On 8th August 2011, 38 of the Costa Rican Law Makers allowed the new Corporation Tax Bill to become a law, which means that starting on January 2012, all the corporations registered in Costa Rica will have to file and pay a new tax.

But yesterday a group of 12 “thoughtful” lawmakers – of course no one of them is from the official party Partido Liberacion Nacional, the party of the President Laura Chinchilla who is trying to impose the new tax – decided to forward the bill to the Supreme Court which means that the law was put on hold for now.

Why Is The New Tax On Hold?

The 12 lawmakers believe that this tax is unfair because whether it’s a multi-national company or a tiny local company with only a handful of employees, under this new tax law, both companies would pay the same amount of tax.

To rent or buy this one hour video with Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora, please visit our Video On Demand page here.

They feel it is unjustified because the Government of Costa Rica is not using the money they already have wisely enough and because of that they need a new source of cash.

Finally, because of a technicality the Government wouldn’t be able to collect the property transfer tax for six months.

Is The New Corporation Tax Still Alive?

Yes, it’s still alive! Unless the Supreme Court say ‘yes’ to this group of lawmakers and then the bill would be stopped from becoming law.

We can hope that the Supreme Court, especially the head Luis Paulino Mora, stops thinking about what is good for Oscar Arias Sanchez and his Partido Liberacion Nacional party this time and says yes to this group of lawmakers so “we the people” can enjoy a break when it comes to senseless taxes.

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.