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Our adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....
  
Today as usual the weekly Cyprus Today newspaper is out. There is, as one would expect, a lot being written about this arbitrary introduction of a 15% rate of VAT on all new build properties and this will only apply to foreign buyers. This is clearly another attempt to slow down the rate of new builds here, but once again these things just get introduced with no consultation with any of the businesses or industries effected. More damaging is the fact that it is an immediate introduction, so all those buying permits etc, which are just sitting in files in government offices, waiting for somebody to actually do something, are to be caught in the
trap. There have been many promises to speed up the process but still people are waiting 2 years or more for any sort of action. It seems that digitum extractum only means removing it from the coffee cup handle long enough to light up another fag.
We are not caught up in this latest deal because we long ago paid our stamp duties and VAT but, suffice to say that we got our land deeds two years ago last December. It then took another 15 months to get all the plans for the house stamped and accepted in the land office. Last August I took the original deeds and the planning file to the land registry, 4 weeks ago on a Sunday morning a team of men came to measure the plot again, then today another man turned up to compare the original plans with the actual house and boldly stated that I could collect the revised deeds in 2 weeks. It should also be noted that I had been enquiring amongst my local Turkish Cypriot friends as to who had a cousin in the land office, so that I could use their influence to get something done finally. Wheels within wheels, sad but the best way to get results here.
According to the paper, the local society of Estate Agents, the Construction Industry and the British Residents Society are all making strong representation to the government about these new rules, so maybe this will go the same way as the proposed leasehold bill, into the dustbin. We will just have to wait and see.
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