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I’ve been looking through the CR tax codes (this replaces the Tequila I drink at night to help me sleep), and have as of yet been unable to find anything which talks about keeping your books at your official address. As such, I retract my assertion for now, but I’ll keep looking.
David – are you saying that your two corporations for the house & car are inactive, and you do not file, even though the assets are still there? This sure sounds hinky, but I of course defer to your attorney’s expertise.
Finally, you are totally correct in implying that the Tico Taxman is extremely unlikely to audit you. They’ll go after the large, very active and highly public companies. That’s where the money is, and the biggest PR pop as well to get their point across.
I’m not an attorney either, but I believe that corporate books must be kept at the official address for the corporation. That way the taxing and legal authorities know where to show up to inspect them if they so choose. It makes good sense to have your attorney or accountant provide you with that official address (even if you don’t live outside the country), as they’re the ones that have to keep them current, and they know what to do and say when the Ministerio de Hacienda agents show up at the door.
Also, remember that CR law requires attorneys to create their original legal documents in their “protocolos” (a log book individually certified & stamped by the government with page & line numbers), and to maintain this protocolo in their offices. As such, it is normal operating procedure for attorneys (and/or accountants) to house such documents. Clients should maintain copies, or 2nd originals, but unless you want to deal with the Ministerio de Hacienda directly, I’d leave it to the professionals.
That said, $650 per year seems excessive.
Regarding corporate “inactivity”, it’s not clear to me how a corporation which holds title to a property can be inactive. A house requires maintenance, electricity & water even if it’s vacant. If it’s just land, you still have to pay annual taxes. Doesn’t this constitute “activity”? I suppose you could simply pay such bills without going through the corporation. This may be, technically-speaking, the wrong way to run your accounting, but I’d be surprised if there were some kind of penalty for doing so, aside from being unable to book expenses in order to reduce tax liabilities, which are nil anyway unless you’re renting it out.
A little pocket knife is nothing to the three foot machetes carried by thousands of Ticos everyday. I wouldn’t worry about it.
Mike,
According to the “Servicio de Administración Tributaria, México” (Mexican IRS), the minimum wage, which varies by region, has gone up every year since NAFTA was ratified in 1994. Here’s the link:
Whether it keeps up with inflation, (it doesn’t) is another matter. However, this is an issue internal to Mexico, and has nothing whatsoever to do with NAFTA. The practice of increasing the minimum wage by a fraction of inflation has been going on there long before NAFTA was enacted. Check out this site:
http://www.mexicomaxico.org/Voto/SalMinInf.htm
As such, I’m sorry to say that your argument makes no sense whatsoever, and your “facts” are totally misleading. Please tell us the source of your information.
Regarding the definition of “Fascism”, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, it means:
“A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.”
There are many names used to describe a situation where, as you say “corrupt politicians and multinational corporations join forces”.
Try:
Military-Industrial Complex
Farming subsidies
Pharmaceutical research
Tax codes
Savings & Loan bailouts
Automobile manufacturer bailouts
Campaign financeEtc, etc, etc…
In short, business depends on governmental and taxing frameworks to operate, effectively removing them from a truly free market (particularly in a global economy). The fact is that capitalism simply cannot operate without such a relationship between government and industry. Since corruption and multinational corporations exist everywhere, even here in the Good Ol’ USA, it would seem that you believe capitalism = fascism.
Now, maybe you do, and maybe you don’t. The only thing I know for certain is that, while there are many good arguments against NAFTA (and CAFTA), yours is not one of them. Once again, trying to reduce a very complicated matter down to a 30 second sound byte does not inform, but merely polarizes.
The U.S. Ambassador always has a big 4th of July party, free if you show your U.S. passport. It used to be at the residence in Escazú, but post 9/11 it’s usually held at the Imperial (cerveza) property on the old road to Alajuela. It’ll be listed in the Tico Times.
Yeah, I remember that map from the last time we talked about highway construction, but I didn’t connect it up with what I thought was the path it would take. I was hoping it would shoot south from Ciudad Colón right to Parrita. Now that would really save some time, and truly open up Manual Antonio, and eventually Dominical. As it sits, it looks like it will simply parallel the “Aguacate”, ending up in Orotina just as now. It’s a long drive from Orotina to Manuel Antonio, and still longer to Dominical. I’m beginning to wonder how much impact it will have. Perhaps that’s why most of the development seems to be happening in Jacó and Esterillos.
DR. MANUEL ENRIQUE DAVILA ODIO
Tel: (506) 253-0593
San PedroThe crowns he gave me 15 years ago are still going strong. Not sure if he speaks English, or Italian. Probably not the cheapest, but as good or better than any American dentist I’ve ever been to.
I believe that hemorrhagic dengue may be only contracted if you’ve had regular dengue first. If you’re in the lowlands it’s probably smart to use a mosquito net at night. Other than that, bug spray – just like in the U.S. (West Nile virus).
In other words, educate yourself, take appropriate cautions, and then don’t let it stop you from enjoying yourself.
By the way Terry, San Jose and Puntarenas are probably the least expensive and most convenient places to stay for a while, and as such do sound like reasonable options for your “base camps”, as long as you understand that (in my opinion) these are also two of the three worst places to stay – Limón being the other. Sleep there, have breakfast, and then get the flock outta there. The best of Costa Rica can be found in smaller towns, beaches, and the countryside.
Sorry Stan, perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. There have been many companies that have tried to work around it, but none legally. In the end they all get shut down by ICE.
Again, simply put, ICE has sole constitutional authority for providing electronic communication services, period. I don’t see how anything could alter this scenario, including passage of CAFTA, short of a constitutional amendment. Don’t hold your breath.
Ruth,
My understanding is that it’s never worth it to bring in a car that’s more than 5 years old, as you get no further reduction in import taxes for older cars.
Also generally speaking, you’re usually much better off buying a car there than trying to bring one in. There are plenty of reasons why, and if you search the postings you’ll find them all.
You got it right Henna. But those are pretty uncommon errors, especially “guegues” The g’s are hard, so it’s difficult to see how he got that mixed up with the soft j’s. It definitely sounds like your penpal could use some Spanish classes.
You might be right about the religious reference as well. Just about any future tense sentence in Costa Rica starts with the phrase “Si Dios quiere…”
David and Sprite are right. No good answer on this one.
Sprite – Costa Rica is NOT a “third world country”, and wasn’t even during the Cold War when the term was more valid.
These categories were coined to describe political/economic conditions that no longer fit these days.
First World meant Western (i.e. not communist), economically developed countries
Second World meant developing, non-communist countries
Third World meant undeveloped non-communist countries
Fourth World meant communist countries
These days the labels “developed”, “developing” and “undeveloped” or “underdeveloped” make more sense, and lack the ego-centric ranking and political nuance.
You want “third world”, try Haiti or Honduras. Did you know that San Jose was the 2nd city in the world to have electric street lights, after NYC? That digital cell phones and bluetooth were in use there long before here in the U.S.? Using “Third World” to describe CR is an insult.
Just a friendly reminder. I’m sure you weren’t being malicious.
Bill didn’t catch that one either. I know, people who live in glass houses…
Still, at least I try to wash up before I go out on the town. Some people just don’t care if they stink.
Visa Versa:
There once was a Tica named Lisa
She stamped my passport with a visa
It told of a deadline 90 days hence
After which she said I could jump the fence
But even then Mr. Benson will tease ya…OK Scott. Give it your all. I’ll take it like a man.
You’re almost right Henna. Don’t feel bad though, it’s actually a tense that no longer even exists in English.
I won’t use “querer” because it’s an irregular verb. How about “comer” (to eat):
Como = I eat
I EAT oatmeal for breakfast.Comeré= I will eat
I WILL EAT eggs tomorrow.Comí= I ate (once)
I ATE chicken last night.Comía= I ate(over a period of time)
I ATE mangos all the time in Costa Rica.Comería = I would eat
If I had to choose between a mango and an apple, I WOULD EAT the mango.Comiera = ???
This is the tense we’re talking about. I can’t put it into English words exactly, because as I said, it (almost) doesn’t exist. You use it when you’re saying something that isn’t.
For instance:
Peanuts would make me sick if I ATE them.
The tense is called “subjunctive”, and only one word in English remains to represent it – “were”, as in “If I were a millionaire…”. My understanding is that, to totally bury subjunctive in English, it is now permissible to say “If I was a millionaire…”. In other words, we simply use the past form of the verb to signify the subjunctive tense.
What’s worse is that after you learn to use all the different conjugations and tenses correctly, you’ll find that many times they’re not employed in conversation.
For instance, “Quisiera tener una casa grande” is literally translated as “I would like to have a big house”. In other words, although the subjunctive form is used, it’s the conditional tense that is implied, albeit with a hint of pessimism. One also hears people use the present tense in Spanish when they should be using future. “Mañana comemos pizza”. “Comeremos” is correct, strictly speaking, but the present tense is commonly used nonetheless.
Language is a funny thing. I taught conversatonal English, and when a student asked why you say it that way, we were directed to give only one answer – “Because that’s the way you say it”.
