Text translated, adapted for English, and taken from the Costa Rican national newspaper La Republica. This article was published on Monday, December 10th, 2018. It was written by Costa Rican lawyer Douglas Soto. For the original Spanish version follow this link: https://www.larepublica.net/noticia/registro-de-transparencia-o-beneficiarios-finales As a mechanism to provide the State with more tools to...

The purpose of this blog is to provide you, our clients, with detailed information regarding the Luxury Home Tax, formally identified as the "Solidarity Tax to Strengthen Housing Programs" 1. What is the Luxury Home Tax? The luxury home tax is levied on residential properties with a construction value exceeding $ 216,500.00 (fixed or permanent installations), regardless of its regular, occasional or...

The 2018 Elections As you may or may not have known this past April the Costa Rican legislature had to take an important decision at their government elections; whether they took the right or wrong decision is up to them and it won’t be the topic of this blog. On the contrary, what will be talking about is something that relates to us and our money: taxes, taxes and more taxes. As we all know Costa Rica...

1. They work for an agency. We see many people in the area hawking properties. Your local taxi driver will likely offer a ton of properties on your way from the airport. If you buy a cold coconut in the street, well, that guy probably has something more to sell you. A REAL-tor will be working for or own a brokerage here in Costa Rica. We strongly advise that you don’t buy a property from a taxi driver,...

The world gives us many intriguing sparks to analyze and enrich our knowledge. The animals, plants, minerals, and every single natural event draw our attention and our natural curiosity. We humans have secrets and many of them still do not have an answer. The Blue Zone is a modern concept forged by two academics Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain while working on a demographic study in the Nuoro province,...

Among the amazing things our world has to offer, the World Heritage Sites are the most important and unique masterpieces our cultures and nature give us. I’m sure most of you know what I’m talking about, but just to be clear, all these sites have been selected by the UNESCO on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some other form of significance, and they are legally protected by...

This blog is for entertainment and your information! No matter what country you come from in the "first world' you haven't experienced the type of driving they do in Costa Rica. Let's start with the 'normal' rules. If you are driving in the city here there are stop lights. They are more or less used during the day unless they are accompanied by an additional stop sign, written 'ALTO'. However, a couple...

Yes, let’s say it clearly: There are plenty of sports you can practice without even saying “surf”. The fact that Tamarindo, Avellanas, or Playa Negra are considered surfer’s dream locations don’t necessarily mean you can only surf there. Especially, if we are speaking about sports so, let’s find out what you can do! Of course, if you don’t want to surf but you still love the ocean,...

Here are ten reason's to come to Playa Negra. They are also ten reason's to stay here in Playa Negra! 1. Beaches: Playa Negra is the standout here. However, the nook beaches north and south are places where one can still walk hand in hand for some isolated romance. 2. Wildlife: Most people don't think of the tropical dry forest rivalling the tropical rain forests but we study the biodiversity here and in...

Ohh, I'm Scared! Boy o boy, so many people are terrified by snakes. Really it is quite awful that we have been bred or brainwashed to hate those reptiles. Some have an unfounded reputation for bites which have translated to all snakes becoming scary.  The United States usually reports, on average, only five deaths per year. That is a surprisingly low number. This is mainly due to emergent medical care...