French pensioners are increasingly choosing to live abroad in Cyprus, attracted by the country’s favorable tax measures, according to reports in France on Friday.
According to a report in the Le Figaro, over the past ten years, pensioners have been choosing Cyprus, along with Greece, Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, Morocco, and Malta for their retirement.
The report said that for Cyprus, under the Franco-Cypriot tax convention of 1981, pensioners are not taxed in France but rather in Cyprus, if they decide to establish their residence there.
According to the findings of the French newspaper, the tax benefit exempts pensioners up to €3,420 per tax year, and beyond that, they are taxed at only 5 per cent.
Additionally, there is no estate or inheritance tax in Cyprus, the report said.
As for Greece, pensioners get a flat tax rate of 7 per cent offered for 15 years to those who establish their tax residence there.
“The logic is very simple. We want pensioners to settle here, we have a beautiful country, a very good climate, so why not?” Athena Kalyva, head of tax policy at the Greek Ministry of Finance said in the report, pointing out that to benefit from this system, an individual does not need to own property in Greece.
