Costa Rica’s Tax Authority publishes “Plan to Enhance the Tax Compliance”

The plan identifies the general tax compliance risks for tax year 2022 and the actions that the Tax Authority will take to prevent the risks. Taxpayers should prepare now as they could be audited or under review of the Tax Authority during tax year 2022.

On 16 December 2021, Costa Rica’s Tax Authority published its “Plan to Enhance the Tax Compliance,” which identifies the general tax compliance risks for tax year 2022, including:

1. Failing to register before the Tax Authority when starting an economic activity
   
2. Registering for a tax regime that does not correspond to the business activities
3. Failing to submit informative tax returns within the established period
4. Failing to submit self-assessment tax returns within the established period
5. Including non-deductible costs and expenses on the income tax return
6. Omitting taxed sales on the general sales tax or value-added tax return
7. Omitting income from the income tax return
8. Improperly using tax credits on the general sales tax or VAT return
9. Failing to pay the self-assessed tax within the established period
10. Failing to pay the tax assessed by the Tax Authority within the established period
11. Offsetting a tax liability with fraudulent tax credits
12. Breaching the payment scheme agreed to with the Tax Authority
13. Failing to report withholdings

The plan also includes the actions the Tax Authority plans to take to prevent the general compliance risks, including tax audits, pre-audit procedures, sanctioning procedures, “intensive” and “extensive” tax controls, tax return examinations, examinations of possible base erosion and profit shifting with related companies within the free trade zone regime, control over the issuance of electronic vouchers, blacklisting and tax debt collection.

 

For additional information with respect to this Alert, please contact the following:

Ernst & Young, S.A., San José, Costa Rica

• Rafael Sayagués

• Randall Oquendo

• Daniel Quesada

Ernst & Young LLP (United States), Latin American Business Center, New York

• Ana Mingramm

• Lucas Moreno

• Enrique Perez Grovas

• Pablo Wejcman

Ernst & Young Abogados, Latin America Business Center, Madrid

• Jaime Vargas

Ernst & Young LLP (United Kingdom), Latin American Business Center, London

• Lourdes Libreros

Ernst & Young Tax Co., Latin American Business Center, Japan & Asia Pacific

• Raul Moreno, Tokyo
• Luis Coronado, Singapore

For a full listing of contacts and email addresses, please click on the Tax News Update: Global Edition (GTNU) version of this Alert.