Costa Rica Seeks to Attract Investors and Pensioners for Reactivating the Economy

Costa Rica seeks to attract investors, rentiers and pensioners as a way to boost the country’s economic and tourist reactivation after the COVID-19 health crisis, an official source reported this week.

The Costa Rican President, Carlos Alvarado, during a virtual act signed a law to attract investors, rentiers and pensioners that provides benefits such as incentives for import taxes and exemption of 20% of the transfer tax, among others.

A step in the direction of the country’s recovery

“What this law achieves is to create the conditions so that these rentiers can come to the country, bring their investments and can generate employment. It is one more step in the direction of recovery, which we must all continue to push in the country,” said Alvarado.

With the legislation, whoever wishes to opt for a temporary residence as an investor must demonstrate to the Directorate of Migration and Foreigners a minimum investment of           $ 150,000 in real estate, registrable assets, shares, securities and productive projects or projects of national interest. Previously, it was $ 200,000.

“This law will allow creating a 25% decrease in investment so that a foreign person is granted the category of resident as an investor, including his dependents. In this way, it is intended to produce a necessary revitalization of the economy and a recovery of the levels of foreign investment of a decade ago, close to 7.8% of GDP and which today represent only 3.5%”, explained the minister of Tourism, Gustavo Segura.

Many benefits

The benefits include a duty free and all import taxes present only once, for the importation of household goods, while the amounts declared as income to become a creditor will be exempt from income tax. Beneficiaries may also import up to two land, air or sea transportation vehicles, for personal or family use, free of all import, tariff and value-added taxes.

Another incentive is the exemption of 20% of the total transfer tax on those real estate acquired within the term, and the exemption of import taxes for instruments or materials for professional or scientific practice.