On Thursday, February 11, the House of Representatives unanimously approved a new bill to provide government assistance to individuals who own property in the north of the island that cannot be accessed.
The proposal, which was made by EDEK Party Representative Kostis Efstathiou and DISY Party Representative Kyriakos Hatzigiannis, concerns the amendment of the law on the State Central Agency for Equal Burden sharing to support refugees who own real estate in the north of the island.
As you may know the Central Agency for Equal Burdened Distribution was created in 1989 to help refugees who came from the north areas of Cyprus after the Turkish invasion and occupation, and to restore, as far as possible, pre-war solvency, in accordance with the value of the occupied property of refugees. It provides subsidies to Cypriots who have been forced to abandon their homes for housing, education, medical care and business.
According to the adopted law, a tax of 0.4% of its value will be levied on the sale of real estate in the region controlled by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus.
The fee should be paid by the seller of the property.
In other words, the new law implies payments in any sale / transfer of real estate, as well as in the case of a transfer of a share in a company that owns such real estate, or if the transfer of shares results in the buyer taking control of the corporation or operating the real estate.
The money will be controlled by the Equal Burden of Benefit created to financially support refugees who own property in the occupied territories that is considered inaccessible or impossible for financial exploitation.
The Compensation Committee was established by Turkey in 2005 and adopted by the European Court of Human Rights as a way to deal with Greek Cypriot claims for compensation for their occupied property. The government, however, is unhappy with this Committee, arguing that property issues should be addressed through a comprehensive settlement solution.
The estimated income from the adoption of the new law will bring the state about 20 million euros.