The
ministry of finance Cyprus works with a certain objective which can be divided into three parts. These objectives are economic development of the country, modernization of the country and the social development through these two. The finance ministry of Cyprus is working hard to make full use of the opportunities so that the country can save its existence. There are the challenges like globalization and the challenges produced by the European Union. The Ministry is headed by Michalis Sarris.
The ministry is responsible for drafting and implementing the economic policies of the government of Cyprus. The responsibilities of the ministry of finance Cyprus are the following:
Creating the economic policy
Taxation policies
Collection of taxes
Custom duty
Proper use of the available resources
- Encouraging the use of modern technologies in the public sector
- Development and appropriate use of the available human resource
There are several directorates under the ministry of finance Cyprus. These are:
- Directorate of economic research and European Union affairs
- Directorate for the co-ordination of the computerization of the public sector
- Directorate of tax policy and implementation
- Directorate of budget and fiscal control
- Directorate of the investment and finance
- Grants and benefits services
- Insurance companies supervisory authority
- Directorate of financial management
The sincere efforts of the ministry of finance Cyprus is leading the country towards the projected development. The economy of Cyprus has shifted from its previous agricultural base to light manufacturing and services sector. The services sector is producing more than 70% of the GDP. By the continuous efforts of the ministry of finance Cyprus, the economy of the country is maturing and developing at a good rate. In 2007, the country is expecting to achieve 3.6% economic growth rate. The ministry of finance Cyprus has also managed to keep the inflation under control and to bring down the fiscal deficit by 1.5% (till December 2006). The economic policies of the ministry has also shaped the public debt scenario and it has been brought down to 64.7% of the GDP. Because of all these positive developments, the country is expecting to join the Eurozone by 2008.