Aim for tax reform implementation from 1 January, 2026 remains in place, President says

President Nikos Christodoulides has chaired a meeting on Tax Reform and confirmed that the government's goal remains for the reform to be implemented from the start of next year.

At the beginning of the 3 June meeting, the President of the Republic said that "I wanted to hold this meeting to see where the bills are, if there are any pending issues for their preparation at the Ministry of Finance, at the Tax Commissioner.

They should be given as soon as possible because they must be submitted to the House of Representatives.

The goal cannot change, it is for the tax reform is to be implemented from 1 January 2026. So, I specifically want to see what the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Commissioner expect, if they have any pending issues and at what stage of preparation the bills are, so that we can help them get ready."

After the meeting, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis, in his statements to journalists, said, among other things, that "the meeting was attended by the Minister of Finance, the Superintendent of Taxation and the team from the University of Cyprus' Economics Research Center.

The progress achieved so far in their internal meetings was confirmed and it was decided that another final meeting with the President of the Republic would take place in June after their internal meetings are completed, while the goal, as the President of the Republic himself has stated, remains that the new tax model that was presented can be implemented by 1 January, 2026.

Furthermore, after the preparation of the bills is completed, in accordance with the established procedures, and after they have undergone legal review, the President of the Republic and the competent Minister of Finance will inform all political forces about the outcome of these bills, in order to ensure as much as possible the approval of the bills by the House of Representatives, in order to make the implementation of the target for 1 January, 2026 possible."

Asked if the President of the Republic requested that the bills be ready by specific dates, the Spokesperson said that "very specific dates have been set for the internal meetings of the group, for the new meeting with the President as well as for the timely information of the political forces. The preparation of the bills has already begun, and considerable progress has been achieved to date."

Responding to another question, he said that "at the next meeting, there will be more information about the exact timetables."

Asked if there was any change following the recommendations made by some parties that had some disagreements, the Spokesperson said that "as for the philosophy of the tax model, of tax refomr, no. Of course, all the recommendations that have been submitted are evaluated and final decisions are made on their basis."

He added that the broader response "was positive both from society and from the institutional partners who had been consulted to date. After all, a series of many meetings with the partners had preceded it and it is through these meetings that the final proposal that was presented a few months ago emerged."

He also emphasised that this tax model has focused on a fairer distribution of the tax burden.

Finally, when asked to say whether technical arrangements have been made to keep the software up to date in relation to the submission of tax returns, the Spokesperson said that "these technical arrangements are something that has already begun. Besides, the Tax Commissioner himself was present (at the meeting), who is the person responsible for settling these issues, and measures are being taken, after the bills are passed by Parliament, so that the tax transformation can be successfully implemented."

(Source: InBusinessNews)