Shareholders Registration Law

World economic integration and globalization have brought many changes to our system. Among others, a recent change in tax legislation created an obligation where every Costa Rican company or corporation must declare to the Central Bank of Costa Rica who its shareholders are. The company representative must file a sworn declaration and obtain a digital signature authorization.

The fines for non-compliance are very high, starting from US$2,410 and up to US$80,200, plus the cost of legal expenses required to settle the infraction. If you are not a Costa Rican legal resident, you must grant special power to a legal resident to be able to present the declaration on behalf of your company in Costa Rica.

Our office has provided foreign investors and retirees a bridge that facilitates complying with the Tico government requirements.  We are sure that these most recent changes will soon settle. A good friend once said: “It´s just another Pura Vida moment :).”

Us Costa Ricans, grew up knowing that taxes are paid every beginning of the year; that is as much notice as we would receive from the different government agencies as far as when to pay taxes. Changes in laws and taxes were not frequent, and failure to enforce the law, and non-existence of penalties or fines used to create a big enough window of opportunity for people to catch up and be up to date.

The spirit of the new law is, in essence, to help prevent money laundry and tax evasion. In my opinion, in the long run, its results should be good for the future of the country. Changes tend to create challenges, yet if you take proper actions, and confront changes on time, then these regulations will always produce better results.

Keeping our country’s economy clean and healthy is a way to show our appreciation and responsibility towards our home Costa Rica.

~by Lic. Jefté David Zúñiga Jiménez

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