The Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce showed on Monday its disagreement with the initiative of the government to push for an increase in taxes.
According to the group, the current deficit is due to deficiencies in the controls and collection of taxes, as well as to the structure of public spending.
We believe that prior to promoting a strong tax increase, concrete actions must be taken in the reduction of public spending, which allow to improve the competitiveness of the country. To do this, the privileges enjoyed by some public officials, whose average salary is the highest in Latin America, should be reduced, as well as the state apparatus, made up of more than 322 institutions,”
said Yolanda Fernández, president of the Chamber.
The group also believes that controls and collection should be improved, since the level of tax evasion and tax avoidance is around 8% of GDP, according to calculations by the Ministry of Finance.
The group said that the total tax rate on profits of companies that are in good standing represents 58%, well above the average of Latin America (48%) and OECD member countries (41%).
They indicated that an increase in the tax burden for the productive sector would generate a negative impact on the country’s competitiveness and economic growth.
In recent days, the Ministry of Finance announced that it could raise sales tax from 13% to 15%.