A slump in Cyprus property prices led to a dramatic decline in revenue for the government, with receipts from capital gains taxes on mostly property deals tumbling 17% YoY in the first four months of 2008, while income from property taxes fell 25% YoY.
Capital gains taxes in the period from January till April 2008 fell 17% to EUR 116.18 mln from EUR 139.42 mln in the same period a year ago, while property revenue fell 25% to EUR 1.5 mln from EUR 2 mln a year ago.
The decline in revenue from property dealings forced the total tax revenue of Cyprus in the first four months of the year to EUR 554.19 mln, up only 2% YoY compared to EUR 532.11 mln collected in the same period in 2007.
