Taxation

• The Income and gains of a Cyprus international Trust derived or deemed to be derived or deemed to be delivered from sources inside and outside of Cyprus shall be subject to all taxes imposed in Cyprus in the event that the beneficiary is a resident of Cyprus.

Where the beneficiary is not a resident of Cyprus the income and gains of a Cyprus International Trust derived or deemed to be derived from sources inside the Republic shall be subject to all taxes imposed in Cyprus.

These tax provisions in the law mean that a Trust with non-Cyprus residents and income from non-Cyprus sources will be exempted from Cyprus tax.

• The only tax obligation is stamp duty of approximately Euro430,00 on the instrument creating the trust.

• Dividends, interest and other income received by a trust from a Cyprus international business company are neither taxable nor subject to withholding tax.

 

Asset Protection and Irrevocability

• The trust is not void or voidable in the event of the settler’s bankruptcy or liquidation unless it is made with the intent to defraud creditors;

• A trust protects assets from any malicious law suits and from the risk of unforeseen financial difficulty and political stability;

• In the absence of express provision in the instrument creating the trust, a trust shall be deemed irrevocable by the settler and his legal representatives.  There is no limitation on the duration of an international trust can be up to 100 years.

 

Flexibility

• Cyprus Law permits the governing law of the trust to be changed to a foreign law and also permits a foreign trust to adopt as its governing law the Law of Cyprus provided such change is recognized by the laws of the country concerned.

 

Confidentiality

• Section 11 of the Law prohibits the trustees or any other person from disclosing any information about the trust unless there is a court order mandating such disclosure.

• There are no reporting requirements to any government authority on the activities of the trust and the names of the settler and the beneficiaries.

• The trust provides complete anonymity with regard to the ownership of the assets the subject matter thereof.

• No registration requirements.

The new Law enacted in March 2012 expressly provides that the international trusts are exempt from the obligation of registration under any law.

 

Variety

• The trust property can include all kinds of assets situated anywhere in the world.