The government's ₡9 trillion ($16 billion) budget proposal for 2017 is 12 percent higher than the 2016 budget mostly, the presidency says, because of accumulated debt.
Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly passed six bills in August, including funding for several big projects but excluding the major bills supporters hoped would get passed.
Several recent cases of dog abuse, including that of Duke, who suffered major damage to his muzzle in an apparent machete attack, have renewed calls for harsher punishment for those who maim or kill animals.
President Luis Guillermo Solís will have to step up his negotiating skills to deal with a Legislative Assembly leadership that doesn't include a single lawmaker from his party — just like in his first year in office.
Costa Rica's Legislative Committee on Financial Affairs approved a bill to reinstate the country’s corporate tax law, which was ruled unconstitutional in 2015.
The widespread scandal over the offshore dealings of individuals and firms revealed in the so-called "Panama Papers" may offer a window for the administration of Luis Guillermo Solís to push through at least some of its proposed fiscal reforms.
Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly will not discuss any bills to create or increase taxes for the rest of the year, Presidency Minister Sergio Alfaro Salas announced Monday evening, following a meeting with lawmakers from several parties.
The votes of a majority of lawmakers from opposition parties on Thursday evening granted the government of President Luis Guillermo Solís the approval of its budget proposal for next year without any cuts and amid any incidents at the Legislative Assembly.
Lawmakers of the Legislative Commission on Childhood, Adolescence and Youth in a unanimous vote on Tuesday approved the drafting of a bill to increase from $29 to $33 the country's exit tax in order to provide funds for the National Olympic Committee.
