This tax will depend on a percentage scale in relation to the amount of the investment.

Also in the plan is for individuals to make an income report in the same way that the income report is made by professionals. That is, report the economic activity from January to December and not from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 the following year, as has been done.

The tax on capital gains will be applied for transactions in the National Stock Exchange of Costa Rica.

Finally, there are rules against tax avoidance, that is, including operating expenses in the financial statements which are originated in countries known as tax havens.

c. Public employment

The Ministry of Finance is working on a comprehensive reform, which will be proposed in 2019. However, in the text of the tax plan, which is now being studied by the legislature, there is a chapter called "ordering of the remunerative system." This is a chapter that seeks to generalize the conditions for all employees in the public sector.

Among the most important changes are:

Reduction of 50 percent to the amounts paid for exclusive dedication;

The maximum payment of eight to 12 years for dismissal;

The maximum limit to salaries, including those of the board of directors, such as those that operate in banks;

The proposal prohibits the creation of new salary incentives with the exception of those being approved by a new law;

The bill also limits the capital of annuities or the financial incentive for each year working on the same institution, from 1.94 percent for professionals and 2.54 percent for non-professionals.


d. Tax rule

Finally, the text provides limits to the approval of projects without the funds to finance these projects. It also limits the growth of the government expenses, which must be proportionally related to gross domestic product growth.

In addition, the use of state funds is defined but with the option of making the use of these funds more flexible. In other words, the minister of Finance may allocate funds to specific activities, such as in cases of emergency declarations or economic recessions. This new norm put the decision on priority social programs in the hands of the state.

The proposal includes a section for public entities stating that, if they have a surplus, they must use it, to amortize their own debts.


e. Tax on the assets or properties transfers

The text of the new fiscal plan includes a final chapter on property taxes. This applies a tax between 0.5 percent to 0.15 percent, to all contracts, public or private of transfer of property or assets, as for example the transfer of houses or vehicles.

The last release from the legislature announced that the tax of from 1 to 2 percent on the basic food basket was eliminated, something the central government opposes.

The basic basket is a list of consumer products which are considered to be the minimum products that a family should be able to buy for their sustenance. Among these products are: milk, rice, sugar, eggs, beans, coffee, and bread, among others

The decision not to apply the tax on these products has been regretted by the Ministry of Finance. According to the ministry, this decision the government will stop collecting between 60 and 65 billion colones per year.

The project of law, of the new taxes, continues being studied by the legislature. There is no definite date for the approval or rejection of all or part of this new law.