Costa Rica Considers Anti-Tax Evasion Bill
A bill containing measures to combat tax evasion is close to being endorsed by Costa Rica’s legislature, according to the country’s Ministry of Finance.
The proposals in the Bill are to remove existing legal loopholes used to avoid paying taxes. Among the proposals is a requirement that businesses providing services to the public accept payments via credit or debit cards. More taxpayers will be required to register with tax authorities.
The measures included in the bill are expected to increase revenue by 0.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The Finance Ministry said in February that the revenue lost to evasion and avoidance of the general sales tax and income tax in 2013 (the latest year for which data is available) amounted to about 8.2 percent of GDP, mainly due to general sales tax non compliance.
