Legal or not, the tax plan that is in the process in Congress, if approved, would have users of Uber pay the Value Added Tax (VAT) on their trips.
The VAT on Uber trips would be 13%.
According to Priscilla Piedra, the general director of Hacienda (Treasury), the tax will be charged regardless of whether the service provided by Uber is legalized or not.
“The tax is charged regardless of the legality of the service,” said Piedra.
The tax plan promoted by the current government and president-elect Carlos Alvarado was approved in a special legislative commission last Tuesday.
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Next week, the bill will go to the plenary (legislative assembly) to receive motions, which will then be discussed in the same commission.
Uber services will be taxes because, according to the tax plan, the VAT applies to all services of mobile applications an internet payment pages, whether for transportation, delivery of food or products or purchases of any other nature.
That is to say, the tax would also apply, for example, to online services such as Netflix and Spotify and all other streaming services, as well as lodging applications such as Airbnb and online purchases made on Amazon, among others.
According to Piedra, in the case of accommodations through apps like Airbnb, the VAT would apply only to accommodations in Costa Rica, not to accommodations abroad.
Source (in Spanish): La Nacion
