The government’s decision to get its hands on the 1974 refugees fund shows contempt for refugees, legislation and Parliament
Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Giorgos Koukoumas
3 May 2023, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
The government must abandon its decision to get its hands on the funds providing support to refugees, which are collected on the basis of the 0.4% legislation on property sales. At a time when refugees must be supported so that they are not forced to sell their properties in the occupied territories, the government is moving in the exactly the opposite direction.
We recall that Parliament introduced legislation to impose a 0.4% tax on property sales in order to strengthen the Central Agency for the Equal Distribution of Burdens Law so that new schemes are created with a priority on a compensation plan for the loss of use.
However, the decision by the Ministry of Finance of the Christodoulides government to use this revenue to pay off loans with government guarantees is blatantly mistaken and effectively disregards Parliament and legislation. At the same time, it represents yet another breach of Nicos Christodoulides’ election pledges regarding [the introduction] of a compensation scheme for the loss of use. Of course, the Anastasiades government had expressed exactly the same intention, while DISY, through an amendment tabled in Parliament last October, attempted to write off more than the EUR 20 million that the Central Agency for the Equal Distribution of Burdens Law would have collected under the legislation.
