850 MEMOs were placed by the state on properties on the occupied side

DISY MP Nikos Georgiou claims that the Republic of Cyprus registered 850 MEMOs on properties in the occupied area as a result of unpaid taxes.

He spoke on Thursday at the plenary session of the Parliament on a draft he had filed to change the Tax Collection Law. The purpose of the amendment is to prohibit the use of real estate in territories outside the Republic's jurisdiction as collateral for unpaid taxes.

Georgiou's proposal was unanimously approved by the House of Assembly during its final session before the summer vacation.

Georgiou emphasised that following the unanimous approval of the bill to change the Civil Procedure Law, objections regarding the Republic of Cyprus's registration of Memoranda of Understandings (MEMOs) on assets within the occupied areas via the Tax Commissioner appeared. The Tax Collection Law of 1962 is the basis for this registration, which takes place without a prior judicial ruling. This regulation states that a MEMO is automatically registered as a guarantee if tax obligations above €5,000 and are not paid for more than 30 days.

The Minister of Finance stated, in response to additional parliamentary questions, that 850 inhabited residences had been registered by the Tax Inspectorate without any limitations.

Georgiou pointed out that the Tax Commissioner had not provided the Land Registry with any guidelines or circulars pertaining to the exemption of MEMOs on occupied properties.

A contradiction was identified: whereas homes in occupied Famagusta and Kyrenia, with different post-1974 databases, had MEMOs submitted, properties in occupied Nicosia or Larnaca did not. This was because the two locations shared databases.

Due to the lack of real legal or commercial value, MEMOs on occupied properties generated inequalities among immigrants. It is not possible to purchase or sell these properties.

Enacting this proposed legislation would help to solve this problem by offering moral support and demonstrating that actions can be made to assist refugees without placing a financial strain on the government.

The Ministry of Finance, the Tax Inspector, the Legal Service, and the Cyprus Bar Association support the proposed law.