More and more Costa Ricans are now taking a keener interest in politics following the tax scandals that have rocked the country as of late.
The ambitious Chinchilla Plan Fiscal (Tax Plan) to reform the country’s tax system has had significant impacts despite having been rejected by the Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) earlier this week.
Discerning citizens have always known that the proposed tax plan would cut more money from the general public despite claims that only those who are better off would pay. The proposed 14 percent value-added levy plus various other taxes have been the foremost priority of the Chinchilla administration.
As the tax plan aims to bring the burgeoning budget deficit under control, expats in the country are concerned that they will be the prime targets in the Chinchilla administration’s mad dash to fill its coffers. One measure of the tax plan includes higher taxes for upscale rentals, but what has expats more worried is the rumor that the Costa Rican government might try to impose taxes on money coming intoCosta Rica.
While that idea has continually been proposed in the past, government officials maintain that the planned taxes are designed to place a levy only on the commissions charged by banks.
The general Costa Rican public is now mixed between caution and pessimism as the Chinchilla tax plan attempts another pass through the Sala IV, as theConstitutional Courtis more commonly known
Government officials warn that if the proposed tax plan is not approved,Costa Rica may yet suffer a worse economic situation.
