On March 31st the payment of the Education and Culture Stamp is due.

This tax is based on the Corporations’ Net Equity Balance. The funds collected by the Costa Rican Government through this tax are used to finance:

• The Universidad de Costa Rica (The main Public College)
• The Universidad Estatal a Distancia (Public Distance College)
• The Museo Nacional (National Museum)
• The Editorial Costa Rica (Public Printing)

All these Institutions focus on the support and development of Cultural and Educational activities, and help to preserve the historical assets of Costa Rica

March 31st is also the deadline to pay the First Income Tax Advance; this payment is based on the last three years Income Tax record, and if you paid some income taxes in some of those years you have to pay this in advance.

Unless you prove that you are projecting not to pay Income Taxes in the future. In making this payment, you can use it as a credit on 2010 year taxes if there are any, or accrued for future years.

Not to pay these taxes is as serious as any other failure to comply with the Tax Law, so you should pay this to avoid any possible fines that could be higher than the tax it self.

Written by Randall Zamora who is the President and CEO of CostaRicaABC.com, former CFO and Head of Accounting Department of multinational companies like Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica, active member of the Interamerican Accounting Association, Pro Bono Local Partner of The World Bank and contributor to their yearly publication “Doing Business Report.”

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.