Costa Rica Expertise LLC

Norwegian artist Edvard Munch could have been thinking of bureaucracy as inspiration for his famous 1893 painting "Scream."

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

What is Tributación Directa doing? One does not know whether to get drunk, curse or cry.

Tributación Directa is the tax collecting agency.

Last year, taking company books to be legalized was a long process in San José. A registrant had to fill out a form, play musical chairs, and then leave the five or six books for over a month.

In February, the tax department decided to become efficient. The first thing officials did was make a new rule that made all unused, printed legal books currently in existence obsolete. They wanted the first page of any book they legalized to have a special form imprinted on it.

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Yes, there is more paperwork

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Real estate buyers need a good checklist to stay out of trouble when buying property in Costa Rica. However, most people forget about what needs to happen afterwards. Here is a checklist for after the closing.

First, the property needs to be transferred at the Registro Nacional. This is the notary’s job, but many do not rush to get it done. Many drag their feet for days, weeks and some even months. This is dangerous. An unscrupulous seller can sell a property to someone else, or even sell it repeatedly. Sure, that is illegal, but it happens, and the first buyer has hell to pay to get the property back. When property is purchased in Costa Rica, transferring it to the new owner immediately is a must.

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