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After several days of emailing and keeping people informed on the numerous problems involving the new Luxury Tax Law, we finally received some good news (see below).
Even Hacienda, who is totally confused about this law and how to implement it, is having a press conference this Thursday. Although I don’t know what they will say, at least we know it is a step in the right direction. I have sent an email to Pres. Oscar Arias Sanchez in hopes of getting some real support and help with this problem.
As of this date, I have not received a response. The Tico Times will be doing an in depth article this week and hopefully that will open some eyes on this subject. I hope the legal appeal will cover the many errors that were written into this law and eventually make it clear and simple as to how we, who have to, can comply with the law.
Bob Klenz
Dominical, Costa RicaLic. Gabriela Barrantes from Facio & Cañas advised us yesterday that
someone put a Recurso against the obligation to have an account
registered with Hacienda, as this is impossible for many foreigners who
own land in Costa Rica but don´t even live here and don´t have bank
accounts in Costa Rica or are not residents and so on … A resolution
about this should come out before Christmas. She can be contacted at:Gabriela Barrantes A
Abogada Asociada
( Tel.: +(506) 2256-5555 ext. 700
( Fax.:+(506) 2255-2510
* E-mail: gbarrantes@fayca.com
( Apdo. Postal 5173-1000
( San José, Costa Rica
: http://www.fayca.comBob, you have done good job on behalf of every property owner in Costa Rica. Whether or not all your hard work is successful, at least you tried.
Many thanks.
Make sure you post this information [i]’elsewhere’.[/i][quote=”costaricafinca”]Bob, you have done good job on behalf of every property owner in Costa Rica. Whether or not all your hard work is successful, at least you tried.
Many thanks.
Make sure you post this information [i]’elsewhere’.[/i][/quote]Thanks Costaricafinca for the nice comments. I’m sure we will be reading more about this soon.
BobI have a new but relevant question: I’ve completed the two forms called for in Petersen’s book but cannot submit the data online. My only recourse is to send it to the Ministry of Hacienda, but I can’t figure out how. I’ve been all over the Internet looking for a mailing address and come up emptyhanded. The fax number for the Ministry which is listed in our 2006 telephone directory does not ring through to a fax machine.
I’m not about to go to San Jose and just start walking around and asking people.
Anybody got any ideas?
Well, I may have just answered my own question (above). ICE’s information number (113) gave me this number in San Jose: [b]2-547-0263[/b] as the fax number for the office in the Ministry of Hacienda that deals with the luxury home tax. I just called this number and
[b]VOILA![/b][i][size=200][/size][/i]
I reached an actual functioning fax machine.
Tomorrow I head downtown to the copy place to do my civic duty.
(I suspect the Ministry is gonna hate me for this. Too bad!)
David, What I understood is if your property doesn’t range over the 100 M colones, you DON’T have to fill those papers, and if it does, then you have to submit and then pay the luxury tax before december 31st
So if you could fax your papers, now how will you pay that tax ? Do you have an account with Hacienda ?
Heard on the radio this morning that the deadline has been extended with full details on the Tico Times tomorrow. Remember the online version is only ‘visible’ on Fridays, if it is a lead article, unless you have a subscription.
Minuit, we are not submitting anything to ‘Hacienda’ having a residence under their specifications and neither are others I know of.Minuit, my reaction to most bureaucratic snarls like this one is to overcomply. If there is any doubt (and an appraiser from the Municipalidad just might disagree with my calculations), at least I’ve done everything I could in good faith.
I don’t have an account at the Ministry of Hacienda. Since I don’t think I owe any tax, that’s not a problem.
From [ http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2009/diciembre/17/economia2196908.html ]
Agrega más vías para hacerlo
Hacienda flexibiliza pago de impuesto a casas de lujo
Contribuyentes se quejan de fallos en el sistema de tributación digital
Extranjeros no deberán domiciliar la cuenta para poder hacer el pago.
Publicado: 2009/12/17
La Dirección General de Tributación quiere hacer m ás flexible el pago del impuesto solidario que se cobra sobre las viviendas cuyo precio supera los ¢100 millones y, con tal fin, publicó una resolución ayer en el diario La Gaceta .
Tributación pretende así solventar temporalmente los problemas que se han presentado para hacer el pago mediante el sistema de Tributación Digital.
Caídas del sistema y problemas para poder concretar el trámite realizado por personas extranjeras son parte de las principales dificultades expuestas por varios contribuyentes.
“Es imposible poder pagar” afirmó Juan Carlos Pereira, vecino de Santa Ana, San José, quien tardó cuatro días para poder concretar uno de los cinco pasos necesarios para cancelar el tributo.
Más flexible. Tras la resolución de Tributación, ahora los contribuyentes foráneos no están obligados a domiciliar su cuenta bancaria (trámite que permite a Hacienda debitar el monto declarado de la cuenta de cada propietario). Ahora, se podrá pagar por medio de transferencia a la cuenta #15201001024247707 del Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) .
Otra modificación permitirá llenar el formulario D-110 Recibo Oficial de Pago , que se obtiene en las administraciones tributarias instaladas en todo el país, y cancelar el importe en cualquier entidad recaudadora autorizada.
Sin embargo, quienes hayan logrado recibir una cuenta cliente en Tribunet (sistema para pagar digitalmente) deberán completar el proceso en esa plataforma. La cuenta en Tribunet se obtiene luego de un primer registro en http://www.hacienda.go.cr
El director general de Tributación, Francisco Fonseca, aclaró que los contribuyentes siempre deberán inscribirse y declarar por medio de Tributación Digital, pero ya no deberán cancelar únicamente por medio de Tribunet.
Fonseca detalló que algunos extranjeros explicaron que sus cuentas estaban fuera del país o que las casas estaban a nombre de hijos que radican en el exterior.
Además, hay nacionales a quienes también se les ha complicado abrir la cuenta en un banco y domiciliarla. “Les estamos dando la opción mientras les ponemos un sistema alternativo de pago en Tributación Digital”, dijo Fonseca.
El sistema digital para tributar se halla en arreglos. Al ingresar al sitio web de Tributación Digital se anuncia que el sistema será suspendido del viernes, a las 4 p. m., hasta el día siguiente, a las 9 a. m., para realizar labores de mantenimiento y actualización de servicios.
El abogado de la empresa Faycatax, Adrián Torrealba, es del criterio que el Ministerio de Hacienda debe considerar hacer una prórroga para el pago.
Aseveró que se han presentado ‘errores administrativos’. Para Torrealba, las fallas en los servicios tecnológicos y en la coordinación entre el Ministerio de Hacienda y los bancos podrían ser entendidos como un error de índole administrativo.
Los recursos producto del impuesto solidario deberán destinarse a financiar el programa de erradicación de tugurios.
———————-
Proceso difícil y tedioso
Usuarios del sistema de Tributación Digital describen el proceso para pagar el impuesto como “muy difícil o imposible”. El economista Juan Carlos Pereira afirmó que tuvo que desistir del intento tras haber entendido las fórmulas de cálculo, realizar un primer registro en la web y lograr domiciliar la cuenta. Finalmente abandonó la fila de 20 personas que buscaban en Hacienda su cuenta de Tribunet. Afirmó que por persona se dilataban 45 minutos. Arturo Céspedes, quien ofrece —a través de su empresa Prodesa— el servicio de consultoría para el pago, aseveró que en las oficinas de Hacienda de San José y Guanacaste se están manejando criterios diferentes. Agregó que el riesgo es que las multas son muy altas.
———————-
I’m very sorry but I won’t have time to translate this for a few days…
I will do my best at translating:
The Costa Rican Tax Department wants to be more flexiable regarding the payment of the recently passed “Luxury Tax” law, which applies to Homes which value exceeds C100,000,000, and whom have published a resulution yesterday with the Newspaper ‘La Gaceta’.
The Tax Authority intends to solve the current problems which exist in making the Payment of Tax in Digital Format.
System Failures and difficulties explaining the process to foriegners are some of the main problems that many taxpayers are facing.
“Its impossible to pay”, confirms Juan Carlos Pereira, resident of Santa Ana, San Jose, who spent four days in order to complete just one of the 5 steps nessisary to pay the new Tax.
‘More Flexible’. After the Resolution, Forigners will no longer be required to provide a Bank Account and authorization for the Tax to be withdrawn directly by the Tax Authority. Now, each Taxpayer will be able to deposit the payment directly into BCR Bank Account #15201001024247707.
Another Modification will permit Taxpayers to file form D-110 Offical Receipt of Payment, which can be obtained in the Tax Administration Offices located throughout the country, and to be able to pay the amount to any authorized collection company.
Howevery, any person who has been able to access the Tribunet (digital) system, should complete the process with that platform. The account at Tribunet can be made after registering at http://www.hacienda.go.cr
The General Director of the Tax Department, Francisco Fonseca, clarified that all taxpayers should be recorded and declare under the Digital Taxation format, but now can pay via other options.
Fonseca also noted that some Foreigners explained their Bank Accounts were located outside of Costa Rica, and in some cases, the homes were in names of children that live outside the country.
There are even Costa Rican Nationals who are finding it complicated to open a bank account or file the tax online. “We are giving them another option while we are currently establishing an alternative form of payment with Digital Taxation”, said Fonseca
The Digital System of Payments was found to be in the state of repairs. Upun entering the Tribunet Website, it is announced that the system will be suspended from Friday, at 4 o’clock p. m., to the following day, at 9 o’clock a. m., in order to carry out maintenance and updating of services.
The lawyer of the business Faycatax, Adrián Torrealba, states that the Treasury Department should consider extending the deadline for the payment.
He states that there have been many “Administration Errors”. According to Torealba, the failures with the technological services, also with the coordination between the Treasury Department and the banks, could be understood as an error of administrative type.
The produced Resources from the Luxury Tax are destined to finance the eradication of Shanty Towns.
Well, the Tico Time has posted the announced delaying the payment until Jan 15th 2010, the [url=http://www.ticotimes.net/topstory.htm]Updated Tax Information[/url] on their website, and hopefully it can be accessed other than today.
Here too, is link to some of the documents for the [url=http://www.ccobb.net/hacienda/]Hacienda[/url] mentioned in the Tico Times article, that has been accumulated by Chris Cobb, also mentioned in the Tico Times article.[quote=”costaricafinca”]Well, the Tico Time has posted the announced delaying the payment until Jan 15th 2010, the [url=http://www.ticotimes.net/topstory.htm]Updated Tax Information[/url] on their website, and hopefully it can be accessed other than today.
Here too, is link to some of the documents for the [url=http://www.ccobb.net/hacienda/]Hacienda[/url] mentioned in the Tico Times article, that has been accumulated by Chris Cobb, also mentioned in the Tico Times article.[/quote]Now there is an unsubstantiated rumor that there may be a new law coming out. It was not stated in the Tico times article
http://www.ticotimes.net/topstory.htm but is being circulated as of this time via email. Although Hacienda may have made a few administrative changes in the law, I wouldn’t be surprised if an additional court challenge is presented prior to the new Jan 15th deadline. The issues of the requirement to file on line, being your own appraiser and the legality of the excessive fines need to be resolved.
BobWe have a few incredibly conscientious VIP Members who have lived here for years who have repeatedly tried to file and, failed to pay this tax and, according to the Director General of the Francisco Gamboa so far in Costa Rica, only fourteen (14) people have successfully paid this new luxury tax.
14!
That’s 14 out of an estimated 10,000 properties meaning only 0.14% have paid…
And they’re expecting the people behind the remaining 9,986 properties (myself included) to conclude their filings and payments over the next four weeks when a huge percentage of the country is on vacation?
Not going to happen ….
[quote=”Scott”]We have a few incredibly conscientious VIP Members who have lived here for years who have repeatedly tried
to file and, failed to pay this tax and, according to the Director General of the Francisco Gamboa so far
in Costa Rica, only fourteen (14) people have successfully paid this new luxury tax.14!
That’s 14 out of an estimated 10,000 properties meaning only 0.14% have paid…
And they’re expecting the people behind the remaining 9,986 properties (myself included) to conclude their filings and payments over the next four weeks when a huge percentage of the country is on vacation?
Not going to happen ….[/quote]
It is truly amazing how government figures can change. First of all they said that 12,000 properties would be affected. Now they are down to 10,000 properties. Then they state that 600 people have filed and paid the tax. Now we hear 14 people. This is just the beginning of one big screw up. Shades of the good old US of A.
BobI would be very interested to hear from anyone who has successfully used the Hacienda software application to determine property value. It’s a little funky to start using but, once you get used to it, seems to do a good job.
My question is: Of the value you obtained, what percentage is this of either a) replacement cost, or b) construction cost, and c) your guess at percentage of market value (what ever that means today).
For my property, I did a best guess with their software, added 10% for luck, and obtained a value that is roughly half of construction cost (completed in 2007), and about a quarter of what I estimate market value to be. Another person I’ve been in email contact with indicated that the software valued his 7-year old property at almost exactly the original construction cost.
BTW, if you try installing Hacienda’s software and it doesn’t work, you might need to install the latest update from Microsoft of the so-called “Visual Basic Runtime Environment.” Links to download the Hacienda software and supporting documents, along with links to the Microsoft patch, and translations of a few terms used by the software app [url=http://ccobb.net/blahblahblog/?p=641 ]are available on my website[/url]. I don’t speak a lot of Spanish, and had luck using Google’s [url=http://translate.google.com/]language translation[/url] service for the terms and descriptions.
Also, BTW, I had been hearing rumors about the maximum value this software would place on a home. Using the highest category for a house, zero years old, in optimal condition (i.e. no wear or tear), I couldn’t get it to return a value of more than $783 per meter, at 575 colones per dollar.
Cheers,
Chrisp.d. Why pay an attorney $300 to $700 when all they will do is take the numbers you have to figure out anyway, and then just plug them into this software? If you can get a [b]written[/b] indemnification from paying later penalties, if any, then it might be worth it.
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