The Special Contribution for the Defense of the Republic Law (SDC) imposes tax on certain categories of income (interest, rents, dividends) received by persons who are considered to be residents for tax purposes of Cyprus, subject to any available exemptions. The SDC Law also includes provisions for the deemed distribution of profits of Cypriot tax resident companies to the extent that the shareholders of such companies are Cypriot tax residents.
An individual is considered to be a resident for tax purposes of Cyprus if he/she is physically present in Cyprus for a period or periods exceeding in aggregate 183 days during the calendar year. The SDC law is amended so that an individual will now be subject to SDC if he/she is both a resident for tax purposes of Cyprus and is also considered to be domiciled in Cyprus.
With the introduction of “non-domicile” or “non-dom” rules, a Cyprus tax resident individual who is not domiciled in Cyprus will effectively not be subject to SDC in Cyprus on any interest, rents or dividends (whether actual or deemed) regardless of whether such income is derived from sources within Cyprus and regardless of whether such income is remitted to a bank account or economically used in Cyprus. It is noted that no tax is imposed on individuals under the Income Tax Law in respect of interest and dividend income.
The term “domiciled in Cyprus” is defined in the law as an individual who has a Cypriot domicile of origin in accordance with the Wills and Succession Law but it does not include:
(i) An individual who has obtained and maintained a domicile of choice outside Cyprus in accordance with the Wills and Succession Law, provided that such an individual has not been a tax resident of Cyprus for a period of 20 consecutive years preceding the tax year; or
(ii) An individual who has not been a tax resident of Cyprus for a period of 20 consecutive years prior to the introduction of the law.
Notwithstanding the above, an individual who has been a tax resident of Cyprus for at least 17 years out of the last 20 years prior to the tax year will be considered to be “domiciled in Cyprus” and as such be subject to SDC regardless of his/her domicile of origin.
The law includes anti-abuse provisions as per which the tax authorities have the right to disregard the transfer of property made by a person who is domiciled in Cyprus to a relative up to a third degree of kindred who is not domiciled in Cyprus in case such transfer was made with the aim to avoid the imposition of SDC as a result of the introduction of “non-dom” rules.
The non-dom rules are expected to further encourage the relocation of corporate executives and encourage high-net-worth individuals to take up residency in Cyprus. The non-dom rules are effective as of the date of publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic (17 July 2015).
