In Costa Rica, the Constitutional Chamber ruled in favor of the Observatorio Ciudadano de Transparencia Fiscal, an institution that filed an appeal to obtain information on how many individuals appear as owners of shares.
After the Observatory requested to the Ministry of Finance statistical information that can be obtained from the Registry of Shareholders and Beneficial Owners (RABF), the authorities refused.
In addition to the $1,750 million that the government is seeking to obtain through the loan it is negotiating with the IMF, during the four years between 2022 and 2025 the country plans to place $4,000 million in foreign debt bonds.
During February 8 and 9, the Ministry of Finance was able to renegotiate close to $130 million corresponding to maturities of domestic debt securities for the years 2021 and 2022.
This is the first exchange of domestic debt in colones to take place in 2021. In this session, the Ministry of Finance managed to renegotiate debt bonds for ¢79,814 million, equivalent to close to $130 million.
Arguing that there is a temporary need for liquidity in colons, on October 26 the Central Bank of Costa Rica decided to participate in the secondary market by buying two different series from the Ministry of Finance, with a maturity of 9 and 10 years.
On April 13, 2020, the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) authorized its Administration to participate in the secondary securities market of the Ministry of Finance and defined the conditions under which these transactions would be executed, with the objective of mitigating situations of systemic tension caused by temporary liquidity needs in colones, informed the monetary authority.
After Costa Rica, with the intention of mitigating the spread of the covid-19, decreed restrictions on cargo transport units entering its territory, the Nicaraguan government ordered the closure of the Peñas Blancas border post.
Treasury authorities announced that plans for this year are to negotiate with the Legislative Assembly for approval to issue debt in the international market, and if approved, the issuance would take place in 2021.
Last year the executive branch's plans were to issue $6 billion in Eurobonds, but the Legislative Assembly approved the issuance of only $1.5 billion, arguing that the amount proposed at the beginning was too high.
Because the cost of electric bicycles is considerably lower than other types of electric vehicles, the number of units imported into the country has increased exponentially in recent years.
According to figures from the Ministry of Finance, during 2019 3,585 electric bicycles and motorcycles were imported into the country, 93% more than the 1,857 reported in 2018.
To ensure financing for its future functions, the Costa Rican government will seek loans from the World Bank, IDB, CABEI and CAF during 2020, and plans to insist on the approval of $4.5 billion in Eurobonds.
For this year, the Costa Rican government plans to continue negotiating loans for budget support with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Andean Development Corporation - Latin American Development Bank (CAF).
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.
The Ministry of Finance plans to present a new bill in the Legislative Assembly to issue $4.5 billion in foreign debt bonds next year.
The amount that will be requested is what is needed to reach the $6 billion that was requested this year before Congress, of which only $1.5 billion was authorized.
The proportion of public debt to GDP is about to reach 60%, the maximum limit allowed by law, which will force the government to restrict capital spending in the coming years, in order to avoid further deterioration of public finances.
The Treasury authorities indicated that at the end of 2019 the country's public debt will represent 59% of production, adverse scenario for investment, because according to the fiscal rule, when the proportion reaches 60% will affect capital spending, since the government must begin to contain expenditures.
In Costa Rica, the banking sector won a lawsuit it imposed against the Ministry of Finance, arising from disagreements over the method used to calculate tax payments.
The legal dispute dates back several years, since in 2003 the General Directorate of Taxation (DGT) validated the methodology suggested by the Costa Rican Banking Association (ABC) to calculate the payment of taxes on the income of financial intermediaries.
With the tax benefits granted to the import of electric cars, the number of units entering Costa Rica went from 40 in 2017 to 350 in 2018.
Last year, the Law of Incentives and Promotion for Electric Transportation came into force, which grants fiscal benefits to the import of electric cars, such as the exoneration of between 50% and 100% for sales, consumption and customs taxes, according to the import value of each car.
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.
Because of doubts that have arisen in the business sector, in Costa Rica it was reported that the start of shareholder registration was postponed six months and will enter into force on September 1 of this year.
The aim of this process is to facilitate compliance with the obligation that companies must inform the Treasury on the composition of its share capital, as well as the identification of final beneficiaries, under the provisions of the Law to Improve the Fight against Tax Fraud, a statement from the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR).