It's no different than ireland (same % taxation), are they both tax havens? Cyprus is not on the OECD tax havens list for years, and in fact are considered a rather safe choice, hence the rise in popularity of their residence/citizenship programs (and their fees)

> It's no different than ireland (same % taxation), are they both tax havens?

Any country can be a tax haven if you're not already living there and rich enough to negotiate special terms.

Greece and Cyprus offers citizenship-by-investment, and there are many ways wealthy people can 'invest' in the same way they do 'philanthropy'.

greece does not offer citizenship-by-investment (and cyprus' program has been suspended)

Well, you know that you pay taxes on the country you live & work in ? So you have to find a job and a house in Cyprus. And on top of that, Cyprus is one of the few european countries that are not yet in the Schengen area. So you'll have to stay on the tiny 9,251 Square Kilometers.

> Well, you know that you pay taxes on the country you live & work in ? So you have to find a job and a house in Cyprus.

Remote work? Or own a foreign company and pay yourself in dividends? These are extremely common cases.

> And on top of that, Cyprus is one of the few european countries that are not yet in the Schengen area. So you'll have to stay on the tiny 9,251 Square Kilometers.

That's not how Schengen works: Schengen is about being able to freely travel in the Schengen area without having to even show your passport / national ID card. For example I regularly cross borders, by car, between Belgium, France, Spain, Monaco and Andorra (Monaco is Schengen while Andorra, wonderful place on earth btw, is not, but Andorra has got agreements for free travel with France and Spain anyway) and I've never been asked my ID once. Heck, lately I've always been doing my PCR tests, as officially required due to the sars-cov-2 restrictions, and although it's mandatory to cross borders I've never been asked to show them.

A passport from Cyprus allows you to travel, without the need for a visa, to most countries in the world if I'm not mistaken. The thing is: because Cyprus is an island you'll very often be flying to/from there and you'll have to show your passport. But you're definitely not stuck on the island.

> So you have to find a job and a house in Cyprus

I think Eric Schmidt can afford that

> you know that you pay taxes on the country you live & work in

Yes, I know this. I live abroad.

Yes, every country has taxes. The tax rates are not the same. Additionally, countries like Singapore have zero capital gains tax. Executives can just take a symbolic job and pay themselves a symbolic salary, but they're not getting rich off their salaries

> you'll have to stay on the tiny 9,251 Square Kilometers

No you won't, you'll just have to pass a border control whenever you leave or re-enter the country. That's hardly a huge hindrance, unless you're wanted.

Ehm, you can travel to all of EU, the only thing that changes is you stand on a different line in the airport

Not just travel - many people can travel to all of the EU. A Cyprus citizen has the right to live and work anywhere in the EU.

correct. you re not in any way confined to the island