HEALTHCARE
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An 8-page guide to some of your options in changing times
Universities are tapping into gas with energy industry related degrees
Page 8
pages 21-28
www.cyprus-mail.com
September 30, 2012
TV and lifestyle supplements to see you through the coming week
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TEENS FIGHTING THE DARK SIDE WITH BICOMMUNAL PROJECT PAGE 6 INSIDE Cyprus Vouni donkeys forced to move to new home 4
World Evidence barred in Vatican butler trial 11
Lifestyle Can you cook up a storm in 15 minutes? 19
Reportage What makes the German economy work centre
Sport Chelsea remain top with Arsenal win 48
VAT office goes after charities Second-hand shops told to stump up thousands in VAT By Bejay Browne
T
HE cash-strapped government has begun to chase down charity shops who fail to collect VAT, and will not hesitate to penalise those who have not complied. The move has left at least one charity, the Paphiakos animal shelter - which runs two shops in Paphos to augment its fund raising - facing a late registration penalty, late submission of tax returns, arrears in payment of VAT on sales that should have been declared, interest and a penalty of 10 per cent on tax due. The fines could run into thousands. Unlike their UK counterparts, charity shops in Cyprus, which mainly deal in second-hand goods, are liable to collect 17 per cent VAT, on most items if their turnover exceeds €15,600 a year. Nayia Symeonidou, from the VAT office said there were no special concessions for charity shops: “As provided by the VAT legislation applied in Cyprus, the supply of goods and services by philanthropic organisations is exempt when carried out
on the occasion of their financial support, provided that the exemption does not cause distortion of competition to the disadvantage of commercial enterprises subject to VAT.” In other words a cake bake stand raising money for charity would not be liable for VAT, as it is not viewed as being ‘competitive’ in the market. But a charity shop acting like a commercial enterprise would be seen as distorting the market. Symeonidou added: “Charity shops in Cyprus selling goods [commercially], the value of which exceeds €15,600 in 12 months, are liable to register for VAT and account for VAT on their sales.” Symeonidou said if a charity shop fails to register for VAT, it is liable to “late registration penalty, late submission of tax returns, retrospective payment of VAT on sales that should have been declared, interest and a penalty of 10 per cent on tax due, as any other taxable person.” According to one of the legal advisers for Paphiakos and CCP animal welfare
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POLE DANCING CONTORTIONS
Participant Andrea Martin competes yesterday in the Colombian pole dancing contest which is held every year in Medellin, Colombia’s second-largest city
Alpha Bank seeking to repossess British-owned homes in Cyprus OVER a thousand Britons who bought holiday homes in Cyprus face repossession as one of Greece’s major lenders, Alpha Bank, has launched legal procedures against them, The Times reported yesterday. The Times said that hundreds of Britons stopped paying their mortgage as a direct result of an ongoing debt crisis and the changes
this brought upon their mortgage terms. The borrowers bought property in Cyprus in 2007 and 2008 on Swiss francs denominated mortgages, an advantageous agreement at the time because Swiss franc loans offered a much better interest rate, the Times said. Instead of an 8 per cent interest rate available in the Cyprus pound
(prior to the euro’s introduction) or sterling, borrowers could get half of that. But since the credit crisis, the Swiss franc has been appreciating against currencies because of a solid reputation and Britons repaying mortgages in sterling now need to pay significantly more. On September 1, 2012, 1.51 Swiss francs was equivalent to £1.0, but
in September 1, 2007 it took 2.43 to get £1.0. A British owner who had paid £424 a month in 2007 now has to pay £658 a month. Alpha Bank Cyprus, a subsidiary of Greece’s third biggest bank, has been serving writs demanding borrowers, or a legal representative, to appear in the District Court of
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