29/04/2004 13:12
At the joint meeting held in Parliament on Thursday, the House Finance and European Affairs Committees decided to impose a 5% VAT on the purchase of first residence with a possible future increase to 15%, granting a special benefit to all beneficiaries to offset the additional burden. Finance Minister, Marcos Kyprianou said that the terms and the criteria will be determined by certain regulations to be set by the government and the Parliament.
Mr. Kyprianou admitted that the House Finance Committee rejected the Finance Ministry’s proposal for the imposition of a 15% VAT. The relevant bill will be approved by the Parliament in the afternoon, while the imposition of VAT applies to all new buildings, for which property purchase applications will be filed from May 1, 2004 onwards.
The VAT does not apply to properties, since they have been exempted until 2007.
“The imposition of VAT on properties is not a government’s political choice. We have entered the final stage of adoption of the EU requirements and the government is pledged to apply the agreements, despite its attempts for exemptions”, the Minister concluded.
Mr. Kyprianou admitted that the House Finance Committee rejected the Finance Ministry’s proposal for the imposition of a 15% VAT. The relevant bill will be approved by the Parliament in the afternoon, while the imposition of VAT applies to all new buildings, for which property purchase applications will be filed from May 1, 2004 onwards.
The VAT does not apply to properties, since they have been exempted until 2007.
“The imposition of VAT on properties is not a government’s political choice. We have entered the final stage of adoption of the EU requirements and the government is pledged to apply the agreements, despite its attempts for exemptions”, the Minister concluded.
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