Cyprus to raise corporate income tax to 15% for all companies

[OffshoreDude]

What I really don't get why they would not limit the increase only to big multinational corporations with an annual turnover of 750 mio, as that would satisfy that socialist OECD agenda of a "global minimum tax" of 15% for such companies, but at the same time would still keep the low taxation for small and medium-sized businesses.

 

[GPT]

What I really don't get why they would not limit the increase only to big multinational corporations with an annual turnover of 750 mio, as that would satisfy that socialist OECD agenda of a "global minimum tax" of 15% for such companies, but at the same time would still keep the low taxation for small and medium-sized businesses.

Owh that one is easy..
For context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012–2013_Cypriot_financial_crisis

It wasnt necessary what happened and yet it happened. Until then Cyprus was quite sovereign in Europe. Since then Cyprus is not so sovereign anymore. In short; when told to jump all Cyprus can ask is: "how high?". Before the crisis Cyprus was able to freely negotiate with for instance Russia. The EU, mildly said, did not like that. Etc. Etc. You can fill in the rest from here.

 

[sebastian]

I agree with what’s been said here, Cyprus is still a solid tool in the toolbox if you're looking for tax reduction as part of a broader strategy.

 

[OffshoreDude]

Same for personal tax threshold of 20500. With some proper planning you can easily manage to work with the 20500. The combination of corporate and personal tax makes Cyprus still very interesting.

May I ask what you mean with that "proper planning" and the "combination of corporate and personal tax", and how that could be beneficial? Because normally, a business owner should not pay himself a salary, but just take out dividends, to avoid social contributions and maximize profits.

I personally, do plan to pay myself only the minimum wage (currently at 1.000 per month) for a short while after I move to Cyprus and create my company there, but only to increase my chances to get the yellow slip and non-dom status. After I obtain both, I will cancel my "employment" and take out dividends only.

Or am I overlooking something?

 

[GPT]

May I ask what you mean with that "proper planning" and the "combination of corporate and personal tax", and how that could be beneficial? Because normally, a business owner should not pay himself a salary, but just take out dividends, to avoid social contributions and maximize profits.

I personally, do plan to pay myself only the minimum wage (currently at 1.000 per month) for a short while after I move to Cyprus and create my company there, but only to increase my chances to get the yellow slip and non-dom status. After I obtain both, I will cancel my "employment" and take out dividends only.

Or am I overlooking something?

"Because normally, a business owner should not pay himself a salary, but just take out dividends, to avoid social contributions"

Yes that is indeed the theory.

First of all, not all countries will accept this and will tax you then on dividend distributions.
Second, you dont want to attract attention. For as long as you are in the SME category a lot of the theory just doesnt apply to you. You can take my word for it or find out the hard way (as I did decades ago).
Third, its always better to comply to a minimal level which makes you look average in the eyes of the tax authorities. Again, you dont want to stand out.

Specifically for Cyprus, pay your self 24000 in salary which is 3500 above the threshold. In the eyes of the tax authorities you are a hero because you contribute income tax. The amount however is minimal and doesn't break the bank. I have been doing that every 3rd or 4th year even though I didnt live there actively anymore. Now I dont because of the GESY complications it brings for my situation specifically.

Fourth, its nice to go hardline on not paying taxes. Practically that means countries will have you on their radar faster. Are you interested with the continuous compliance and tax questions?
Fifth, by paying into the social system you also have less health insurance issues when something happens while traveling outside Cyprus. If you are wealthy enough to front up to 100k (depending on the country and situation), by all means go for it. If you do not fall in that category, the social system buys you peace of mind. Yes, I understand travel insurance covers a lot albeit not always everything. You dont have to google hard to find plenty of stories and crowdfundings to support what I wrote.

To sum it up. Be average in the eyes of the tax authorities until you get to the level where it doesnt matter anymore. Then again, maybe especially then its even nicer to look average as to avoid unwanted attention from tax authorities and other adversaries.