New gambling taxes for Costa Rica

The last time the government of Costa Rica unveiled plans to start taxing gambling operators the operators threatened to walk on-mass.

So it was back to the drawing board.  But not deterred they’re come up with a new proposed tax regime that they hope will be a little more palatable.

Under the new arrangement a Gambling Control Board will be set up to issue licenses and monitor adherence to regulations.  The GCB will be governed by a council that will be chaired by the Minister of Interior and Police.

All gambling operators will be slugged 0.5% of gross income to help fund the GCB, an additional 15% of gross income will be paid by land based casinos and a flat $50,000 (US) annual fee  is to be levied on the online operators.

While the government seems to be terrified of driving operators away they are also keen to raise revenue that they say is urgently needed to fight crime across the country.

Any moves toward tighter regulations have to be welcomed although you do have to worry about a regulatory authority that is so concerned with appeasing its licensees.