DISY is pushing to abolish Cyprus’s stamp duty law entirely, with a bill that would scrap the requirement to stamp most documents except property and financial contracts.
The bill, part of a tax reform package, would eliminate stamp duty on documents excluding financial services contracts, insurance policies, property transfers and property leases worth more than €50,000.
The state collected €38 million from stamp duty but will lose €8-10 million in revenue from the bill, according to the House Finance Committee’s guidance.
DISY MP Charis Georgiades said there is no justification for keeping bureaucratic legislation in 2025, adding that his party will push for full abolition of stamp duty.
The state should not maintain complex laws to bring in €20 million when the Tax Department collected €7.4 billion last year and will collect €8 billion this year, he said.
Tax Commissioner Sotiris Markides said the way stamp duty is collected makes it difficult to estimate revenue. He called it an outdated fee that will be submitted electronically.
He said he would relay DISY’s position to the finance minister, adding that he would expect proposals to offset the revenue loss if it materialises.
Trade unions, lawyers, insurance companies, business organisations and banks all expressed reservations about the bill and called for full abolition of the fee.