New CR Tax Regulations

If a person bought a piece of art, jewelry, expensive car or a luxury home in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 and does not declare sufficient income to support the purchases on their Costa Rican tax declaration, they may be contacted by the Dirección General de Tributación.
The tax authorities are also reviewing records of private schools, real estate transactions, cargo services, importers of vehicles as well as athletes and professionals in order to identify those who are receiving substantial income but are not declaring the income on their annual tax declaration.
These new taxation regulations were published in La Gaceta on January 18 and additional regulations in today’s edition.
Since all purchases of vehicles and real estate are recorded in the National Registry, it’s now simple to access the public records as well as the insurance policies for the associated assets in the database of INS, the national insurance company.
The taxation authorities will compare the acquisitions with tax returns and when inconsistencies are found, they will call the people to account for the money of the purchases. Taxation will send a letter to the parties to notify them of this new information and invite them to correct their tax declarations or to register to become a taxpayer.