Tax Reporting Chaos / Reunion / S...t happens

ISSUE #756: April 7-13, 2019

2019-04-15

Brian Timmons, Newsletter Author
Brian Timmons

Dear friends,

When I started Residencias Los Jardines, I started writing a weekly newsletter -determined to tell all the good, bad, and the ugly. I knew some readers would be interested in the construction process. I expected others might be interested in the lifestyle of two people who had decided to live outside the box. For others, the adventures of Lita, the parrot and the cat took on an entertainment saga all its own.

Residencias Los Jardines is finished. We periodically have re-sales and rental availability. Some readers may be interested in this information.

Brian Timmons
Developer / Property manager
Residencias Los Jardines

Web: https://www.residenciaslosjardines.com
Emails: info@residenciaslosjardines.com
ResidenciasPropertyManagement@gmail.com

Featured
rentals & sales

Paradisus Condos / Rohrmoser
FOR SALE / RENT
Visit our website

Paradisus Condos - click to visit

Each of the units consists of two bedrooms / two bathrooms, and a large living/dining/kitchen area. The floor plan of each of these units has eliminated the optional "den / office" divider. The result is a larger area offering more flexible furniture arrangements while still maintaining the option of including an office area. At 105m2 plus two parking spots each and storage locker, they offer a great opportunity for someone seeking views, security, central location, and first class, all round living...

PRICE REDUCTION
Semi furnished unit: For sale: $235,000
Fully furnished unit: For sale: $245,000
Floor 12 -west view

Market activity
sales & rentals

Sales: Los Jardines: Units #114, #116 and #124

Rentals:

Paradisus: Nothing Available at the moment

Los Jardines: Units #106C, #112, #113 and #116

Residencias Los Jardines
property management, rentals & re-sales

FOR SALE
Unit #114: $ 199,000 / See Unit
Unit #116: $ 195,000 $ 189,995 / See Unit
Unit #124: $ 125,000 / See Unit

FOR RENT
Unit #106C: $ 950 mo. / Available immediately / See Unit
Unit #112: $ 1,150 mo. / Available immediately / See Unit
Unit #113: $ 1,200 mo. / Available immediately / See Unit
Unit #116: $ 1,250 mo. / Available immediately / See Unit

For sale

UNIT #114
FOR SALE
$ 199,000

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1290
Total area (Sq M): 120
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1
Type: Semi-Attached
Furnished: Yes

This 2 bedroom/2bathroom,1,290 sf single floor end unit home includes a 150 sf front terrace plus parking for one car. This house is fully air conditioned and has recently been professionally decorated by international decorator Alcides Graffe and has undergone a complete renovation—new modern furniture, finishings, window coverings, and art work by Carlos Gambino. It is arguably the nicest furnished unit at Residencias Los Jardines and only steps from the pool

UNIT #116
FOR SALE
$ 195,000 $ 189,995

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1290
Total area (Sq M): 120
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1
Type: Semi-Attached
Furnished: Yes

This 1,290 sf single floor home includes a 300 sf front terrace plus parking for one car and a separate, secure storage locker. It is and end unit and therefore attached on only one side by a 6 inch cement demising (common) wall, which prevents sound transfer.

UNIT #124
FOR SALE
$135,000 $ 125,000

Total Area (Sq Ft): 662
Total area (Sq M): 61
Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Floor(s): 2nd Floor
Type: Semi-Detached
Furnished: Yes

This 662 sf, + covered parking for one car, is a one bedroom home on the 2nd floor overlooking the large pool. It is ideal for a single person or couple.

For rent

UNIT #106C
FOR RENT
$ 950 mo.
Available immediately

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1250
Total area (Sq M): 120
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1
Type: 4-plex
Furnished: Yes

This is a fully furnished 2-bedroom unit situated in a 2-story building, which has two units on the ground floor and two units on the 2nd. floor. Each unit is the same size (1,250sf) divided into 800 sf of interior space and 450 sf of covered front and back terraces. Units 106A and B are on the ground floor; Units 106 C and D are on the 2nd. Floor. The solid masonry demising wall (common wall) as well as the 5” concrete slab prevent sound transference.

UNIT #112
FOR RENT
$ 1,150 mo.
Available immediately

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1290
Total area (Sq M): 120
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1
Type: 1 Story
Furnished: Yes

This 1,290 sf single floor home includes a 300 sf front terrace plus parking for one car. It is attached on two sides by a 6 inch cement demising (common) wall, which prevents sound transfer.

UNIT #113
FOR RENT
$ 1,200 mo.
Available immediately

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1290
Total area (Sq M): 120
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1
Type: Semi-attached
Furnished: Yes

This 1,290 sf single floor home includes a 300 sf front terrace plus parking for one car. It is attached on one side by a 6 inch cement demising (common) wall, which prevents sound transfer. The three other sides allow light, ventilation and garden views.

UNIT #116
FOR RENT
$ 1,250 mo.
Available May 1st

Total Area (Sq Ft): 1290
Total area (Sq M): 120
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Floor(s): 1
Type: Semi-attached
Furnished: Yes

This 1,290 sf single floor home includes a 300 sf front terrace plus parking for one car and a separate, secure storage locker. It is and end unit and therefore attached on only one side by a 6 inch cement demising (common) wall, which prevents sound transfer.

Our Lives

Rainy Season commeth... mostly calm / slight breeze -it is warm for us... 35C / 85F -it had rained a number of times this past week...

What Happened This Week

Irrigation and Gardening: While this project will continue, the rains will relieve our urgency.

Camera System: Still missing some component parts for full functionality.

Vacancies: Noting rented this week and given that it is Semana Santa, nothing likely to happen this week.

Accounting: We appear to be moving ahead on making this change. What I expect to be a final interview is suppose to happen Monday morning...

Compliance with new Tax Law: I have not yet heard from the Hacienda... tax department... supposedly they have to respond in 10 days... well, we are a full 15 days and Semana Santa so it will be at least another week... in the meantime, see article below... reading between the lines, Hacienda has a mess in trying to sort out the data they have collected and the targeted community is not complying... only 28% are logging some transactions.

Septic System -my birthday day's activities: we seem to have conquered this for the moment...

S..t happens! Just when I get my ducks almost lined up and counted... s..t happens... A personal family tragedy has thrown my life and the lives of family members into short term chaos... and there is no up side to this situation... I am on standby to fly to Toronto... it comes at a time when I am the intended back up as the two other members each have plans to be away... and there is no fall back resource to look after Los Jardines, the parrots, and other misc. stuff... and getting tickets out of here is really difficult and expensive... and our personal event was aggravated by a broader family event in the Philippines... wow!! this mess gets worse and worse...

Reunion: I met with my niece... it has been over 40 years... neither of us remember the last time or the last circumstances... I am a terrible uncle. It was a great reunion... short but we had lots of time to catch up... hopefully CR has captured the imagination such that they will return next year... we'll see... it was certainly fun and a long overdue event...

News Items of the Week

COMMENTS

Tax Regulations: Read between the lines... they have started to get the data but don't know how to organize it... and the target group is only 28% in compliance, or partial compliance leaving all the rest un-accounted for... and I am still waiting for a ruling... Scotiabank has locked me out of on-line banking ability for lack of an "electronic billing number" and I am waiting for Hacienda to tell me how to comply... I hate Scotiabank... in a customer satisfaction survey I let them have it... they called immediately (well someone is reading the responses) but there has been no resolution.

Hacienda processed 430 million electronic invoices in 14 months

The obligation to issue digital vouchers has been in force since January 2018 and currently covers most sectors, although Minister Rocío Aguilar admits that information must be taken advantage of.

In the first 14 months of application of the electronic invoice as a mandatory instrument for purchases of goods and services, the Ministry of Finance adds 430 million vouchers processed (as of March 5); nevertheless, the entity recognizes that there is still a need to take advantage of the information generated by this system.

The invoice is a receipt that reaches the consumer through e-mail and as the transaction is recorded, it allows obtaining valuable data to improve the collection of sales tax and the income tax.

"Impact studies have shown that in Latin America the implementation of electronic invoicing increases reported sales and profits, and has positive and significant effects on tax collection," said the Comptroller General of the Republic, in an audit of this instrument. , of August 3, 2018.

The Minister of Finance, Rocio Aguilar, explained that they are working to exploit more information.

"In this we are working, at this time Finance has great challenges, first with the operation of VAT (value added tax), which is not so simple, technologically we have defined the priorities," said Aguilar.

"(The information generated by the invoice) is being integrated into the different control plans to detect tax irregularities, both in terms of formal duties and inspection processes," added the General Director of Taxation, Carlos Vargas.

Aguilar explained that they plan to use the information generated by the invoice, along with other external and internal bases, to obtain tax predictions.

An example of information that can be extracted is the number of taxpayers per professional sector that use the instrument compared to what was expected to show the level of compliance, as the Comptroller did in a report of August 3. The Nation requested this updated information for this information, but it was not possible to obtain it.

In its report, the Office of the Comptroller General stated that as of May 31, 2018, only 28% of registered liberal professionals who are required to issue electronic receipts were doing so.

Taxpayer perception

From the point of view of the taxpayers, although the process has progressed, there are still doubts.

The electronic invoice began to be implemented as of January 15, 2018 gradually with the health sector, then continued the accounting and financial sector, then lawyers, engineers, architects and computer and from 1 May, 2018 for all services.

As of April 1, the fuel vending machines began and in October 2019, the agricultural sector will enter.

Maureen Villalobos, member of the Governing Board of the College of Physicians and in charge of the digital platform, said that in this sector the implementation of the electronic invoice has gone smoothly.

"The consultations that at least the institution received, were general concerns about the management of the system, which always tried to advise them," said Villalobos.

For Dunia Zamora, prosecutor of the Public Accountants Association of Costa Rica, in the implementation of the electronic invoice, the lack of knowledge of Costa Ricans about tax matters was noted.

"For example, many of the queries made by taxpayers have to do with the issue of rents, with the opportunity of spending, which shows that it was not the electronic invoice that confused them. In fact, the doubts that were presented have to do with how I, as a natural or legal person, should pay taxes, "said Zamora.

He added that doubts still persist in the taxpayers; For example, those who belong to the Simplified Taxation Regime are still confused and do not know that, although they belong to that system and do not have to confirm or issue an electronic invoice, they must keep their electronic invoicing received from suppliers and can not say no. They want the electronic invoice.

Among the areas for improvement noted by Zamora is the need for faster responses from the Ministry of Finance, emails and chats. Also improve the wording of some Treasury messages as they confuse the taxpayer, and with the VAT (value added tax) entry, in July, there will be more adjustments to be made.

Juan Luis León Blanco, president of the Bar Association of Costa Rica, said that an improvement opportunity is to clarify how to charge an electronic invoice when the person who must make the payment does not do so.

"In order to favor these improvements, projects are being processed in the Legislative Assembly in relation to that value title, which is electronic; so that the creditors can make the collection before the courts of justice, "said Leon.

Guillermo Varela, executive director of GS1, a private business association declared of public interest, with about 2,000 members, commented that on this aspect of the collection of electronic invoices, they have made two proposals while it is resolved: one is to print the invoice so that the legal representative of the company receives it and the other is to sign a contract with the company on the sale to have a backup.

Varela considered that the general progress has been positive, but pointed out two shortcomings.

"Taxation has not done enough in the matter of educating the population about why electronic invoicing is positive, beyond mandatory," said Varela.

The other thing he pointed out is that many suppliers of electronic invoices have emerged, but there is no certification to prove that they comply with the regulations.

The Director of Taxation pointed out that, from the advanced to date, it is considered important to maintain the information campaigns for the taxpayer, in order to improve compliance with the regulations and make improvements to the electronic invoice that the Ministry has at the disposal of the taxpayer, with the purpose of simplifying its use.

FOR RENTAL OR SALES INFORMATION
ON ANY OF THE ABOVE, CONTACT:

Brian C. Timmons
Property Manager RLJ and Newsletter Author

Costa Rica:
Cell: (+506) 8-455-59-35
Land line: (+506) 2282-4142 Ext. 101

Canada:
VOIP: (+416) 461-2203

Web: https://www.residenciaslosjardines.com
Emails: info@residenciaslosjardines.com
ResidenciasPropertyManagement@gmail.com

 
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