The country will have until October to finish preparing for the evaluation of fiscal transparency to be carried out by the Financial Action Task Force.
From a statement issued by the President of Costa Rica: The International Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has agreed to postpone the decision on Costa Rica for the next plenary session in October. The decision was taken today in the plenary that takes place in Valencia, Spain, where the evaluation guidelines that will be applied to Costa Rica and all other countries from now on are approved. For this reason, the body ordered that the evaluators review the country's progress again in the light of these new provisions and that they submit their criteria at the next plenary session. The Minister of the Presidency, Sergio Alfaro, as well as representatives from the Costa Rican Institute on Drugs (ICD) in Spain, were pleased with this decision that gives greater clarity to the rules of the process and the country gains some additional time to intensify its efforts.
The OECD has noted the non compliance with the standards required in terms of disclosure of information on the final beneficiaries of legal persons.
In the revision made by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information, at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Costa Rica appears in the list of nations that still have not made significant progress in fiscal transparency.
As the region gets ready to start complying with the US law FATCA, OECD countries are already working on a Single Global Standard for automatic exchange of information.
FATCA could now be joined by the European OECD countries Single Global Standard for Automatic Clearing of CRS Information (Gatca), "... allowing tax information on their residents to be shared between them."
A guide produced by the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Business Sector allows for assessments to be made on the degree of compliance with labor standards in companies.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Business Sector (UCCAEP):
The Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Business Sector (UCCAEP) presented on Wednesday a tool for companies to find out in depth their obligations and improve both knowledge and compliance of labor, national and international legislation.
The private sector in Costa Rica is having doubts over the ability of the Treasury to prevent information leaks, if approval is given to a requirement for companies to disclose shareholder information.
The business sector fears that the authorities will not be able to control possible leaks of confidential data which companies must provide if the decree proposed by the Directorate General of Taxation is approved.
The decree submitted for public consultation by the General Directorate of Taxation of Costa Rica requires commercial companies to provide information about its members and the composition of its capital.
There is currently a period of 10 working days for companies that do not agree with the draft decree to declare so and make comments. This measure aims to implement the standards of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
An initiative that is being discussed in the Legislative Assembly would lift bank secrecy with regards to tax matters, without the need for an order to be given by a judge.
Reform to the Code of Tax Rules and Procedures would allow tax authorities to access client's bank information, if needed. This amendment is part of the requirements for the country to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The arbitrariness with which municipalities are issuing permits to build cell towers is preventing controls and the ability to demand better coverage.
The obstacles imposed by the different municipalities have forced the suspension of the timeframe which telephone companies were given to meet the required demand for coverage in order to operate in the market.
An announcement has been made that transition to compliance by financial institutions with the conditions established by law will be carried over to the years 2014 and 2015.
The Treasury Department of the United States, through the inland revenue service (IRS) has announced that it will take into account the "good faith" of financial institutions outside the United States who will have to make adaptations in order to comply with the law and will not issue penalties for delays between 2014 and 2015.
Complaints have been made that the bill awarding construction of the Caribbean route to a Chinese company was approved without preliminary drawings, calculation of materials and study of costs.
Grupo Consenso believes that it is "unacceptable" that the Committee on Financial Affairs agreed to accept as reasonable the cost presented by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), in the amount of $465 million.
The two countries have signed an intergovernmental agreement to improve international tax compliance under the FATCA law.
From a statement by Deloitte:
"On November 26, 2013 Costa Rica and the United States signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA for short) to improve international tax compliance regarding the FATCA law. The agreement is substantially similar to last one signed (Model 1, France FATCA IGA) but it includes recent amendments to the Model 1A IGA published by the U.S. Treasury Department on November 4, 2013. "
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