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Lawyers, Laws & Taxes
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Costa Rica Lawyers, Laws & Taxes - Advice from various attorneys and our Costa Rica tax expert.
Attorney Roger Petersen's book - 'The Legal Guide to Costa Rica' is without doubt a most valuable tool for those considering Costa Rica for either retirement or business.
There have been significant changes in Costa Rica during the past ten years as the country attempts to emulate the economic and regulatory systems of more developed nations to spur it's own development.
This policy has created significant changes and modifications of existing laws and practices making it more important than ever that those settling in Costa Rica understand the system.
Most of the articles below have been written by Attorney Petersen or reproduced from The Legal Guide to Costa Rica with the written permission of attorney Roger Petersen who has been an attorney since 1992 and is a member of both the Costa Rican and Florida Bar.
A few articles have been written by his Roger's associate Attorney Rick Philps and others by Attorney José Rafael Fernandez.
All tax articles have been written by Randall Zamora, our Recommended Costa Rica Tax professional.
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Litigation In Costa Rica - Part I
Attorney Roger Petersen
When a lawsuit is filed in Costa Rica it can proceed under three different procedural tracks: ordinary, abbreviated and summary procedures. Which procedure applies depends on the subject matter of the controversy. . . .
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Security & Crime in Costa Rica
Attorney Roger Petersen
The Costa Rican Criminal Code and Justice System rely heavily on rehabilitation and as such is light on punishment. There is no law that punishes repeat offenders and hence the public perception that the criminal justice system is just a revolving door. The current model dates back to the 1970's and Costa Rica needs to take a closer look at the current system. . . .
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Big Investors Considering Costa Rica - What problems are on the horizon?
Scott Oliver & Randall Zamora
Most markets are cyclical, there are natural and manipulated booms and busts but, in comparison with the U.S. and most of Europe, Costa Rica continues to enjoy a fairly vibrant economy and has benefited tremendously from a variety of large multinationals companies - primarily from the U.S. - who have established their offshore operations in Costa Rica to lower their operational costs but, is this growth sustainable? . . .
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The Costa Rica Tax Man Gets Tougher On Working Professionals and Businesses!
Scott Oliver - September 2011
His message may be clear but how Francisco Villalobos plans to enforce this is certainly NOT clear because strangely enough, according to Alan Saborío, the former Director of Taxation: "In Costa Rica there is no legal provision requiring companies to have audited financial statements, so if you do not have audited financial statements you would not be obliged to present them." . . .
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The Brand New Corporation's Tax - Supreme Court says it's OK
Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora
Actually, the Government is already counting on the forecasted ¢37,000 millions (around US$74 million) per year that they think they are going to collect and use to improve security in Costa Rica (Yeah Right!) thanks to this law which charges ¢158,000 (around $316) to active corporations and ¢79,000 ($158) to dormant corporations. . . .
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Costa Rica's Brand New Corporation Tax On Hold!
Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora
But yesterday a group of 12 "thoughtful" lawmakers - of course no one of them is from the official party Partido Liberacion Nacional, the party of the President Laura Chinchilla who is trying to impose the new tax - decided to forward the bill to the Supreme Court which means that the law was put on hold for now. . . .
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Costa Rica's Brand New Corporation Tax - It's now official!
Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora
On 8th August 2011, 38 of Costa Rica's Law Makers voted for the Corporation's new Tax Bill to become a law, which means that starting in January 2012, all the corporations registered in Costa Rica will have to file and pay this new tax. The President Laura Chinchilla claims that they will use this money to fight the growing insecurity problem of Costa Rica. . . .
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Luxury Property Tax. The most recent change
Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora
Having said that, if the owner of a so called luxury house valued, according to the official value guide, in more than ¢100,000,000 (around $200,000) fails to file the tax return the late filing fee will be ¢146,700 (around $293.40) instead of ten times the unpaid tax as it used to be on the original law. . . .
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Costa Rica's New Tax On All Corporations - Update.
Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora
Since most of the lawmakers in charge of deciding if this bill should be discussed have agreed to allow the bill to go to the Congress be voted on, there is now a good chance that this bill will become law. . . .
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Property Theft in Costa Rica. Help! They stole my property.
Attorney Roger Petersen
At first glance you may imagine that this article is about the theft of personal property after all you might expect to have a camera, laptop, or similar item stolen -- however can you even conceive of the notion of having your real estate property stolen from you. Most of us would not even think that this could happen. . . .
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US "Persons" in Costa Rica with Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts
Scott Oliver
You know that any United States person who has a financial interest in or signature authority or other authority over any financial account in a foreign country, if the aggregate value of these accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year must file an FBAR which is a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts? . . .
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Property Taxes in Costa Rica. One less step?
Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora
This means that those 61 Municipalities will be able to have access in real time to information about every single property registered in terms of owners, reported values, measurements, etc. The Records Office will also have access to the Municipalities' information so, theoretically, it is going to be a handy tool when it comes to cross referencing. . . .
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Costa Rica Real Estate Fraud - Help! They stole my property
Attorney Roger Petersen - March 2011
At first glance you may imagine that this article is about the theft of personal property after all you might expect to have a camera, laptop, or similar item stolen -- however can you even conceive of the notion of having your real estate property stolen from you. Most of us would not even think that this could happen. . . .
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Costa Rica Residency Categories Explained - New Immigration Law update.
Attorney Rick Philps - Updated February 2011
The two most prevalent Temporary Categories of Residency applied for by foreigners being "Pensionado" and "Rentista", remain very "mechanical" in the Application process, with each category requiring minimal supporting documentation, including an certified original Birth Certificate, a Criminal Records Search by a Police Force in your country of origin, (a certified Certificate of Marriage, if applicable), a certified complete copy of your Passport, and a Financial Responsibility Letter from a recognized financial institution, or pension authority. . . .
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New Tax Proposed For Every Single Corporation Is Going To The Congress
Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora - Dec 2010
You don't have to have to my tax experience to figure this out but, unfortunately this is the price we have to pay for having persons appointed by President Laura Chinchilla like former Ministry of Treasury and current Congressman Guillermo Zuñiga, and the current Ministry of the Treasury Fernando Herrero - who have absolutely no clue what they are doing - making these types of decisions in Costa Rica... once again. . . .
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Costa Rica Luxury Property Taxes - What to do in the second year?
Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora
The target of this tax are all the owners, individuals or corporations, of houses, apartments, condominiums and every building used for housing purposes even if they are within the Maritime Zone which worth more than US$197,238 based on the Official Value Guideline used by the ... . . .
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Costa Rica Tax Season - Time to file
Costa Rica Tax Expert - Randall Zamora
Fiscal year 2010 in Costa Rica ends on September 30th 2010, which means that we currently are in the fast lane to file all the tax returns and other forms required by the Tax office. Let's review one by one the forms that would, typically, need to be filed ... . . .
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Smart Canadians Buying Costa Rica Real Estate With Their RRSP
Canadian/Costa Rica Attorney Rick Philps
Much has been written about the use by our American cousins of their IRA funds to purchase foreign real estate investments in Costa Rica and elsewhere. As it turns-out, Canadians have an equal, if not more envious option, using their RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) portfolio. . . .
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Costa Rica Gold Mine Controversy - An exercise in democracy.
Costa Rica Attorney Rick Philps
Clearly, the current Costa Rican Administration, based on current open-pit mining policy, would have liked nothing better than to have the Courts discover an impediment in the permitting process that would have lead to a cancellation of the Crucitas project and the avoidance of ... . . .
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Costa Rica Attorneys Black-List
Costa Rica Attorney Rick Philps
Do you know if there have been any major complaints filed against the Costa Rican attorney that you are dealing with? Would you prefer to be sure? It's easy with the information that you'll find here ... . . .
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The Development of Costa Rican Law
Attorney Roger Petersen
Costa Rica acquired its independence from Spain in 1821 and ratified its first Constitution in 1825. Despite its independence from Spain and the creation of a Supreme Court of Justice, the Costa Rican legal system was dependent on Spanish law to administer justice. . . .
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Costa Rica Laws - Using a Shelf Corporation in Costa Rica
Attorney Roger Petersen
In Costa Rica purchasing property in the name of a corporation has become very common practice. As a result many law firms offer corporations that have already been formed and are commonly referred to as a "shelf company". Since this type of corporation is already formed ... . . .
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Costa Rica Informative Tax Returns - What is that?
Costa Rica Tax Expert Randall Zamora
One of the most efficient tools that Costa Rican Tax Authorities have are the so called Informative Tax Returns, these tax returns numbered from D-150 to D-161 are used by the Tax Administration to cross reference information in terms of who has paid how much to whom and under what category. . . .
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Only The Little People Pay Taxes.
Scott Oliver
Dog lovers may remember her because when she died she left her four legged friend a $12,000,000 trust fund, a move which Fortune magazine called one of the "101 Dumbest Moments in Business." She was also famous for saying: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." . . .
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