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we love puerto rico .com is tongue in cheek 🙂
I find it so funny.. that finally someone is waking up to the fact that taxation and over government regulation is not the answer..
and its still semi part of the U.S. Puerto Rico.
http://www.internationalman.com/tax-free-zone-video
pretty amazing actually.. and costa rica should wake up.
costa rica is obviously headed towards replicating the mother ship and its draconian laws.. to the point that attracts people like sweikert to actually consider relocating here..
If your on a fixed income .. this is not the place to be relocating to.
with U.S. corporatism overwhelming this little country.. (subway has 62 locations here..) and the incompetents in government..trying to come up with ways to tax
this country will not be the place to be.. sorry to say..
would love to hear Scotts thoughts on this.. and people that actually have some REAL world experience instead of .. well you all know who :roll::roll::roll::roll:
[quote=”davidd”]we love puerto rico .com is tongue in cheek 🙂
I find it so funny.. that finally someone is waking up to the fact that taxation and over government regulation is not the answer..
and its still semi part of the U.S. Puerto Rico.
http://www.internationalman.com/tax-free-zone-video
pretty amazing actually.. and costa rica should wake up.
costa rica is obviously headed towards replicating the mother ship and its draconian laws.. to the point that attracts people like sweikert to actually consider relocating here..
If your on a fixed income .. this is not the place to be relocating to.
with U.S. corporatism overwhelming this little country.. (subway has 62 locations here..) and the incompetents in government..trying to come up with ways to tax
this country will not be the place to be.. sorry to say..
would love to hear Scotts thoughts on this.. and people that actually have some REAL world experience instead of .. well you all know who :roll::roll::roll::roll:
[/quote]
Things are getting worse in CR…. like much of the rest of the world. The new “management” seems to have taken up where the last left off…. more taxes rather than cutting cost and encouraging investment. While I still love my escape pod in CR… the idea of using it for anything other than a vacation retreat is not an option now. The mandatory CAJA costs… and other new “ideas” the government have come up with will keep me from placing myself on the radar and applying for residency. I’m happy to play tourist during my stays… and comply with the stay requirements…tourists seem to get better treatment and receive more concern at this point anyway. I’m blessed to be able to maintain homes in a few nice places. For those unable to do so the idea of placing all your eggs in CR’s basket is a scary prospect. I love the place and the people. The way they are treating expats and future ones has me very turned off.
As to PR…. A lot of hype but if you look deeper there are major issues with the moves they’re making to attract investment and people. The likelihood that the “incentives” will be watered down or eliminated outweighs the effort.
He’s another view on PR.
[quote=”sweikert925″]Am I the only one struck by the contradiction in constant negative comments about Costa Rica posted by some on a message board called…..WeLoveCostaRica.com?[/quote]
Why not take a vote and see how many folks think things are getting better in CR…. and while you’re at it add a “The US is headed in the right direction” poll….might be quite surprising.
When discussing any issue…. There’s always going to be the good and the bad!
I could be wrong, but I have always assumed Subway’s in Costa Rica are franchises and more than likely owned by a Tico. Can’t find any info though.
Imxploring
absolutely
BTW I do agree with nestmans article.. too close to U.S. power to really make a difference long term.
I have been living here full time and built and sold 2 businesses here and raising a family for the past 15 years now
I love costa rica.. but i am not one to keep my head in the sand.. I see things they way they are and not worse or better to keep my powered dry so to speak and make smart decisions.
this is how I have done well without relying working for someone else.
If costa rica keeps heading in the direction that cannot be denied.. then it would only make sense to adjust the plans accordingly.
I am not saying puerto rico is the answer I was just making an observation that its interesting to see there are still semi intelligent people in government positions trying to lure people to relocate there.
and we have Costa Rica that actually does the opposite
I just saw on the news here that the president wants to create a new tax income.. besides wanting to tax its costa rica citizens GLOBALLY..
why not.. sounds like a good idea.. right sweikert this way you can sleep well enough at night knowing that your not the only one that is getting screwed. :roll::roll::roll:
[quote=”Imxploring”][quote=”sweikert925″]Am I the only one struck by the contradiction in constant negative comments about Costa Rica posted by some on a message board called…..WeLoveCostaRica.com?[/quote]
Why not take a vote and see how many folks think things are getting better in CR…. and while you’re at it add a “The US is headed in the right direction” poll….might be quite surprising.
When discussing any issue…. There’s always going to be the good and the bad![/quote]
All governments seem to be scrambling to see how much money they can wring out of their citizens. They are doing all the wrong things that did not work in the past, and won’t work in the present. As someone else pointed out, instead of cutting back on government, they are making the mistake of enlarging it in the hope of creating jobs. Government jobs. I have given up on my government here in the United States and it won’t be any different in Costa Rica. But for the time being, the Dollar seems to go a little bit further in Costa Rica.
[quote=”johnnyh”]All governments seem to be scrambling to see how much money they can wring out of their citizens. They are doing all the wrong things that did not work in the past, and won’t work in the present. As someone else pointed out, instead of cutting back on government, they are making the mistake of enlarging it in the hope of creating jobs. Government jobs. I have given up on my government here in the United States and it won’t be any different in Costa Rica. But for the time being, the Dollar seems to go a little bit further in Costa Rica.[/quote]
There’s an interesting article in AMCOSTARICA this morning about some rather large increases in property taxes here in CR…. can’t wait to see where mine are headed in January. Yet another nail in the coffin! The real estate industry must be loving this!
They really are making other places on this orb look good!
[quote=”bogino”]”[i]Great Place to Visit. Wouldn’t Want to Live There[/i]”…..
Is [b]that[/b] where CR is headed?[/quote]
guys.. this is exactly what I mean with these kinds of observations.
is it negative to observe these kinds of things and comment on them as sweikert previous mentioned..
should we just all say pura vida every time some government incompetent thinks he comes up with a unique idea by creating a tax.. then pats himself on the back for being so genius in his thinking???
the cost of living here surely has to be one of the perks that people look for when they decide to relocate.
I am sure people that retire dont look for places that are the expensive to live..
Imxploring is right in his comments; this place (CR) is getting more expensive by the hour and the GOV. cannot find another way but to TAX in order to spend.
Our house in Desamparados is 1,200 sq/ft and we pay $1,200.00 to the Muni, on the other hand the house in Tampa, FL is 2,200 sq/ft and only $900.00 in property tax.
Electricity/water is also more over here and also some food articles.
Time to return back to Tampa, so says mi TICA wife.[quote=”aguirrewar”]Imxploring is right in his comments; this place (CR) is getting more expensive by the hour and the GOV. cannot find another way but to TAX in order to spend.
Our house in Desamparados is 1,200 sq/ft and we pay $1,200.00 to the Muni, on the other hand the house in Tampa, FL is 2,200 sq/ft and only $900.00 in property tax.
Electricity/water is also more over here and also some food articles.
Time to return back to Tampa, so says mi TICA wife.[/quote]when the time starts to reveal that property taxes are cheaper in the U.S. should people living here take note of this??
or should they ignore this and keep the head buried singing the praises of pura vida???
heck.. you can buy a nicer cheaper house in parts of Florida with no income tax.. and a hell of a better infrastructure than Desamparados.
I have a 1100 square foot place in cape coral florida that I rent out on a canal. costs me $1500 a year.. but the same car that I drive here cost half.. gas half
appliances half.. etc
I am not saying its time to move back to the U.S. YET 🙂
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”Imxploring”]There’s an interesting article in AMCOSTARICA this morning about some rather large increases in property taxes here in CR…. can’t wait to see where mine are headed in January. [/quote]
As the article made [b]quite[/b] clear (but which you conveniently forgot to mention in your comment), the increases are due to better information on the true value of the property. I’m sure your not linking to the actual AM Costa Rica article was just an oversight and not a deliberate attempt to misstate what the facts are so I will rectify that by [url=http://www.amcostarica.com/]linking to it myself.[/url]What the CR government effort means is that some have vastly underpaid their taxes and now that will cease to be the case. I call that a step in the right direction toward fairness and a much better approach than raising taxes on those who are already paying what they really owe.
Costa Rica is not a high tax country. Neither is the US. Based on [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_as_percentage_of_GDP#cite_note-1]figures compiled for 2012 by the Heritage Foundation[/url] (a right wing source, so you righties should have no cause to complain about bias). Costa Rica collects 21.0% of it’s GDP in taxes. That puts them just below the average of 22.0% worldwide. Costa Rica is tied with Chile and Uzbekistan for 84th highest taxed (out of 176) on the list, and the US is tied with South Africa for 60th. The US is higher than average – 26.9% – but lower than any other developed country except South Korea and Australia, and MUCH lower than most. (And yes, that US figure includes taxes at all levels, not just at the national level.)
Of course, my posting facts and using logic and reason won’t matter to some of you. To them, any tax rate higher than 0.0% is cause for grumbling, bitching and whining. They enjoy a good tax rant the same way I enjoy listening to music by Bach, eating lasagna or making mosaic artwork. Some simply seem to get pleasure in doing that. Everyone needs a hobby, I guess.
[/quote]I’m surprised you didn’t use your previous “source”…. wasn’t it the CIA “fact” book? And didn’t we come to conclusion that the “facts” we’re far from useful in making a comparison or the point you were trying to make by presenting them?
You’ve made it a point of comparing tax rates…. but NOT the services offered for those payments? Wouldn’t any comparison have to include the services and quality of such services to have any meaning or value?
Once again… internet google knowledge which on it’s face (copy and paste research doesn’t really cut it) looks impressive is nothing without true quantitative analysis of the data. Pure tax rates mean nothing if the value derived from them by the payer is not evaluated. The information you’ve brought to the table is really not relative in making your point as to whether or not folks in CR feel they are getting their monies worth for the taxes they’re being asked to pay.
As to the point of people being nothing more than complainers… the real estate taxes I pay on my homes in NY are reasonable. The value I derive I feel is reasonable for the cost. Should my taxes in CR go up 10 fold…. I would find that quite unreasonable. Subjective perhaps but my opinion… others might feel (based once again on raw tax rates) that what I pay in NY are quite unreasonable… until they saw the value of the services provided.
Please don’t confuse Costa Rica with the REAL Costa Rica. While Jaco Beach, Santa Ana and Escazu are in CR they do not represent CR, for that you would have to see the hundreds of “Precarios” like “Los Guidos, Desamparados. Nothing but tin shacks all 2,000 of them and around 250 more between 200 – XXX amount of families’ of the same in San Jose and making an average of $800-$1,000 a month. (How much taxes should these people pay?) The first time I came to CR the exchange rate was 7 colones to $1.00 and a year latter my son was born. He is now 37 years old and lives in FL. So I have seen CR as it grows and changes but poverty never does change.
This is a quote from todays AM Costa Rica “In some cases, expats are seeing a 10-fold increase in municipal taxes. One expat saw his annual taxes go from $220 to $2,200.”
Is this great journalism, or what? Or maybe, a tax cheat got caught and doesn’t like it. I thought that The Tico Times was the trumpet of truth but AMCR is running a good second.
[quote=”Imxploring”][quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”Imxploring”]There’s an interesting article in AMCOSTARICA this morning about some rather large increases in property taxes here in CR…. can’t wait to see where mine are headed in January. [/quote]
As the article made [b]quite[/b] clear (but which you conveniently forgot to mention in your comment), the increases are due to better information on the true value of the property. I’m sure your not linking to the actual AM Costa Rica article was just an oversight and not a deliberate attempt to misstate what the facts are so I will rectify that by [url=http://www.amcostarica.com/]linking to it myself.[/url]What the CR government effort means is that some have vastly underpaid their taxes and now that will cease to be the case. I call that a step in the right direction toward fairness and a much better approach than raising taxes on those who are already paying what they really owe.
Costa Rica is not a high tax country. Neither is the US. Based on [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_as_percentage_of_GDP#cite_note-1]figures compiled for 2012 by the Heritage Foundation[/url] (a right wing source, so you righties should have no cause to complain about bias). Costa Rica collects 21.0% of it’s GDP in taxes. That puts them just below the average of 22.0% worldwide. Costa Rica is tied with Chile and Uzbekistan for 84th highest taxed (out of 176) on the list, and the US is tied with South Africa for 60th. The US is higher than average – 26.9% – but lower than any other developed country except South Korea and Australia, and MUCH lower than most. (And yes, that US figure includes taxes at all levels, not just at the national level.)
Of course, my posting facts and using logic and reason won’t matter to some of you. To them, any tax rate higher than 0.0% is cause for grumbling, bitching and whining. They enjoy a good tax rant the same way I enjoy listening to music by Bach, eating lasagna or making mosaic artwork. Some simply seem to get pleasure in doing that. Everyone needs a hobby, I guess.
[/quote]I’m surprised you didn’t use your previous “source”…. wasn’t it the CIA “fact” book? And didn’t we come to conclusion that the “facts” we’re far from useful in making a comparison or the point you were trying to make by presenting them?
You’ve made it a point of comparing tax rates…. but NOT the services offered for those payments? Wouldn’t any comparison have to include the services and quality of such services to have any meaning or value?
Once again… internet google knowledge which on it’s face (copy and paste research doesn’t really cut it) looks impressive is nothing without true quantitative analysis of the data. Pure tax rates mean nothing if the value derived from them by the payer is not evaluated. The information you’ve brought to the table is really not relative in making your point as to whether or not folks in CR feel they are getting their monies worth for the taxes they’re being asked to pay.
As to the point of people being nothing more than complainers… the real estate taxes I pay on my homes in NY are reasonable. The value I derive I feel is reasonable for the cost. Should my taxes in CR go up 10 fold…. I would find that quite unreasonable. Subjective perhaps but my opinion… others might feel (based once again on raw tax rates) that what I pay in NY are quite unreasonable… until they saw the value of the services provided.[/quote]
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”Imxploring”]And didn’t we come to conclusion that the “facts” were far from useful in making a comparison or the point you were trying to make by presenting them?[/quote]
No, “we” didn’t. [b]You [/b]do that whenever you come across a fact you don’t like and can’t argue with.
“Facts are far from useful” only to the unreasonable. Say, you should have that made up into a bumper sticker. It’s very catchy.[/quote]
Even a better bumper sticker….How about “Copy and Paste statistics can say whatever I want them to”
Or how about…. “Don’t sweat the details…. I have numbers”
Or maybe…”Who cares about the truth… thanks to Google and copy and paste I can create my own truth!”
Yet another one…. “I may not know what I’m talking about, but thanks to right click, copy and paste, I sound like the smartest guy in the room!”
And finally… “Thanks to the internet I’m an expert on whatever I can copy and paste… resistance is futile!”
OK… OK…. One more… “Knowledge is a dangerous thing…. that’s why I store mind on the internet”
I could go on and on…. but I think I’ve given the voices in your head enough to juggle for the evening! LMAO
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