Taxes

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.

After three rounds of voting, Costa Rican lawmakers on Tuesday night elected journalist Montserrat Solano Carboni as the country's new ombudswoman for the next four years.

The processing fee to renounce U.S. citizenship went up 422 percent, according to a press release from the U.S. Embassy in San José on Wednesday. Starting on Sept. 12, the fee to renounce U.S. citizenship is increasing from $450 to $2,350. U.S. citizens living abroad have been giving up their passports in record numbers in recent years, and the State Department seems primed to make some money in the process.

Costa Rica is a step closer to having a new boss at the Ombudsman's Office after a legislative commission narrowed down a list of candidates to three names.

Members of the legislative appointments commission this week were supposed to issue a list of the three top candidates to lead Costa Rica's Ombdusman's Office. But the announcement of those names was pushed back to Monday because one of the top five applicants was absent.

The bill sent by Finance Minister Helio Fallas includes nine major reforms that would give officials more tools to monitor and tax financial transactions, including a requirement that all businesses accept credit or debit cards as payment.

Legislative Assembly President Henry Mora on Monday evening asked the legislative appointments commission to immediately start the process of selecting candidates for ombudsman following the resignation Monday of Ofelia Taitelbaum.

Ombudswoman Ofelia Taitelbaum on Monday morning submitted a letter of resignation to the Legislative Assembly just days after lawmakers and Judicial Investigation Police announced they would open an investigation into allegations that she had committed tax fraud.

National Liberation Party presidential candidate Johnny Araya has been fuming over a request for information by Costa Rica's Tax Administration that was leaked to local media this week. Araya says the move was calculated to hurt his chances at the polls in an April runoff.

Valentine's day is here, and love is in the air. If you're anything like me, there's only one thing on your mind: taxes. OK, maybe you aren't thinking about taxes when you spend time with your Valentine, but if you see wedding bells in your future, the U.S. tax implications should at least be considered.