The Costa Rican government predicts a fiscal deficit of up to 9.7% of GDP as a result of falling revenues and expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Minister of Finance presented at a press conference a list of 96 companies considered "large taxpayers" who stopped paying taxes in one or several years of the period analyzed after declaring zero profits or losses.
The Finance Ministry investigation has fully identified a total of 69 local companies and corporations with links to cases listed in the Panama Papers. The remaining 51 are still under investigation.
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.
Iceland's prime minister resigned Tuesday, becoming the first political victim of a mushrooming worldwide scandal over hidden offshore financial dealings.
Most of the dozens of Costa Rican individuals and firms mentioned in the Panama Papers have not been directly accused of criminal activity, but media outlets and the Solís administration have been quick to suggest that some of their activities point toward attempts to avoid paying taxes in Costa Rica.
The family of Lionel Messi denied Monday that he was involved in tax evasion after the Barcelona star emerged as one of many personalities accused of shady offshore dealings in the Panama Papers scandal.
