Cyprus is a warm tropical island paradise that enjoys the liberty of being split in half between the Turkish controlled portion and the Greek portion

What you need to know is that the portion that’s recognised by the European Union is the Greek side not the Turkish in the north. These two co-inhabitants do not share cooking recipes.

In fact, they have had several outbreaks of violence back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the partition between them was put up. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriots announced the establishment of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). However, the international community, apart from Turkey, do not recognise any Turkish state in Cyprus – but they do recognise the Republic of Cyprus (aka: the Greek side). The good news is, these two embattled inhabitants are currently at peace, and if the Turkish side wishes to join the EU, it will have to continue to play nicely together with their Greek neighbour. Amicorp’s services are provided from the ‘Greek side’ of Cyprus.

The Greek Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union in May of 2004 and is fully OECD compliant. As one of the newest members of the European Union, the Republic of Cyprus offers a simple, flexible corporate tax and legal regime that delivers powerful financial planning possibilities.

What is hot about Cyprus (besides the tropical climate?)
So, now you know that it’s a great regime for getting dividends out to clients, being either a person or a company, but what else, other than competition to other holding company jurisdictions, is Cyprus good for? Consider a Cyprus Trading Company: Cyprus can offer a nice opportunity to trade through a branch operation without income taxation in Cyprus or the branch. I may be a tax nerd, but this is still pretty cool. If we start with a Cyprus company. It is legal Cyprus Company, incorporated in Cyprus with the management and control of the company placed outside Cyprus.

Under Cyprus law, the company is no longer taxable on worldwide income when its management and control (eg, where the Board of Directors are located and the management decisions are made) is located outside Cyprus. It’s taxable only on income generated (sourced) in Cyprus (unlikely for many clients). We place the management and control in a country where a permanent establishment (PE) is only subject to limited taxation. This means taxation only on income generated in that jurisdiction.

The good the bad and the blacklist
So now you have all the facts about why Cyprus is a great exit route from Europe; but what about other jurisdictions? It’s said that old reputations die hard. Well, it’s true; Cyprus’s commercial record has had a chequered past. It has been historically associated with transacting with jurisdictions that have reputations for dodgy ethics. In years past, it had been considered as a jurisdiction used to flow muddy monies through from point ‘A’ to ‘B’. The result: a reputation of being less than clean. This is one of the reasons Cyprus was placed on several ‘blacklists’ (lists of tax haven jurisdictions with tax laws harmful to international commerce). This reputation however, should be discarded.

The Republic of Cyprus – at a glance

Government: Presidential Republic
Head of State: President Tassos PapadopoulosArea: 9,250 sq km – 3,355 sq km are controlled by the ‘TRNC’
Population: 754,064
Capital City: Nicosia (population: 195,000)
Nationality: Cypriot
People: Greek Cypriot (78%), Turkish Cypriot (18%), others (four%)
Languages: Greek, Turkish and English
Currency: Cypriot pound (CYP)