Costa Rica's Congress approved the "Law Against Tax Fraud" in its second vote. The Bill would require taxpayers to record information digitally and treat third parties as responsible for omissions and false information reported by taxpayers to reduce or avoid taxes.

On December 12, 2016, the Costa Rican Congress approved the "Law Against Tax Fraud" (the Bill) in its second and final vote. The Bill would modify the Tax Code on Standards and Procedures. The Bill would:

— Create a registry of ultimate beneficiary owners for any legal entity within the country
— Require all individuals and legal entities with a for-profit activity that provide services to the general public to accept credit cards as a form of payment
— Require all taxpayers to book transactions digitally and issue digital invoices
— Treat third parties (e.g., advisors) as responsible for omissions or false information reported by taxpayers to reduce or avoid taxes
— Make certain amendments to the computation of the statute of limitations
— Make certain amendments to the rules relating to penalties
— Allow the Tax Administration to preemptively freeze a taxpayer's assets when, during the process of making an assessment, it determines that there is a risk that the assets may be transferred to avoid paying taxes

The Bill will be enacted on the day it is published in the Official Gazette and will be effective 10 days after its publication.

We will issue a Tax Alert with details on the relevant amendments in the next few days.

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