Overseas Property Investment

The most recent costa rican property investment news from a variety of international property news sources.

Costa Rican lawmakers recently passed a legislation that will levy a new property tax on houses valued at more than 100 million colons, or approximately $180,800 at today’s exchange rate. Dubbed "the luxury home tax," the proceeds are to be used specifically toward the fight to eliminate shanty…

Costa Rica is not only a popular investment destination for foreign individuals, businesses and industries; it is increasingly receiving funds from foreign governments and multi-national organizations as well. Two recent examples are investments by the World Bank and the Chinese government. The World Bank approved a three-year, $258 million lending program in early September. The [...]

Costa Rica has a unique tax system. Unlike the United States and many other countries, large portions of income are exempt from taxation altogether here. Knowing where those breaks come in can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars. If you are considering setting up a business in Costa Rica, learning to navigate the tax [...]

Questions over changes made to Costa Rica’s intellectual property law may prevent the nation from meeting the October 1 deadline for adopting the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Costa Rican voters ratified CAFTA last year, but the Constitutional Court ruled last week that the changes, made by the Legislative Assembly, were invalid. Because they [...]

The Costa Rican government has implemented plans to offset all of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions through budgeting, laws, and incentives. Measures include promoting biofuels, hybrid vehicles, and clean energy. Another key component of the national strategy is a “C-Neutral” label to certify that tourism and certain industrial practices mitigate all of the carbon dioxide [...]

The Costa Rican government has implemented plans to offset all of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions through budgeting, laws, and incentives. Measures include promoting biofuels, hybrid vehicles, and clean energy. Another key component of the national strategy is a “C-Neutral” label to certify that tourism and certain industrial practices mitigate all of the carbon dioxide [...]

Costa Rica is one of the world leaders in ecotourism; in fact, the Tico Times reports that the first six months of 2008 saw an increase of 12.5 percent (89,178 tourists) over the same period last year. Because of this, Costa Rica is increasingly investing in environmentally friendly practices. In addition to the Payment for [...]

Costa Rica is one of the safest and most attractive countries for foreign investment in Latin America. Costa Rica’s telecommunications and transportation infrastructure may be state controlled, but they are the best in the region, and the government is always on the lookout for foreign investment. The economy is being transformed from its long-time dependence [...]

Given the close economic ties between the two nations, it is unsurprising that the subprime mortgage crisis and attendant economic instability in the United States is having an effect on Costa Rica’s economy and real estate market as well. In an interview earlier this year, Central Bank president Francisco de Paula described Costa Rica’s overall [...]

Costa Rica has taken several measures to address rising fuel prices, with publicity campaigns and new restrictions encouraging the public to conserve energy and consume less gasoline. The government is also considering measures that seek to minimize the effect of the worldwide fuel crisis on the cost of living. Traffic regulations put in place last [...]