Following the news that the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation in Costa Rica plans to renew the framework that regulates outdoor advertising, businessmen of the sector are asking to be taken into account in this process.
In the country, outdoor advertising is regulated by a law that dates back to 2001. In the case of national roads, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) is in charge of regulating this type of advertising and in the case of cantonal roads, local governments are designated for these tasks.
With the aim of making the classification of debtors more flexible and reducing the risk of non-payment, in a context where delinquent loans keep on rising, Costa Rica authorized the modification of two regulations that apply to entities in the financial system.
The General Superintendence of Financial Entities (Sugef) and the National Council of Supervision of the Financial System (Conassif), informed that changes were made to the "Regulation for the qualification of debtors" and the "Regulation on management and evaluation of credit risk for the development banking system", which ultimately aim to give access to new credits to about 63 thousand people.
From May 2019, foreign customers will have to declare to local system banks that their funds meet their country's tax requirements.
The Superintendence of Banks of Panama (SBP) approved Agreement 02-2019, which implements the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, which consists of expanding the required due diligence measures of banks with their customers.
Until April 26 will be in public consultation the regulations of the Income Tax Law in Costa Rica.
From the Ministry of Finance statement:
April 12, 2019. As was done with the first proposal of the regulation to the Law of Value Added Tax (VAT), the Ministry of Finance made available on its website, the first draft of the project "Modifications and Additions to the Income Tax Law Regulation", which regulates Title II of the Law to Strengthen Finance, No. 9635, of December 3, 2018.
A 3% additional to the 13% VAT that was expected to be charged in Costa Rica as a tax on accommodation services provided through the Airbnb platform and other similar platforms was finally removed from the bill being discussed in the Legislative Assembly.
Bill 20.865 for the regulation of non-traditional hosting and its intermediation through digital platforms, which is discussed in the Legislative Assembly and determines the taxes to be charged for the activity, will be modified by the Economic Affairs Commission.
Limiting the fees charged in Costa Rica and establishing a law that defines market limits in Guatemala are part of the attempts being made in the region to regulate the use of credit cards.
A law proposal presented last January before the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, aims to regulate the percentage of the commission paid by businesses for credit or debit cards.
In Costa Rica, the Central Bank and the Commission to Promote Competition are proposed to set a single percentage in the commissions paid by businesses for accepting credit or debit cards.
Law 21.177, which aims to empower the government to regulate the commissions charged by financial institutions to businesses, was presented to the Legislative Assembly by several deputies.
From January 1st, 2020, the concentration of Sulphur in the fuel consumed by maritime transport vessels must not exceed 0.5%, a limit that until now was at 3.5%.
The international modifications related to the supply of fuel oil or marine fuel, which were approved by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), will apply to all vessels sailing in the world.
In Costa Rica, the Executive Branch urges deputies to move forward with the discussion of the project to regulate non-traditional hosting and its intermediation through digital platforms.
The project suggests that non-traditional hosting companies be required to register with the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), pay taxes and be registered with the General Directorate of Direct Taxation.
The Costa Rican banking sector opposes such a measure, arguing that imposing an upper cap on interest rates on bank loans would cause informality in the credit market.
The 20.861 reform of the competition promotion and effective consumer defense, which aims to cap credit interest rates, is discussed with the country's Tax Affairs Commission.
Regarding the establishment of a rate cap, Ronulfo Jiménez, legal advisor to the Costa Rican Banking Association, said during the hearing that "... these initiatives are not retroactive, leaving the population with over-indebtedness in that condition, therefore, denies that this will benefit the consumer."
Building on own land and keeping premiums in a trust are part of the new requirements to be met by companies that market houses and apartments in Costa Rica.
According to representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce, the new rules that would soon enter into force and seek to regulate term sales in the real estate sector are currently in the consultation process with interested parties.
In Costa Rica, it is proposed to establish a regulatory framework to make the manufacture, import and sale of energy-efficient electrical appliances mandatory by 2020.
Representatives of the Instituto de Normas Tecnicas de Costa Rica (Inteco) informed that the regulatory framework to be approved consists of the implementation of thirteen standards that require electricity consumption limits in appliances, according to which it is defined whether or not they are efficient.
Excessive regulation, increased tax charges and geopolitical uncertainty are the main risks to business growth in the region for Central American CEOs.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) conducted the Global CEO Survey in the Central American region, in which a group of business executives from Central American countries and the Dominican Republic shared their opinions about their economic expectations.
To correct alleged price distortions in the local market, the Panamanian government plans to regulate imports of beef from Nicaragua.
The Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA)'s plan is to establish new import rules, which will aim to correct the "distortion in the price of beef paid for the local product."
The Central Bank of Costa Rica has increased to $27 million the minimum amount of capital required by banks to operate, and to $5 million the minimum amount for financial companies.
Yesterday the Central Bank agreement which establishes the changes was published in the official newspaper, La Gaceta, The minimum operating capital for private banks increased by 5.8%, rising from $25.6 million to $27.1 million.In the case of financial companies, the increase was from $5.1 million to $5.4 million.