on the colonial era of 1887 to 1960. The period in which Cyprus was a British Colony. Nowadays, Cyprus banks follow the world banking standards and are monitored by the European Central Bank.