New Law 9996 Regulation to Attract Investor, Annuitant and Pensioner Residents Previous Investor Regulation Revoked

by Mariajose Viquez & Valery Turcio

Anew legal regulation applies to the tax exemptions for Costa Rican residency subcategories of investor, annuitant and pensioner. Executive Decree N° 43926 -MGP-H-TUR, the regulation of Law 9996, was published in the official newspaper, La Gaceta, on February 23, 2023.

It stipulates the process for obtaining the tax exemptions granted in section 5 of Law 9996, while the previous regulation regarding the investor subcategory is revoked.

Based on the new regulation, a person seeking residency as an investor must comply with the minimum investment requirement of US $150,000. Previously, the minimum investment was US $200,000.

These are the main requirements for each investment option:

1. Real estate investment

The applicant must purchase the real estate under their name; this eliminates the possibility of purchasing under a corporation.

2. Shares investment

The corporation must be inscribed as a taxpayer and comply with all the requirements of a real-running working business.

3. Stocks

The stock market where the investment is made has to be registered before Superintendencia General de Valores (SUGEVAL) as projects of national interest or production projects

For projects of national interest, the applicant must provide the executive decree that declares the activity a national interest.

For production projects, the applicant must provide the document duly signed by the competent authority in which the economic activity will be developed, including the investment made on forestry plantations that MINAE must provide.

4.

The company that manages the venture capital fund must be duly inscribed before the National Registry of Securities of SUGEVAL.

The tax benefits can be requested only during the first five years after the publication of this regulation. They will be valid for 10 years, and to be subject to them, you must proceed as follows:

• Create a profile on the digital platform EXONET.

• Be up to date in the payment of your tax obligations.

• Be up to date in the payment of your social security obligations, CCSS.

• Be a resident as an investor, annuitant, or pensioner.

• Submit the list of assets that will request the tax exemption.

The project requires technical approval from the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism (ICT).

Tax exemptions

In Chapter III, the regulation establishes the process that must be followed for the tax exemptions approved by Law 9996, published in 2021.