Exit Tax for Residents Set to Decrease

THE exit tax Costa Rican nationals and residents are required to pay to fly out of Juan Santamaría International Airport will be reduced by 40% on Sunday, from $43 to $26, the Finance Ministry announced.

The measure has been scheduled since last April, when airport authorities eliminated the timbre (tax stamp) system and agreed to establish a single airport fee for all travelers.

As part of the reform, the exit tax for foreign tourists and other travelers increased from $17 to $26 last year, and officials agreed to lower the rate Ticos and residents pay on April 25 of this year.

The drop in the exit tax for Ticos is not expected to have a significant effect on the government s tax revenues because the exit tax is responsible for only 0.9% of total revenues. Revenues from Costa Ricans and legal residents leaving the country make up only 0.3% of total revenues, according to the Finance Ministry.

Of the $26 each traveler pays to leave the country, $12.15 are transferred to the Central Government and $12.85 are transferred to the Technical Council of Civil Aviation (CTAC).

The remaining $1 is used to fund projects to expand and modernize the Liberia, Limón and Pavas airports and 28 rural airstrips, according to the daily La Nación.