Bancrédito bank to collect road exit tax from Costa Rica

The $5 tax every person must pay when leaving Costa Rica by road will be collected at Bancrédito branches starting Dec. 2.

The Finance Ministry established the new tax last July as a measure to fund improvement works at the country’s land border crossings. Previously, only those leaving the country by air were charged.

Data from the Immigration Administration indicate that some 700,000 people exit the country by land every year.

Director General of the Tax Administration Carlos Vargas on Tuesday said that during the last week of December, an estimated 100,000 people will leave the country by land, most of them Nicaraguan nationals traveling to their country for the holidays.

Payments also can be made at all Immigration Administration facilities, Coopealianza branches, travel agencies and bus companies that provide transportation to Nicaragua, Panama and other Central American destinations.

In addition, Bancrédito will install ATMs at the border crossings of Paso Canoas, Sixaola and Sabalito abutting Panama and Peñas Blancas on the Nicaragua border.

Cargo and bus drivers are exempt, as well as diplomatic and sports delegations, Vargas said.