Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, spoke of a strong investment interest in Cyprus and zero tolerance for sanctions violations, during his address at the 62nd General Assembly of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPA), which took place at the Nicosia Municipal Theater on Wednesday afternoon. An important goal, he said, is the implementation of a new growth model. The President noted that there is a strong investment interest in Cyprus, indicating that significant investments from foreign countries are possible within 2023. “Today I had a first meeting with a delegation from the United Arab Emirates, which was accompanied by investment funds and other investors from the country who are really interested,” he said, adding that another meeting is scheduled for Thursday morning “with all those who have invested in our country to hear their own concerns,” he said. He added that attracting quality investments is a top priority for the government, stressing that Cyprus has the infrastructure to attract this type of investment, as long as “we do what we must do”. President Christodoulides also noted that safeguarding the name of Cyprus as a reliable business and financial centre was one of the first challenges the new government had to handle. He said that immediately, the government, in cooperation with all supervisory bodies, took all the necessary measures and will continue to show zero tolerance in this matter. “The decisions taken by the American and British governments were not a positive development, but we should treat these decisions as an opportunity to bring this issue to an end,” he noted. The President called on ICPA members to continue to approach this issue with “and to work together to eliminate, through actions and not words, any shadow or doubt that exists at an international level about business activities in our country”. He added that Cyprus cannot afford not to rise to the occasion and to suffer a blow to its image due to the behavior of a minority. Regarding the tax reform, the President said that the goal is to modernise and simplify the tax system. “The main axes of the tax reform being promoted are the increase of the competitiveness of the tax model of Cyprus, the reduction of the administrative burden for tax-paying citizens and of course businesses and, at the same time, the provision of a fairer redistribution of the tax burden, while maintaining, at the same time, fiscal neutrality”, he said. The new tax proposal the government will put forward should be encouraging towards businesses and at the same time socially fair, Minister of Finance Makis Keravnos said in his address. According to Keravnos the government intends for the new tax proposal to balance the modern economic model and its prospects to evolve. ‘The new tax reform should aim towards a transparent and simplified system, with the least possible bureaucracy. It should be encouraging towards businesses and at the same time socially fair, it should be in line with European standards and aim to reduce tax evasion and tax avoidance,’ he noted. The government, he said believes that ‘the new tax proposal should constitute an improvement mechanism of equal distribution of product output and income, enhancing social cohesion and encouraging and facilitating investment activity.’ He stressed however that it should be fiscally neutral and have stability as its main characteristic, so that it can constitute an advantage and be an incentive for both local and foreign investors. Keravnos said that the University of Cyprus Economics Research Centre has been asked to draft the proposal, adding that experts from abroad would also contribute in the effort and at the right time ICPAC would also be asked to contribute. On his part, ICPAC President Pieris Marcou asked for reforms, institutional amendments and modernisation, stressing the need for a tax reform and digital adjustments. Referring to the economy Marcou said that the energy cost, the malfunction of supply chains, the cost of money with the constant increase of interest rates, the cost and different types of employment and a persistent inflation have a negative impact on the economy. These factors, he noted, are negatively impacting the economy leading to tendencies for a slowdown of growth On the economic prospects he said that ICPAC thinks there is room for improvement as far as the 2023 projections are concerned despite problems. To that extent he spoke about the prospects of new sectors such as energy research, innovation, technology, green and blow growth, sustainability etc. Referring to sanctions he assured that ICPAC as a relevant authority has been closely monitoring developments from the outset and has ‘undertaken multiple actions both to inform and train our members as well as to enhance our oversight role.’
Source: Cyprus News Agency