Cyprus President Anastasiades: Eleven Reform Proposals

Addressing the annual meeting of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades outlined the government’s eleven reform proposals which “would yield new prospects and new momentum to the business activity.” He assured that the government policy to provide tax breaks and economic incentives will continue.

Anastasiades talked about the government’s reform actions which cover the justice system, the public service, the promotion of e-governance, the municipal reform, the implementation of a national strategy on Tourism and the simplification of large projects licensing process.

Moreover, he noted the importance of the Investment Funds sector and its development, the drafting of a national plan for blockchain technology, the establishment of an insurance and provident fund regulatory authority, the establishment of social corporations, the partial privatisation of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority, as well as the privatisation of the Stock Exchange and the State Lottery.

“We will continue working with the same consistency and determination to create a modern, sustainable and flexible state, with a view to securing growth prospects in a particularly competitive and rapidly changing environment,” the President said. His hope is that all political parties can acknowledge the benefits these reforms could provide to the citizens and support their implementation.

Anastasiades said the government will continue the policy of rationalising the public finances, which helped the government lower the tax burden during the financial crisis. He further added that a bill for the termination of the tax duty has been tabled to the Parliament for approval, adding that a public consultation will begin next year for the Green tax reform.

CCCI president, Christodoulos Angastiniotis noted that fiscal discipline should continue with constant monitoring of inflexible public spending and the Cypriot government should increase spending to facilitate growth. Furthermore, he said that the state should earmark sizeable funds in the future budgets for public debt reduction and combat tax evasion where needed.

Angastiniotis also called for reforms such as privatisation of state-owned enterprises that operate in conditions of competition, outsourcing of state services to the private sector, the reassessment of the pension system to tackle distortions, as well as the improvement of public transport.