In Costa Rica, the Ministry of Finance proposes to apply VAT to services such as Netflix, Airbnb, Tinder, Skype, PlayStation Network and advertising on social networks, among others.
According to a resolution of the Ministry of Finance that should be in consultation in the coming days, credit card issuers would be required to receive the 13% tax.
The list of digital services objects of the collection of VAT amounts to 190, as some are repeated, as companies use different names at the time of billing their customers.
During the first quarter of the year, imports of televisions from companies in the region totaled $81 million, 20% less than the amount reported for the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAPHIC caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
From October 1, 2020, the analog television signal will cease to function in the provinces of Panama, Panama West and Colon, to switch to the digital signal.
Starts analog power off countdown for open TV signal. On October 1, 2020, the Digital Terrestrial Television open signal enters into force in Phase I in the provinces of Panama, Colon and West Panama, informed the National Authority of Public Services (ASEP).
In Guatemala, the rights for the transmission and reproduction of sports events of the national teams of the National Football Federation, in all its categories and modalities, are tendered.
According to the rules of the contest, the rights that comprise the transmissions by open television, cable television, and radio, produced and transmitted within the national territory.
From August 14, users of the Greater Metropolitan Area who consume television content openly and free of charge will have to modify their equipment to access the digital signal.
With the upcoming change in the country, televisions that are not yet ready to receive the digital signal must purchase a converter compatible with the Japanese Brazilian standard ISDB-Tb.
9% of Costa Rican consumers are interested in gaming consoles, and almost half of them are between 21 and 30 years old, and have a high level of purchasing power.
An analysis of consumer interests and preferences in Costa Rica, compiled by CentralAmericaData's Trade Intelligence Unit, provides interesting results on the preferences and favoritism of people who show interest in the different types of electronic equipment available. [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In El Salvador, the Ministry of Economy drafted a bill to regulate the commercialization and importation of devices not compatible with digital television, but the Superintendence of Competition failed to endorse it.
At the end of 2018, the country began its transition to digital television, since the state-owned TV channel Canal 10 began broadcasting the open digital signal, and it was reported that in the next three years it will have to be implemented by private TV stations.
From January to November 2018, imports of household appliances in Nicaragua totaled $106 million, 35% less than reported in the same period of the previous year.
Between the first eleven months of 2017 and the same period in 2018, foreign purchases of household appliances fell from $164 million to $106 million, according to the most current figures from the Central Bank of Nicaragua.
During the first half of 2018, imports of televisions in the region totaled $240 million, and purchases from Mexican companies increased 58% over the same period in 2017.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In El Salvador, the state-owned Canal 10 began broadcasting the open digital signal, and in the next three years it should be implemented by private television stations.
The General Superintendence of Electricity and Telecommunications (Siget) reported that the change from analog and satellite transmissions to a digital signal is progressing successfully, as several private providers have conducted successful transmission tests.
In Panama, improvements to the national terrestrial television network are being tendered, which includes the fulfillment of Phase III and IV of DTT at the national level.
Panama Government Purchase 2018-1-31-0-99-LP-007712:
"Supply, integration, installation, training, transportation to site, commissioning, and technical support of three (3) digital TV transmission systems consisting of:
Imports of household appliances between April and July 2017 and the same period in 2018 reported a decline of 17% in Nicaragua.
According to figures from the Central Bank of Nicaragua, purchases abroad decreased from $100 million in 2017 to $84 million this year. The most significant year-on-year fall was recorded during the seventh month, as between July 2017 and the same month of this year the fall was 60%.
With a $250 million investment, Liberty Latin America completed the acquisition of 80% of the capital of Cabletica, one of the country's leading cable operators.
Liberty Latin America operates in Chile, Panama and the Caribbean, and with the purchase of Televisora de Costa Rica S.A. will access the Costa Rican market through this cable operator that has more than 327 thousand subscribers.