Costa Rica rethinks online gambling tax

Costa Rica’s serious crime problems – and reducing these with increased enforcement action funded by a new gambling operator tax – was a major pillar in the election platform of presidential candidate Laura Chinchilla last year . But it appears that the proposed 15 percent tax on gross revenue has been shelved…at least for the present.
Regional media report that after fierce opposition from trade associations and other interested parties, the government has halted plans to impose the tax, together with a further proposal of a $50 000 annual levy.
Government spokesmen told the newspaper AM Costa Rica that wider tax reforms are in prospect, necessitating a suspension of the gambling-specific proposed tax measures, first mooted late last year.
Although it is home to many online gambling operators, who obtain business licenses, Costa Rica has no formal licensing and regulatory system for online gambling. Several attempts have been made to introduce such a regime, with its concomitant taxation, over the years, but none have succeeded.

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