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I totally agree with IMxploring. Costa Rica will keep looking for ways to tax foreigners without taxing their own people. However, as I understand this discussion, Costa Ricans working in the US would also be taxed on income that they made in the US. This would not be fair to this group of people either because that income would have also been taxed by the US. Double taxation in any form is totally unfair. Income should be taxed in the country in which it was earned -period. Foreigners making income in Costa Rica (by owning a business or investments) should pay income tax on that money to Costa Rica and that same income should be exempt from taxes from the US or any other country.
By the way, I do not consider my Social Security as income. It is a benefit due to me because I paid into the system for more than 35 years with money that was not tax exempt. Every Social Security and Medicare payment that I made was never deducted from my taxable income. So the taxes on the SS that I am now receiving has already been paid.
I think I am going to try the Zoom 4501 router with my 3g data stick. The Zoom campatibility list says this model is compatible with the Huawei E173 data stick. Has anyone had experience using a Zoom router in Costa Rica?
I doubt that the 3g stick would be more reliable. The speed depends on internet traffic at any particular time. ICE seems to have oversold its capacity.
There certain times of the day (after 5PM) and certain days of the week (particularly Sunday) that we can not even get on the internet because the speed keeps dropping to 0 and goes very little above that. This seems to correspond to the times that the kids are not in school.
I don’t know if ICE has taken any steps to correct this situation by increasing traffic capacity at the towers. I have complained about the poor service every time I have had to go to their office.
We even once subscribed to the most expensive service they offer and it made no difference. The speed that we got never even got to 1/2 of what we were paying for and then it was only for a few seconds at a time. I don’t know if people closer to the tower have this same level of trouble that we have.
Unfortunately, 3g is our only option for internet since we live out in the mountains and are lucky enough to be in line sight of the 3g tower about 2 miles away so that we can have both phone and internet. We get our internet business done during the day when the kids are in school but this is also the same time that we do work on the farm. I doubt that we would be able to stream video.
We even have trouble with Yahoo Talk that we use to call the US because the service keeps cutting out and that interupts the call.
A lot might depend on how the 3g signal is received by your immediate neighbors. We have no close neighbors and our closest neighbor can’t receive this signal because they are down the hill from us and not within line sight of the tower.
ICE may offer the modem in conjunction with the interent/cell phone service. It is not really free. The cost per month is higher than if you already own the stick.
In the end, I think you end up paying more for the stick than if you bought it outright. At least that is the way it was as of last May.
You can get more insight on that by visiting the ICE website which is http://www.grupoICE.com
What particular model of D-Link router are you using. Do you think any one would work if it has a USB plug-in and works as a 3g wireless router?
[quote=”maravilla”]Bingo! The issues that preoccupy my time and energy are issues that most gringos don’t care about — sustainable farming, organic foods, saving the rainforests, biodynamics, etc. The gringos I meet seem to want to discuss who was on Glee (I’m not even sure what that is) or Dancing with the Stars (ugh!) or some silly reality show or playing endless hours of mindless games on facebook, or keeping up with Two and a Half Men. Leading an unemcumbered, enriched rural life is where it’s at for me at this stage of my life. I don’t go out to bars, don’t care about football or basketball, or hockey so i have very little in common with the average american. and it’s always been that way for me. I probably have more in common with the average campesino than with a gringo.[/quote]
In San Isidro there are a good number of gringos interested in the same things and the same kind of lifestyle that you are. They are hard working, environmentally conscience people and these are our friends. Of course, we have our share of criminals and crazies too in San Isidro including some who are downright dangerous. Once we figure them out, we just steer clear of them. We find a mix of low-lifes, crazies and very good honest people here in Florida too. I don’t think any place is immune from those people that most good people would rather not associate with. I have also met some wonderful Ticos and also some who will steal you blind if given the oppportunity. People will be people no matter where you go.
Is it true that local buses are free if you are over 65? I have never heard this. Is this only for certain areas or is it nation wide? I am 67 and I have been paying the same fare as every one else.
I traveled with a service dog last year and I did not have any problems. I did not stay at any hotels but the taxi that took us to the bus station had no problem with the dog. They were hesitant at the bus station even though she was wearing a service vest and a picture ID tag. They asked for some assurance that she was really a service dog or proof of her training. I took out a color copy of my certicate showing that we had completed and passed the training for Access and that made them happy. The funny thing is that it was in English and I am sure the ticket seller could not read a word on there. It looked official because it was in color and I had it in a plastic protector sheet. On the return trip back to San Jose I simply asked for the seats on the bus that had the wheelchair space in front of them so that the dog would have space “because I had a service dog”. The ticket seller never questioned it. As a back-up I also had a signed note from my physician that I needed to have a service dog with me at all times but no one ever asked for it. It seems that if it looks like to them that you know exactly where to go and what to do with a service dog, they are more likely to comply. As they see more and more service dogs they will become more accustomed to their presense and there will be less resistence. I flew on Sprit Airlines with no problem. My dog is an Australian Shepherd and she was in the cabin under the seat in front of me. In Costa Rica, I traveled on the local buses with my dog with no problems. She always wore her service vest and her picture ID tag.
I did not know Costa Rica had a law about service animals. If this is so, carrying a copy of it would work wonders in the case of resistance. If anyone has a copy of this, I would appreciate a copy of it.
I
IIt is my understanding that Costa Rica is now a part of the Hague Convention. We have enough people in Costa Rica who came there to try and escape the law and financial obligations of various sorts. We don’t need another one. Slime-balls please go somewhere else.
My local police station did not have a way to give me a notorized document since they did not have a notary on staff. I had to go online and order a state police report that was notorized. Since I live in Florida, I was even able to get the document in Spanish which saved me the cost of having it translated in Costa Rica. It still had to be sent to the state department to be apostilled and then to the CR embassy for authetication.
Out in the countryside, the septic tanks are much smaller than we are used to in the states. Putting the paper in a basket and burning it instead of putting it in the septic tank makes the septic tank last much longer before it has to be pumped out since the tank only has to degrade the waste and not the paper also. Some toilet paper isn’t very biodegradable either and it takes a long time to break down.
I thought there was already some sort of tax on interest and dividends. Whenever we have gotten any kind of CD whether it be in dollars or colones, the tax was taken out before the principle and interest were credited to our account at the end of the CD period. It seemed like this tax was something like 13% of the interest earned. Another 15% would mean that the interest would be taxed at something like 28%. That surely would be a deterent to tying up otherwise liquid money especially with the CD rates being so low right now. If others think likewise, that would mean less money available for banks to lend out.
There are so many animals (mostly dogs) running the streets in Costa Rica. I am so happy to see that there is at least one animal shelter taking them in and finding them great forever homes. I hope they win the contest. Rosie
The end of the year bonus is equivalent to 1/12th of her total pay for the year. You add up the total wages that you paid her for the 10 months that she worked for you and divide that by 12. It is my understanding that employees are due this bonus by law even if they didn’t work the entire year for you and even if you fired her for a reasonable cause such as no longer needing her services or even if she didn’t do a good job. This will work out to be less than one month’s pay since she didn’t work for you for 12 months. I hope this helps.
There was a Bed, Bath and Beyond in Paso Colon. I didn’t go in but it looked just like the same store I’ve seen here in Florida. I have shopped this store in the US and although the prices aren’t cheap. they aren’t over the top expensive either.
