Property Tax’s Impact on Livestock Sector

Farmers in Costa Rica argue that changing the property tax to one based on a sliding scale would be confiscatory.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

A statement from the Legislature reads:

Representatives of national farmers argue that changing the property tax to a system based on a sliding scale, would be confiscatory for many of them.

This is how Leonardo Luconi, President of the Livestock Development Corporation (CORFOGA) described the issue to lawmakers of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Affairs.

This is the committe that will processes Law 18070 on the preservation of agricultural land use, which although not indicated in its name, will effect a change in property tax.

On this topic, the Citizen Action Party legislator, Yolanda Acuña Castro, presented a new proposal to the legislative process, which is contained in the file 18355.

The amendment would have a sliding scale for the tax which would be based on land use.

The scale would be as follows: land suitable for agriculture would be taxed at 0.15 of its value, if the land was used for housing the rate rises to 0.25, and 0.28 would be charged to the industrial sector and 0.30 for commercial activity.

Farmers representative, Leonardo Luconi, said the proposal made for the sector does not conform to reality and that for many Guanacastecan farmers "who are just recovering from one of the most serious crises of recent years, this tax would be confiscatory".

Also attending the event was the engineer Julian Morales, from the Land Registry Department of the Municipality of Escazú, who presented the local government’s view on the subject.

In relation to Law 18207 recognizing the rights of the inhabitants of the southern Caribbean, a motion was approved to consult a number of institutions involved in the issue.

Among the institutions that will have to define their position are the National Housing and Urbanism Institute (INVU), the ministries of Finance and Planning, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, the Attorney General's Office and the Chamber of Tourism and Commerce of the Southern Caribbean.

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