(QCOSTARICA) When added up, all the departures at the country’s airports and land crossings, the total collected for the “exit” or “departure” tax in 2014 was ¢33 billion colones.
The amount is the highest ever recorded since the tax went into effect and 20% higher over 2013, despite a decline in the actually number of “exits”.
The contradiction is explained that there has been a higher number of people leaving by air, which pay US$29, while the exit or departure tax on land crossings is only US$7. The land crossing tax began in 2013.
And while the airport exit tax is still largely paid at the airport counter by each passenger, the tax must be paid before check in for a flight, there is a transition in process where airlines will be collecting the tax as part of the airfare.
The plan for all airlines service Costa Rica was to have been in place by December 2014, but delays pushed back the start. Currently only eight airlines will including the tax in the airfare: American Airlines and US Airways starting June 15); Jet Blue from June 22; Copa from August 1; Avianca, Lacsa, Taca (all operated by Avianca) and Aeroperú from June 30. Passengers are urged to check with their airline to see if they are collecting the tax or not.
Source: Larepublica.net; Nacion.com
Those are impressive numbers of collections. Now the real issue is where does this money end up? Certainly it is not used to maintain roads since they fail over the better roads in Panama and Nicaragua.Is this some more funds to line the political coffers? It surely is not used to help out the failing caja eiter with people waiting over 2 years for heart procedures.
Most taxes in CR are earmarked for something or another, rather than going into general revenues, and I’m pretty sure that these departure taxes aren’t and can’t be used for roads or the caja. i can’t remember most of the earmarks, but some of your departure tax is used to fight human trafficking. Feel better now?
Well, the airport tax is mainly a gringo tax and the land tax is mainly a Nica tax. I’m not sure I mind the gringo tax, since hey, soaking tourists is what a tourist economy is all about, but the Nica tax bothers me. These are the people who build the hotels, water the lawns, clean the Ticos’ toilets, work on the farms, and so forth. Yet the Ticos tax them to go home for Christmas and Easter.