Costa Ricans earning big bucks abroad should take note. Addressing the nation from New York on Sunday evening, President Luis Guillermo Solís announced two new taxes to improve the country's fiscal revenues, including a global income tax.
President Luis Guillermo Solís told representatives from the Costa Rican Banking Association that Moody’s Investor Services' decision to drop Costa Rica’s investment rating to junk status was not a crisis and urged calm during a meeting Wednesday morning. As the public sector tries to hash out how its weakened standing will affect the budget, consumers may have to pay more for loans in dollars.
The ratings agency Moody Investors Services downgraded Costa Rica’s government bond rating to Ba1 from Baa3 with a stable outlook Tuesday. The decision came weeks after President Luis Guillermo Solís presented his government’s budget for 2015 without any substantial proposals to curb the country’s growing deficit.
“People definitely use their credit cards more when there’s euphoria, but now the fun has passed and it’s time to sit down and figure out what you owe,” Elena Galante, corporate social responsibility manager for BAC Credomatic, told The Tico Times.
Finance Minister Edgar Ayales announced Wednesday that Costa Rica’s deficit reached 5.4 percent of gross domestic product at the end of 2013, 1 percent higher than during 2012.
