New Peyia Mukhtar chasing unpaid taxes!

[LouiseCastricum]

Pete, Kannaviou doesn't have a mayor. Only a mukhtar.

[Firefly]

Ramone

I wonder if the Cypriots are being chased for money for their dogs. It would be interesting to find out, and if so, do they pay.

Jackie

[Poppy]

I don't think that anyone is " chased" for payment for dog licenses Jackie. It is just that probably most British and other nationalities actually go to the council offices to register their dogs for a license and once they are registered and on the system then of course you get an annual bill. Nothing sinister or racist!

[Ramone]

Firefly,
I have no idea but, I lived up in Pegia for a few years before we moved to Sea caves & just wondering where they get this figure from.
Both Labs are licencied & chipped ETC here as I bought them here.
Saying that, paying 20 Euro a year for a dog,I'm cool with that.
I know there are plenty of people living in the area that may well laugh at this but if paying a price o a few beers a year goes to looking after & helping the shelters, I have no problem.
But on the other side I have come across a few people who have told me it's raining when pissing on my leg.

[PeteandSylvi]

Pete, Kannaviou doesn't have a mayor. Only a mukhtar.

OK. So please, pretty please, give me the definitions of muktar and mayor so I can understand the difference.

Pete

[Firefly]

Poppy

Yes the Brits are on the whole law abiding, and yes chased was wrong, rather presented with a bill. What a pity the law isn't enforced re registering dogs, there might be fewer strays.

Ramone

I totally agree with your sentiments re. animal shelters, a very worthy cause.

Jackie

[LouiseCastricum]

Maybe this helps Pete:

The Municipality of Nicosia is governed by an elected mayor and 26 councillors, one of whom serves as deputy mayor. There are 32 other municipalities in Cyprus, each with an elected mayor (four year term), while rural areas are served by 549 communities, headed by a mukhtar (community leader) and enjoying less competences.

[PeteandSylvi]

Thanks Louise. That makes it clear. I also see no reason from this why any Cypriot should be insulted to be called Muktar.

Pete

[Royal]

I used to think that Mayors in Cyprus were to a town what a Mukhtar was to a village. In Polis, for example, we have a Mayor, whereas Argaka has a Mukhtar. However, after we registered to vote last year, when it was time to pick up our voting cards, I was directed by the Polis Municipality to get them from the Mukhtar. As I know the Mayor (old and new) and the Mukhtar was a totally different person, I came to realise that we have both a Mayor and a Mukhtar in Polis.

As our interaction was regarding an official document (the voting card) the duties of a Mukhtar as a Community Registrar became clearer and it didn't seem so strange for a large municipality to have both.

[Kili01]

Well done the new Mayor/Muktar of Peyia!
It's quite right for everyone expats, Cypriots, businesses and hotels to pay their bills...
Then at last Peyia Council will have enogh funds to carry out repairs and improvements to the infrastructure which will benefit all who live there.
I don't know how a dog owner could live here and not know that dogs need to be licensed annually. But perhaps some villages have not been trying to enforce it. Certainly my village Kili have been trying to get every penny that they can from residents. That includes dog owners who are reminded to pay!
Dee

[Taff]

I live in the UK, and usually visit my Cyprus home once or twice a year, but for health reasons I was unable to visit during 2016, and won't be there until next July.

I am quite content to pay any taxes due in Cyprus. For Geoffreye's benefit, I do not rent out the premises other than to (genuine) "friends and relatives", who are my guests there. Financially I usually make a loss, but they are my guests whether I'm there or not, so it doesn't bother me.

Just before Christmas I received an e-mail from the Municipality demanding not only that I pay my tax within a short, specified period (under threat of added interest), but that I must do so by attending at the Municipality Offices and take my Title Deeds with me. I am in the UK, and my Deeds are with my lawyer in Paphos. This was the first communication I had received on the subject, yet it read like a 'final demand'. Of course I've queried the position with them in various ways, but have received no response whatsoever.

The purpose of this rant is simply to say that if the Cyprus authorities dragged themselves into the 20th Century, let alone the 21st, and adopted some modern approaches to finance and accounts, I and probably many others would pay. If I am willing to pay taxes due on a property, why the Hell do they need to check my deeds? They should be content just to take the money! Why the Hell can't I pay by Direct Debit or some other form of electronic payment? And above all, why the Hell can't they just send me a bill? Send me a bill, tell me how much I owe, and I'll pay it straight away! Stop threatening us as if we are potential criminals or bad-debt defaulters!

[J B]

For Geoffreye's benefit, ....................

Don't feed the trolls!

Why the Hell can't I pay by Direct Debit or some other form of electronic payment?

We have always paid our taxes to Tala by direct debit since we first purchased in 1996.
Do Pegeia not offer this service?

[LouiseCastricum]

Why the Hell can't I pay by Direct Debit or some other form of electronic payment?

We have always paid our taxes to Tala by direct debit since we first purchased in 1996.
Do Pegeia not offer this service?
[/quote]

I pay all my bills from Peyia municipality by electronic payment via my BoC account. Except the property tax bill, which you have to pay at the office. They need the details (number) from your title deeds. Simple !

[Taff]

JB - No, they don't.

LouiseCastricum - Extremely simple ... if you live there. Not so easy if you're in the UK. Probably could be resolved if only they'd answer my many e-mails (including one which attached a copy of my TD) saying "I really do want to pay, - please help me do so". Instead, they ignore my approaches and just add interest. Now hoping the new Mayor will shift the inertia and apathy up on the hill.

[LouiseCastricum]

Taff, why not send an email directly to the new Mayor Mr. Marinos Lambrou . marinosl23@yahoo.com (that is a L after marinos not a 1)

[Cogs123]

Hi Taff,
We live in the UK & managed to set up our direct debits by just popping into the municipality offices with our BoC
Statement & utility bills, it took no time at all, we did not have our title deeds at the time...hope that helps.

[Dominic]

JB - No, they don't.

LouiseCastricum - Extremely simple ... if you live there. Not so easy if you're in the UK. Probably could be resolved if only they'd answer my many e-mails (including one which attached a copy of my TD) saying "I really do want to pay, - please help me do so". Instead, they ignore my approaches and just add interest. Now hoping the new Mayor will shift the inertia and apathy up on the hill.

Have they answered any emails? It could be that they simply aren't receiving them. The broadband providers in Cyprus have quite strict policies on email. It could just be getting blocked.

[PeteandSylvi]

Have they answered any emails? It could be that they simply aren't receiving them. The broadband providers in Cyprus have quite strict policies on email. It could just be getting blocked.

What are these strict policies? I've never experienced any problems like blocking or "lost" emails with either CYTA or Primetel.

When we arrived here 7 years ago we had to learn quickly that this was a country that was comfortable with faxes but not emails. While things have improved a great deal, customer service response to emails still seems to be poor. I don't know if this is due to fear of emails, disrespect of emails or simply procrastination. It could also stem from the incumbent need to hold paper which obsesses Cypriot administration possibly leading to a reaction that an email is not serious or real.

Pete

[Dominic]

When we had an apartment in Paphos, we could get email fine. I cannot remember the ISP but it wasn't Cyta. When we connected via Cyta we could receive email but not send it. We got around it but it involved reconfiguring our mail server in the UK. If you use GMail you won't be affected, or some of the other big mail services like Outlook.

I learned in my investigations that Cyprus had very strict email policies.

But you are also right in that they don't seem to like email in general anyhow. They much prefer a phone conversation, or as you say, the sheet of paper.

It's like the company stamp if you have a business. In the UK we never used ours. Here we have to use it quite regularly.

[PeteandSylvi]

When we had an apartment in Paphos, we could get email fine. I cannot remember the ISP but it wasn't Cyta. When we connected via Cyta we could receive email but not send it. We got around it but it involved reconfiguring our mail server in the UK. If you use GMail you won't be affected, or some of the other big mail services like Outlook.

Very surprised to hear this. I have used Gmail, Outlook, Fastmail, GMX, Yahoo, Topmail and others without any problems either directly from their own sites, via Outlook Express prior to Win10 and Thunderbird since Win10.

Perhaps you need to stop sending dodgy emails !!!

Pete