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Tax Reform Revision Ushers In A €22,000 Tax-Free Income Threshold

Government And Parliamentary Consensus

A recent meeting between representatives of the ruling parties—DISY, DIKO, DIPE, and EDEK—and Finance Minister Makis Keravnos has set the stage for significant revisions in the upcoming tax reform. The proposed adjustments include elevating the tax-free income threshold to €22,000, a figure considerably higher than the originally projected €20,500.

Enhanced Income Limits And Tax Relief Measures

The government is set to introduce modifications aimed at increasing tax benefits for a broader range of taxpayers. One key change is the adjustment of the annual income ceiling for additional tax deductions—from €80,000 to €90,000. Moreover, the thresholds will scale with family size: the limit will rise to €100,000 for those with a second child, escalate to €150,000 for families with a third or fourth child, and reach €200,000 for households with more than four children.

Additional tax relief measures include maintaining a €1,000 deduction for one child, increasing to €1,250 for two children, and further up to €1,500 for households with three or more children. Notably, deductions for mortgage interest on housing loans and rent payments are also set to increase to €2,000.

Elimination Of Stamp Duty And Fiscal Prudence

In a further move to modernize the tax system, the participating parties have signaled their intent to propose the abolition of the stamp duty. Finance Minister Keravnos emphasized that all proposed changes will remain within the framework of strict fiscal discipline, ensuring that the adjustments do not compromise the nation’s overall economic stability.

Commitment To A Competitive Economic Environment

Key political figures have voiced their support for these reforms, highlighting that a unified parliamentary majority is essential for achieving substantive results. Leaders such as DISY’s Onourphios Koullas and DIPE’s Alékos Tryfonidis underscored that the reform efforts are designed to benefit low-income earners, the middle class, families with students, and businesses alike, thereby reinforcing Cyprus’s reputation as an attractive hub for commerce and investment.

This collaborative initiative represents a forward-thinking approach in aligning fiscal policy with contemporary economic demands, ensuring that the forthcoming tax reform will facilitate both citizen welfare and a robust business climate.

Google Cloud Outage Disrupts Banking And Digital Services Across The UK

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.

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.

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