JBahn, Thanks for sharing you knowledge. Visited CR a few years ago (Tabacon), would be great to move one day. The people seemed very chilled out, I really liked the iguanas sitting by the poolside too!! I wondered how trading is taxed in CR. I believe there is no capital gains but in many countries short term / day trading falls under income taxes. Or perhaps if you trade from CR but through an offshore company you can get round this? Do you know of any CR tax experts or any other pointers you can give? Send a PM if you're not willing to talk tax on a public forum. Cheers!
Also, any advice on reputable retail estate brokers around San Jose area? I read once that there is a "premium" for foreign buyers unless you can speak Spanish...
The iguanas are very cool, I have to agree with you on that. The only downside is those guys leave some nasty turds around the pool. The beauty of CR is that there is 0 tax on foreign income. There are laws that say you have to pay taxes when nationalizing your monies into CR, but as you can imagine it is rarely enforced. The legal loophole to this is that "personal nationalization" (ie. someone withdrawing money through an ATM) is not subject to that tax. In order to stay compliant, I always receive my income via ATM from my US bank. Of course, I still have US tax obligations. I do have a very small amount of income derived in CR from a tourism business I funded and I choose to pay CR taxes on that income. I am not familiar with the exact tax code so my lawyer handles the taxes. Last year I paid a flat 15%. I had the option to itemize expenses and reduce that bill, but my lawyers fee to do so was more than my savings would be (like I said, small amount of income). Notice I used the words "choose to pay". Like most developing countries, taxes are rarely enforced here. I am sure if you are some big-cat, the government may get a little stricter though.
Did you buy any property in CR? They like you to invest in the local economy to gain residency, if I recall...
Real Estate is a scam everywhere. The seller's agent wants the price to be as high as possible regardless of whether you get a fair value. The buyer's agent has the same incentive. Hence you're always asked "How much can you afford?" instead of "How much would you like to spend?" The typical scams in CR are "There's a new highway coming" and "The national government is building a new airport right up the road..." It does not matter if the government already owns land for highways and airports; they are known to start and stop projects all the time. A right of way cleared and graded only means a road is or was expected. Don't pay a premium for things that don't exist. If you want an honest realtor, find a friend and ask if they mind if you use their attorney. Find out who that attorney is and ask them for a realtor. CR had price increases just like the rest of the world and prices have come down like the rest of the world. Just be careful and make sure you know the market before you commit. And when you're there be sure to "go fishing" at the Blue Marlin Bar at Hotel Del Rey in downtown San Jose. Best fishing on the planet!
I got a coffee farm in Costa Rica. Near Cartago. about a mile up in the mountains. The weather? Enternal Spring time. 65 - 80 almost year around. I vote the mountains over the ocean anytime. We just got High Speed Internet at the farm, DSL. But it seems to not work 100% of the time like in the US. I have traded there, but I do not go all it while I am there as I never know when the internet will fail. Give it time though, ICE (Costa Rican Utilites Company) will get right. I go down there at least once a year if not more. IF any traders are out there, let us know. Pura Vida
mgookin said it - real estate here can QUICKLY turn into a scam. You have to make sure you have someone you know and can trust. Sorry, but I dont know any RE agents. Bradrholt - I am not sure about Cartago, but many places have cable internet now which is MUCH more reliable than ICE. Where I am (Papagayo area) we have the choice of Amnet or CableTica. Both only offer speeds of up to 4megs and both are priced within a few dollars of each other. I find I have fairly reliable up time. Its the electricity that I dont trust.
I am pretty confident as we have had the farm for 12 years now. so i am sure it is ours. Thanks for the info on the internet.
brad - do you actively grow beans? If so, I was reading a piece the other day that said exports in coffee were significantly down. As you know, the presence of accurate journalism here is ofter kind of scarce. If you are growing, I was curious what your take on it was.
No need to go near those skanks at the Dey Rey when infedility and promiscuity is the national pastime.