On September 8th, lawmakers approved on first reading the Law for the Improvement of the fight against Tax Fraud, which has been under discussion since July, 2014.
Here are the most important aspects of the law:
Electronic invoice: all taxpayers must have electronic option to register their transactions and issue receipts thereof, in accordance with the regulations of the Directorate General of Taxation, specifically including electronic invoicing and accounting records.
Temporary stays: the law intends that all lease or property rentals for residential use (housing, rooms, etc) for periods less than one month should pay the general sales tax.
Alternative means of payment: any individual with a lucrative activity (traders, lawyers, accountants, doctors, technicians, stylists, etc.) and other legal entities, must enable the payments for their services through credit cards or debit card or any other electronic mechanism from a financial institution.
Transparency of the beneficiaries: the project indicates that all legal people (corporations, limited liability companies, etc) and autonomous legal structures (trusts, joint ventures, escrows, etc.) are obliged to annually inform the Central Bank about the name of any shareholder or beneficial with substantive participation.
Large Taxpayers: one of the main objectives of this project is to identify business groups currently operating through separate legal entities, in order to detect new large taxpayers.
Privacy Guarantees: the Directorate General of Taxation and Costa Rican Drug Institute (ICD) can access the Register of Shareholders but in the case of the lCD, they must prove the existence of an administrative procedure to justify the request.
Defaulting debtors: the project includes the creation of a public consultation list of defaulters in which public officials must verify taxpayers’ status.
Corrective statements: corrective statements cannot be presented unless the case of a previous settlements, which in any case should be made within 3 business days after the notification.
Fiscal Address: thelaw states that every taxpayer is required to have an email and a fiscal address registered on DGT, so that, notifications shall be considered valid for the proceedings.