EU: Bill for 15% corporate tax for multinationals moves forward

Legislation to impose a minimum tax rate of 15% on large multinational enterprises with an annual turnover of €750 million is ready for implementation.

This harmonisation bill transposes the European directive, which Cyprus was required to implement by the beginning of this year. In fact, due to delays, the European Commission previously sent a reasoned opinion to Cyprus, calling for the directive to be transposed into its national law.

Essentially, the directive puts an end to tax practices that allow multinational companies to shift their profits to jurisdictions with zero or very low tax rates.

A source from the Ministry of Finance, speaking to philenews, confirmed that the legislation is ready. They stated that the Law Office has completed its legislative review and the bill has been forwarded to the Council of Ministers.

It was also noted that the bill has been evaluated and includes the input of stakeholders who provided feedback during the public consultation process.

Moreover, a government source indicated that the bill will be presented to the Council of Ministers for approval in the upcoming sessions. Subsequently, it will be tabled in Parliament and discussed by the Parliamentary Committee on Financial Affairs.

According to our information, the competent ministry will request the Committee to consider the bill as a matter of priority to avoid potential repercussions, which may entail financial costs.

As is known, the next step after the reasoned opinion from the European Commission is the referral of Cyprus to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

Authorities have already informed the EU that the bill will be soon presented to Parliament, assuring that it will be approved in the coming weeks. The decision to impose a minimum corporate tax rate of 15% on multinationals with an annual turnover of €750 million was made in December 2022 by the leaders of the EU member states.

According to the EU, the minimum effective taxation formalises the implementation by the EU of the so-called ‘Pillar 2’ rules, which were agreed upon in 2021 as part of the global agreement on international tax reform.

The European directive is aligned with the global standards adopted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and endorsed by the G20 leaders.

22 February 2024

EU: Location for EU Anti-Money Laundering Agency to be decided

The competition to select a city to host the new EU Anti-Money Laundering Agency (AMLA) is to get under way in Brussels, with Dublin in contention along with eight other cities. Ireland is competing

Read More
12 February 2024

ASIA: UN Investigating Crypto Attacks by North Korea Hacking Groups Totalling $3B

The United Nations (UN) is cracking down on North Korea’s suspected misuse of cryptocurrency, launching an investigation into hacking groups linked to the nation. These groups are accused of orchestrating

Read More
30 January 2024

EUROPE: Europe launches huge crackdown on tourists with popular cities introducing raft of taxes

Europe’s popular tourist destinations are reportedly swapping their “come-to-us” tourism campaigns for “please-don’t” anti-tourism strategies after being fed up with a housing crisis, traffic,

Read More
18 October 2024

REGULATION: FATF confirms new ‘greylist’ rules, aimed at helping poorer countries

The Financial Action Task Force has confirmed that it will overhaul how jurisdictions will be added to the organization’s grey-list. The announcement comes after Elisa de Anda Madrazo, the organization’s

Read More