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Cyprus House Of Representatives Approves Landmark Comprehensive Tax Reform

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

December 23, 2025

Historic Approval And Government Endorsement

The Cyprus House of Representatives has approved the comprehensive tax transformation bills, a milestone that the Ministry of Finance hailed as a major step forward. The Ministry expressed its satisfaction with the reform’s passage while acknowledging the sustained contributions of various social and economic stakeholders throughout the extensive two-year consultation process.

A New Framework For Economic Equity And Sustainability

According to finance authorities, the new tax reform is a seminal initiative designed to underpin a more equitable, efficient, and sustainable economic system in Cyprus. Set to take effect on January 1, 2026, the framework aims to bolster social justice by easing the tax burden on both individuals and legal entities. This forward-looking policy strategy seeks to reinvigorate public confidence and stimulate a more productive economic environment.

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Targeted Support And Incentives For Households

The reform includes targeted measures to support families—particularly those with children and students—while also promoting a greener transition for households. Notable incentives include:

An increase of the tax-free threshold for individuals from €19,500 to €22,000, along with a recalibration of tax brackets.
Substantial tax deductions for families: €1,000 per parent for the first child, €1,250 for the second, and €1,500 for the third and additional children.
Deductions for housing and green expenditures, offering a €1,000 allowance per spouse or partner.
Deductions covering up to €2,000 annually for rented accommodations and interest on subsidized mortgage loans per spouse or partner.

Corporate Tax Adjustments To Enhance Investment Appeal

The new framework also reconfigures fiscal measures for corporate entities, including:

The complete removal of deemed dividend distribution.
A reduction in the withholding tax on actual dividend distributions from 17% to 5%.
The abolition of stamp duty charges.
Increased exemptions related to Capital Gains Tax objectives.
Favorable treatment of stock options.
An adjustment of the corporate tax rate from 12.5% to 15%.

A Vision For A Fair And Resilient Economy

The Ministry emphasizes that the new tax regime is not only an economic adjustment but also a strong social and political statement. It embodies the vision of the government led by Nikos Christodoulides to create an economy that is fairer, more productive, and resilient. With this reform, the country is set to enhance support for the middle class while opening substantial new prospects for young professionals, families, and domestic businesses.

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Google Cloud Outage Disrupts Banking And Digital Services Across The UK

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 20, 2026

A power outage at a Google Cloud data centre near London disrupted services across the UK on Tuesday, affecting banks, businesses and other digital platforms. Google said the incident was caused by a power event at its cloud operations, with full recovery expected by around 1300 GMT.

The disruption began at 0608 GMT and affected Google Cloud services in the europe-west2 region, which is hosted in London. In an initial update, the company reported elevated error rates and intermittent network failures across multiple services as engineers worked to restore operations.

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Banking Services Hit By The Disruption

Revolut was among the most visibly affected companies, with customers reporting problems with ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and card top-ups. A source close to the matter linked the issues to the Google Cloud outage.

Traditional banks also reported disruptions. Lloyds said some customers were experiencing problems with its app and online banking, while HSBC confirmed difficulties accessing its services. HSBC added that it was monitoring the situation and noted that other organisations were affected as well.

Disruption Spreads Beyond Finance

Downdetector, which tracks online service disruptions, recorded hundreds of reports involving other businesses, including property website Rightmove and the Royal Mail postal service. The reports suggested that the outage was affecting multiple parts of the UK’s digital economy.

The incident highlights the risks facing businesses that depend on shared cloud infrastructure. Even a temporary failure at a single provider can disrupt services across several sectors, from banking and payments to logistics and consumer platforms.

Companies Reassure Customers

Revolut said it had been working to resolve the issue since it was identified and apologised to affected customers. The company also confirmed that customers’ money and data remained safe.

As cloud platforms underpin an increasing share of digital commerce, the outage illustrates how disruptions to critical infrastructure can spread far beyond the provider itself, affecting businesses and customers across the economy.