Elias Neocleous, managing partner of our firm, was among the distinguished experts presenting the latest developments in tax, succession planning and asset protection strategies at the seventh annual conference for Russian private clients and their advisers organised by Academy & Finance, a leading Swiss conference organiser, which took place on 29 and 30 March 2017 in Zurich. The conference covered all aspects of tax planning needs and solutions for Russian private clients and was very well attended.
Elias gave a presentation on the transfer of residence of Russian clients to Cyprus and took part in a panel discussion comparing alternative locations. In his presentation Elias covered recent developments in Cyprus in taxation and immigration law, the residency and citizenship schemes available in Cyprus and some important features and incentives available in Cyprus for HNWI and other wealthy individuals. These include the Cyprus non-domiciled regime, the Cyprus international trust and new developments in the R&D sector including a new visa scheme aimed at attracting qualified individuals involved in innovative businesses.
During his speech Elias conveyed the message that the transfer of residence to Cyprus can offer a number of advantages both for the individuals involved as well and for their businesses or corporate structures. By allocating appropriately qualified human capital to be located in Cyprus for the purposes of properly operating and supervising the operations of various corporate structures it can be ensured that both business and tax objectives can be better and more efficiently met so as to minimize the risk of denial of relief under double taxation treaties or EU directives on grounds of lack of substance or that the Cyprus entities concerned do not satisfy the “beneficial ownership” test referred to in a number of Russian cases mentioned by Elias.
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