ONE of the suggestions made by the troika was that it wanted to see the Cyprus government collect an additional revenue of at least €20 billion from property taxation.
Although the Interior Minister Eleni Mavrou has gone on record as saying that small-time property owners would not be hit by a rise in property tax, the government is proposing to lower the threshold at which Immovable Property Tax becomes payable from €120,000 to €40,000. The revised tax tales are as follows:
Properties with an assessed 1980 value up to €40,000 will be exempt.
From €40,000 to €120,000 – the proposed rate is 0.3%
From €120 000 to €170,000 – the proposed rate is 0.4%
From €170,000 to €300,000 – the proposed rate is 0.9%
From €300,000 to €500,000 – the proposed rate is 1.0%
From €500,000 to €800,000 – the proposed rate is 1.1%
For properties valued above €800,00 – the proposed rate is 1.2%
The government is also proposing that residential properties with a total area exceeding 300 square metres will be taxed automatically.
If implemented, many small-time property owners will find themselves caught in this tax hike contradicting assurances given by Interior Minister Eleni Mavrou.