In Costa Rica a bill has been presented in the Legislative Assembly that proposes establishing a tax of $1 on every box of pineapples exported.
If the initiative by Deputy Gerardo Vargas Varela from the Frente Amplio party prospers, the tax of $1 for each box of pineapples exported would be similar to the one charged, since 1971, on exported boxes of bananas.
A bill that is being discussed in the Congress of Costa Rica would allow the tax authority to lift bank secrecy for companies without needing authorization from a judge.
The bill proposed by MPs of the Frente Amplio party includes a fine of between three and 100 base salaries, for any financial institution that refuses to provide information to the Tax Department or who delivers it outside of the required deadlines.
In Costa Rica presidential candidate José María Villalta wants to reform income tax so that the financial sector contributes more.
Reforming the tax for the financial sector in Costa Rica will provide more resources to pay for public services and social security, as per the proposal by presidential candidate of the leftist party Frente Amplio.
Johnny Araya , candidate for the ruling party, has proposed a tax package aimed at improving collections and gas exploration to boost new energy sources.
Araya proposes the creation of the National Tax Administration Agency in order to combat tax evasion and improve tax collection. According to him , the fiscal deficit is affecting governance and competitiveness.
The main political parties running in the upcoming presidential and legislative election point to the need for tax reform.
Johnny Araya, candidate for the Partido Liberación Nacional, believes what should be done is to "create a National Tax Agency (NTA), to improve collection, as a decentralized agency of the Treasury, with a special procurement regime.