Cyprus enjoys a strategic geographical location. Is in fact in the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East. It shares a time zone with all of Eastern Europe and is only 1 hour ahead of central Europe and 2 hours ahead of London.

Cyprus is served by two international airports Larnaca and Paphos. These airports handle approximately 360 scheduled flights operated each week by most of the international airlines, as well as flights by charter airlines.  

Both airports are currently undergoing expansion and modernization at the highest international standards.  The island is rapidly becoming a major international transit station for commercial air transport.  

Seaborne traffic is served by the two multi-purpose ports of Limassol and Larnaca, which are being used increasingly as regional logistics centres.

More than 100 shipping lines include Cyprus in their regular schedules to and from six continents.  More than 5,500 ships totaling 15 million net registered tones call at Cypriot ports every year.

Payroll Cost. Highly Educated local staff is readily available. The workforce is amongst the most highly qualified in the world.

Office and living Accommodation Cost.Office space and living accommodation are plentiful and inexpensive, keeping overheads down. Office Rental ranges from 7euro to 20euro for the most modern, luxurious offices.

Telecommunications  
With what is probably the best telecommunications network in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Cyprus has through the years managed to develop and maintain a state-of-the-art infrastructure. including Voip, VPN, VSat, leased lines connecting EU countries and the rest of the world, Audiotex, video conferencing, videotext, electronic mail, message handling system X.400 and voice mail services.

There are many well-qualified lawyers experienced in company law and tax planning. Most International law firms have a corresponding law firm in Cyprus.   

The English legal system, practice and procedures which the island acquired during the period of British rule are firmly embodied in the fabric of almost every commercial sector. As these procedures are used in most English speaking countries, they are usually readily understood by foreigners who have registered Cypriot international business companies or are engaged in international tax planning exercises in the island.  Although the official languages of the Republic are Greek and Turkish, English is spoken by the majority of the population.  It is taught extensively in schools and is widely used in commerce, industry and administration

All International Audit Firms are long established in Cyprus.

Cyprus enjoys a ‘friendly’ tax system for International Business.

It benefits from a low corporate tax régime and has ratified 35 double taxation treaties with countries including United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Sweden China, etc.  

For companies managed and controlled in Cyprus, whether their income derives from local or international sources, profits are taxed at 10%, being the lowest corporation tax rate in the European Union.  

Tax incentives for the maritime industry  

• Cyprus is a signatory to numerous maritime conventions.
• Party to an extensive network of bilateral maritime agreements.
• Competitive ship registration costs and annual tonnage taxes.
• Full protection for financiers and mortgagees.

The new legislation came into effect as from 1 January 2010 and will remain in force until 31 December 2019.
The legislation grants full exemption on both Income Tax as well distribution tax including tax on deemed distribution, at all levels.

Instead it imposes tonnage tax calculated on the net tonnage of the vessels.
It covers profits of Shipowners, Charterers and Operators as well as Shipmanagers.

The tax exemption covers:

• Profits from the use of a qualifying vessel.
• Profits from the disposal of a qualifying vessel and/or share and/or interest in it.
• Profits from the disposal of shares in a shipowning company.
• Dividends paid out of the above profits at all levels of distribution.
• Interest income relating to the financing/maintenance/use of a qualifying vessel and the working capital, excluding interest on capital used for investments purposes.

Where an option is exercised to enter the Tonnage Tax system from either a shipowner / Charterer / Shipmanager who is tax resident in Cyprus, such an option must remain in force for at least 10 years.

Furthermore Owners of a vessel registered in Cyprus enjoy:

• No capital gains tax on the sale or transfer of a Cypriot registered vessel or the shares of a ship-owning company.
• No estate duty on the inheritance of shares in a ship-owning company.
• No income tax on the emoluments of officers and crew.
• No stamp duty on ship mortgage deeds or other security documents.