LOCAL NEWS
COSTA RICA ENACTS TAX REFORM: On 4 December 2018, Costa Rica enacted a tax reform bill; Law on the Strengthening of Public Finances (Law). Some of the applied changes will begin on July 1st, 2019.
The Law seeks to strengthen the country’s finances through four pillars:
- The replacement of the current sales tax law with a value-added tax (VAT) that will tax all services and goods.
- Amendments to the current income tax law and the inclusion of specific treatment for capital income and capital gains.
- Reforms to the Law of Salaries of the Public Administration and the establishment of a fiscal rule to limit public spending.
- These changes, plus the mandatory use of electronic invoices, and the new reporting requirements to avoid money laundering, add to the regulatory improvements in the Country vis a vis to the application of the Country to the OCDE.
TOURISM: European airlines plan to increase flights to Costa Rica, ICT says. The seven airlines that fly non-stop to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) from Europe have been pleased with demand and hope to increase their offerings to Costa Rica. ICT says that in 2018, 414,722 people arrived in Costa Rica from Europe via air. The number marked a 7.6 percent increase over 2017. In January 2019, Costa Rica received 248,754 international arrivals by air, an increase of 9.2 percent compared to the same month last year, according to ICT. Of that total, 45,643 were Europeans, 4.2 percent more than in January of 2018. Source: www.ticotimes.net