ΕΥ Tax & Legal event: Challenges and opportunities of the Tech sector in Cyprus

On June 22, EY Cyprus organized an exclusive Tax & Legal event for senior leaders within the growing technology sector, entitled: Challenges and opportunities of the Tech sector in Cyprus, at the Parklane Resort in Limassol. Distinguished business leaders and EY experts shared their knowledge and insights on critical upcoming changes and trends within the tax and legal landscape for technology companies operating in Cyprus. The event was moderated by Andria Koukounis, Partner, Head of Financial Services, Funds and Capital Markets, Koukounis, Karaolis LLC - Member of the EY Law network.

Philippos Raptopoulos, Partner and Head of Tax and Legal Services at EY Cyprus, noted in his welcome address that “the Tax landscape is more dynamic than ever, with several global variables such as Pilar 1 & 2, BEFIT and green taxes, yet to fully materialize. At the same time, Cyprus is working through their initiatives, such as the tax reform, to positively enhance the tax system and legal code, and strengthen the business and technology ecosystem.”

George Liasis, Partner, Head of Indirect Tax Services, noted that “the Cyprus Tax system has many attractive benefits for technology businesses. To ensure efficiency, VAT is a crucial aspect for all tech and especially fintechs with impaired rights for VAT recovery.  Planning ahead is essential to enable fine-tuning and avoiding unnecessary costs. On the Tax Policy front, several developments are expected, which will place additional burdens on businesses.  Monitoring developments must be on the agenda of all Tech CFOs/Tax directors to effectively navigate the tax future.”

The event’s themes and speakers included:

·       Philippos Raptopoulos, Partner and Head of Tax and Legal Services at EY Cyprus, summarized the opportunities and key agenda items for CFOs within the Tech sector in Cyprus.

·       Petros Krasaris, Partner, International Tax and Transactions Services and MDR Country Leader, presented the latest international tax developments, such as Pillar I and II, BEFIT, and insights on upcoming initiatives like unshell.

·       Simos Simou, Senior Manager, Indirect Tax Services, covered expected legislation on Green Taxes and their impact on technology companies.

·       A roundtable discussion on The Cypriot IP Box Regime in practice: Assessing the interplay of corporate tax, transfer pricing and VAT, moderated by Panayiotis Tziongouros, Partner, International Tax and Transaction Services, and with the participation of Charalambos Palaontas, Partner, Transfer Pricing Services, George Liasis, Partner, Head of Indirect Tax Services, and Eleni Papachristodoulou, Director, International Tax and Transaction Services.

·       George Liasis, Partner, Indirect Tax Services, and Elpida Papachristodoulou, Senior Manager, Indirect Tax Services, presented the Cyprus VAT playfield for tech companies covering the Transfer of IPs/software to Cyprus, Tech operations set-up and VAT grouping, B2B sales of apps/games through platforms and B2C transactions-OSS rules.

·       Petros Liassides, Partner, Direct Tax Services, presented recent revisions to the personal income tax.

·       Christos Tooulas, Partner, Accounting, Compliance and Reporting, presented recent developments in Banking and the UBO Register.

·       Andria Koukounis, Partner, Head of Financial Services, Funds and Capital Markets, Koukounis, Karaolis LLC - Member of the EY Law network, presented legal best practices on payment services, consumer protection, personal data and intellectual property.

·       A panel discussion titled ‘Technology and Compliance Obligation Rules’, moderated by George Tziortzis, Partner, Head of Consulting Services, with the participation of George Kousis, Executive Director Technology & Operations, Bank of Cyprus, Spyros Loizou, Chief Information Officer, Eurobank, and Nikolas Pavlou, Project Director - Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) – Tax For All (TFA), Ministry of Finance Cyprus Tax Department.

·       A Panel discussion titled ‘Responding to recent and upcoming tax developments – challenges and opportunities’, moderated by Petros Krasaris, Partner, International Tax and Transactions Services and MDR Country Leader with the participation of Christodoulos Christodoulou, Head of Corporate Reporting, Wargaming, and Andreas Lytras, Chief Financial Officer, Easybrain. 

For more information:

EY Cyprus Marketing
EY Brand, Marketing & Communications

Notes to Editors

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