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.
Regulations of the Value Added Tax Law in Costa Rica are in public consultation until February 4.
From the Ministry of Finance press release:
January 29, 2019. With the aim of achieving the greatest possible citizen participation in the implementation process of the Law to Strengthen Public Finances, from today, Tuesday, January 29 and until next Monday, February 4, the Ministry of Finance will have available to the public the proposed "Regulation of Title 1 of Law No. 9635 of December 3, 2018, called "Value Added Tax Law" (VAT).
On December 5th, will begin the period in which the taxpayers who pay their debts in the first three months after the publication of the Law will be absolved of arrears and sanctions.
The publication of the Law to Strengthen Public Finances in the official newspaper La Gaceta marks the beginning of the three-month period for taxpayers with debts to the Ministry of Finance, the Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social (Imas), the Instituto de Fomento y Asesoría Municipal (Imas) and the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural (Inder) to update their accounts without charging interest and penalties.
The tax reform law that would be approved in second debate in the coming weeks, involves the exoneration of arrears and penalties for taxpayers who pay their debts in the first three months after the publication of the law.
The proposed measure consists of exonerating 100% of the interest on arrears and up to 80% of the penalty to taxpayers who pay in the first month after the Law is published in the official newspaper La Gaceta.
The proposal to increase the tax on interest on financial investments in Costa Rica could eventually make credit more expensive for both the private sector and the government.
In the view of the National Securities Exchange (BNV) it is worrisome that initiatives such as an increase in tax on income from financial investments are being discussed without knowing in detail and clearly the impact that something like this could have on the stock market and the country's financial activities.
Lack of Internet access in some areas of Costa Rica is hindering use of the electronic receipt issuance system, which in November must be implemented by all companies.
In March the Ministry of Finance reported that between September and November of this year all companies in the country had to start using the compulsory electronic billing system.
Between September and November of this year all companies in Costa Rica must start using the electronic invoicing system.
Those currently obliged to use the electronic billing and receipt system are companies and service providers in the sectors of health, accounting, legal, and from Monday April 2, joining them are taxpayers working in the fields of engineering, architecture and computer science and in Mayother activities such as geologists, geographers, biologists, and advertising services, among others. This obligation remains, it will not be affected by the new resolution.
In Costa Rica, the Ministry of Finance has announced that it will intensify controls on tax returns submitted by professionals in activities such as medicine, law and accounting, among others.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance:
As part of the control actions carried out by the General Department of Taxation (DGT), this month a campaign was launched to monitor the professional sector which includes sending out more than 25 thousand messages.
The annual amount of the tax to be paid by legal entities starting from September 1 varies between 15% and 50% of the base salary, depending on the type of company.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance:
On Friday, September 1, the collection of the new Tax on Legal Entities begins, and the collection, administration, control and collection will be from the Ministry of Finance, as of this year, according to Law 9428 that creates this Tax.
The First Chamber has dismissed a motion by the Chamber of Industries, and the Taxation department will be able to require large taxpayers to present information deemed sensitive in the AMPO system.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance:
First Chamber confirms the power of Taxation to request information through the AMPO
The good functioning of the institution in charge of collecting taxes is vital for ensuring economic development, as it means that honest companies who comply with their fiscal obligations are not at a disadvantage to those who don't.
EDITORIAL
In Costa Rica, better administrative management has made possible better income tax collection figures than those foreseen with simple tax increases.
In Costa Rica, the Ministry of Finance is using a predictive model designed with data mining techniques to determine the behavioral patterns of companies that might be circumventing tax payments.
Analyzing and crossing checking historical information from multiple databases, the statistical model used by the Directorate General of Taxation attempts to predict which companies are more likely to evade paying taxes depending on their historical behavior measured through transactions, tax returns and other data.By linking all of the information, they identify patterns of behavior similar to those of other companies that have evaded taxes in the past.
Under study in the Legislature are 26 bills involving new taxes, increases of some existing ones and redistribution of others.
An analysis piece by Nacion.com notes that the Legislative Assembly is currently considering 26 bills introduced during the current administration which in some way involve the issue of taxes."...Of the total projects, 50% are attempts to raise them or create a new type of tax or fees. "
The Directorate General of Taxation has hired an external service that cross matches taxpayer data in public databases to identify suspicious patterns that might suggest misconduct.
The project called Predictive Model started to be implemented by the Ministry of Finance of Costa Rica this year, and aims to analyze the behavior of firms and individuals in order to identify suspicious or unusual patterns in the process of declaration of income and tax payments.
Two years behind schedule, an announcement has been made that in January 2017 the electronic billing system will be implemented by Empresa de Servicios Públicos de Heredia.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance in Costa Rica:
Empresa de Servicios Públicos de Heredia (ESPH), was selected by the Ministry of Finance for the development, implementation and operation of an electronic invoicing system, which will start in January 2017.ESPH together with another company which is a specialist in the subject, will be responsible for developing the software and putting into use the technology platform (networks, servers, connectivity, among other things, as well as the reception, validation and storage of electronic receipts or invoices.