A major disagreement has erupted between residents of the famous Aphrodite Hills complex and the municipality of Kouklia.
The reason was a significant difference in taxes and utility bills, which are paid by owners and tenants of the luxury resort village and residents of a small village in the Paphos area.
According to Aphrodite Hills homeowner Ray Smith, the showdown began back in 2013. In 2017, the Aphrodite Hills Residents' Association managed to win a court case, but the local town hall has still not complied with its orders and continues to bill at inflated rates.
Charging taxes is an administrative decision. According to the mayor's office, Kouklia is actually three separate neighborhoods, including the village itself, Ha Potami and Aphrodite Hills. That said, the latter two are described by the municipality as tourist areas - Smith said.
By the way, at the heart of residents' discontent is the stark contrast in their tax levies. According to Smith, while residents of Kouklia Village pay a combined total of around €68,000 per year, residents of Ha Potami and Aphrodite Hills face taxes reaching around €700,000 per year. Smith emphasized that despite several meetings and legal intervention, there has been no progress in addressing the tax inequality. He also mentioned the huge water bills, the amount of which is many times different from what the residents of Kouklia village receive.
For his part, Kouklia community leader Michalakis Nikolaou said that he fully supports the position of the Mayor's Office. He noted that the discrepancies in taxes arose due to differences in property valuation.
Properties in Aphrodite Hills and Ha Potami are noticeably more expensive and have different amenities, requiring higher taxes to maintain them. Most residences in expatriate neighborhoods are larger than 250 m2 and have amenities such as swimming pools, which entail higher maintenance costs - Nicolau said.
For his part, Smith rejected Nicolaou's claim, saying that there are owners of mansions worth up to €3 million in Kouklia who pay less tax than people who own two- and three-bedroom properties in Aphrodite Hills and Ha Potami.
This situation was also commented on by Mary Lambrou of Paphos District Court. She confirmed that in 2017, the residents of Aphrodite Hills won a dispute against Kouklia Municipality. However, it was never possible to influence the municipality.
We are doing everything in our power to rectify the situation. However, our efforts require the cooperation of the Kuklia Community Council. It is the responsibility of the local council to collect all taxes. We have communicated with them about this but we cannot influence them despite the court order - Lambrou noted.
While Aphrodite Hills residents are persevering in their quest for justice, backed by a court ruling in their favor, the Kuklia Community Council's stance on the need for differential taxation highlights the complex challenges faced in reconciling the various viewpoints. For the time being, the dispute between the two sides persists.
