The Government is proposing amending the Press Law to tax the income of the companies that own printed newspapers, keeping tax exemptions on paper and ink.
Establishing a concept of fairness and justice between taxing employers and not censorship is, according to Finance Minister Carlos Cáceres, the purpose of the proposed new tax for the companies that own printed newspapers, which until now have been exempt from income tax (ISR).
The country is in the list of eight nations where the most copyright violations occur.
A report by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), a coalition of seven associations of more than 3,200 companies representing copyright industries in the United States, singles out Ukraine as the country where the most intellectual property rights are violated, and then points to Costa Rica from the group of seven countries that follow Ukraine in the intensity of these violations.
A new law aims to regulate private advertising, sanctioning companies which advertise without prior authorization from the Ministry of Health.
Various sectors in the advertising industry, media, attorneys, consumer organizations and human rights groups are criticizing the government´s bill, reported the article by Laura Rodriguez Rojas and Ramon H. Potosme of Elnuevodiario.com.ni.
A bill before the National Assembly of Panama would establish a national agency to oversee news media’s self-regulation.
Miami (February 4, 2010)–The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today expressed concern and astonishment at a bill before the National Assembly of Panama that would establish a national agency to oversee news media’s self-regulation.
Conclusions of the 65th Assembly of the Interamerican Press Association, and reports for Central American countries.
"Throughout the hemisphere poverty, which persists because of the lack of economic development and inequality in most nations in the hemisphere, is a breeding ground for a trend toward authoritarianism."
"The coordinated action by governments to control the role of the press and the constant reproaches they make against it, the excessive increase in violence against journalists, the proliferation of restrictive laws and arbitrary judicial decisions that limit journalistic work are clear signs of the deterioration of press freedom and resulting weakening of the democratic system. "