Costa Rica
Presumptive tax regimes (also known as simplified tax regimes) intend to reduce tax compliance costs for micro and small businesses (and enforcement costs for the tax administration) while levying a lower tax burden as compared to the standard tax system.
This working paper compiles detailed information on the presumptive tax regimes existing in a selection of OECD and non-OECD countries, identifies common practices adopted across the countries examined and provides multiple examples of best practices observed in these regimes. These examples can serve as guidance to policy makers and tax administrations to strengthen particular features of the presumptive tax regimes implemented in their jurisdictions. Lastly, the paper highlights the main challenges generally observed in the presumptive tax regimes under study, which might undermine the role of these regimes in incentivising business formalisation and strengthening tax compliance over time.
En tant que pays mégadivers, le Costa Rica est connu dans le monde entier pour avoir réussi à inverser la déforestation et à poursuivre un modèle de croissance fondé sur l'utilisation durable de ses ressources environnementales. Cependant, la consommation d'énergie et les émissions de gaz à effet de serre qui en découlent ont augmenté au cours de la dernière décennie. Les voitures particulières sont une source majeure et croissante d'émissions affectant le climat et la qualité de l'air. L'élimination des déchets repose encore sur les décharges et une grande partie des eaux usées n'est pas traitée. Le vaste réseau de zones protégées du Costa Rica et son programme pionnier de paiement pour les services écosystémiques ont contribué à réduire la perte de biodiversité et à accroître la capacité de séquestration du carbone par les forêts. Toutefois, davantage doit être fait pour lutter contre les pressions exercées sur la biodiversité par le développement des infrastructures et des établissements humains, le tourisme, l'agriculture et la pêche. L'ampleur des investissements nécessaires pour atteindre les Objectifs de développement durable exige d'améliorer l'efficacité des dépenses publiques, de mobiliser les financements privés, d'appliquer strictement les réglementations et de fournir des incitations adéquates.
Il s'agit du premier Examen des performances environnementales du Costa Rica par l'OCDE. Il évalue les progrès réalisés par le pays en matière de développement durable, avec un chapitre spécial consacré à la biodiversité, et fournit 52 recommandations. La présente version abrégée contient le résumé, de même que l’évaluation et les recommandations officielles du rapport.
A megadiverse county, Costa Rica is known globally for its success in reversing deforestation and pursuing a growth model based on the sustainable use of its environmental resources. However, energy use and related greenhouse gas emissions increased in the last decade. Private cars are a major and growing source of emissions affecting climate and air quality. Waste disposal still relies on landfills, and much wastewater is untreated. Costa Rica’s extensive protected area network and pioneering programme of payments for ecosystem services have helped reduce biodiversity loss and extend forests’ carbon sequestration capacity. However, more should be done to tackle pressures on biodiversity from development of infrastructure and settlements, tourism, farming and fishing. The sheer scale of investment needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals calls for improving the efficiency of public spending, mobilising private finance, strictly enforcing regulations and providing adequate incentives.
This is the first OECD Environmental Performance Review of Costa Rica. It evaluates the country’s progress towards sustainable development, with a special chapter focusing on biodiversity, and provides 52 recommendations.
This reliable and up-to-date source of OECD quarterly balance of payments and international merchandise trade statistics provides a detailed insight into the most recent trends in trading patterns for OECD countries with the rest of the world. Balance of payments data are presented adjusted for seasonal variations. International trade data are broken down by country. The series shown cover data for the last ten quarters and two years available. This quarterly publication is divided into three parts: I. Balance of payments and international trade, II. International merchandise trade by country and III. International trade by commodity (annual data). The third part is a special topic which changes with each publication.
Education and training are a high priority for Costa Rica that devotes to them more than 6.5% of GDP, one of the highest spending shares among OECD countries. However, educational outcomes remain poor and firms struggle to fill their vacancies, particularly in technical and scientific positions, which may endanger Costa Rica’s capacity to keep attracting foreign direct investment. Its complex fiscal situation requires Costa Rica to improve efficiency and quality of public spending in education to better support growth and equity. There is a fundamental need to improve the quality of early and general basic education to avoid that too many Costa Ricans leave education too early and without the skills needed to find a formal job. This requires a more targeted support to students with learning gaps, improving teachers’ selection and training and expanding access to early education. Revisiting the university funding mechanism will improve its accountability and can help increase the number of graduates in scientific areas. Reforms in vocational education may increase the supply of high-quality technicians, which will reduce existing skills mismatches and help more Costa Ricans access better-paid formal jobs.
This report provides a global assessment and outlook on wildfire risk in the context of climate change. It discusses the drivers behind the growing incidence of extreme wildfires and the attribution effect of climate change. It outlines the environmental, social and economic impacts of wildfires by illustrating the losses and costs observed during recent extreme wildfire events. Building on this, the report presents the findings of a cross-country comparative analysis of how countries’ policies and practices have evolved in recent years in light of observed and projected changes in wildfire risk. The analysis draws on in-depth case studies conducted in Australia, Costa Rica, Greece, Portugal and the United States. The report underlines the urgent need for governments to scale up climate change adaptation efforts to limit future wildfire costs.
Le Costa Rica s'est bien remis de la récession provoquée par la pandémie. La performance soutenue et résiliente des exportations continue de soutenir la croissance, tandis que la consommation est entravée par une inflation et un chômage élevés. La situation budgétaire s'est améliorée mais reste difficile, nécessitant des efforts soutenus pour contenir les dépenses et renforcer l'efficacité du secteur public pendant plusieurs années. Le maintien et le renforcement de l'engagement en faveur des investissements directs étrangers et du commerce extérieur, qui ont été essentiels pour diversifier le panier d'exportations, et l'amélioration des conditions permettant aux entreprises nationales de prospérer sont des défis majeurs pour améliorer le niveau de vie et la création d'emplois formels.
Il faudrait pour cela alléger le fardeau réglementaire, améliorer le panier fiscal, encourager la concurrence sur les principaux marchés et de poursuivre les efforts de décarbonisation et de protection de l'environnement. Le soutien à une plus forte participation des femmes au marché du travail et l'amélioration de la protection sociale permettront de s'adapter aux changements démographiques en cours et de favoriser l'égalité des chances.
L'éducation et la formation sont une priorité pour le Costa Rica, qui leur consacre une part de dépenses parmi les plus élevées des pays de l'OCDE. Cependant, les résultats scolaires restent médiocres et les entreprises peinent à pourvoir leurs postes vacants, en particulier les postes techniques et scientifiques. Améliorer l'efficacité et la qualité des dépenses publiques dans l'éducation est nécessaire pour mieux soutenir la croissance et l'équité.
CHAPITRES SPÉCIAUX : ÉDUCATION ET FORMATION ; COMPÉTENCES
Costa Rica recovered well from the pandemic-induced recession. Sustained and resilient export performance continues to support growth, while consumption is hindered by high inflation and unemployment. The fiscal situation improved but remains challenging, requiring sustained efforts to contain spending and boost public sector efficiency for several years. Maintaining and reinforcing the commitment to foreign direct investment and trade, which has been key to diversify the export basket, and improving the conditions for domestic companies to thrive are key challenges to boost living standards and formal job creation. This would require reducing the regulatory burden, improving the tax mix, fostering competition in key markets and continuing decarbonisation and environment protection efforts. Supporting higher female labour participation and upgrading social protection will help to adapt to ongoing demographic changes and improve the equality of opportunities. Education and training are a high priority for Costa Rica that devotes to them one of the highest spending shares among OECD countries. However, educational outcomes remain poor and firms struggle to fill their vacancies, particularly in technical and scientific positions. Improving efficiency and quality of public spending in education is needed to better support growth and equity.
SPECIAL FEATURES: EDUCATION AND TRAINING; SKILLS
Costa Rica se recuperó bien de la recesión causada por la pandemia. El desempeño sostenido y resiliente de las exportaciones continúa favoreciendo el crecimiento, mientras que el consumo se ve obstaculizado por la alta inflación y el desempleo. La situación fiscal mejoró, pero continúa siendo desafiante, por lo que es necesario continuar haciendo esfuerzos para contener el gasto y aumentar la eficiencia del sector público durante varios años. Mantener y reforzar la apuesta por la inversión extranjera directa y el comercio, que ha sido clave para diversificar la canasta de las exportaciones, y mejorar las condiciones para que las empresas nacionales prosperen son desafíos importantes para mejorar los niveles de vida y la generación de empleo formal. Esto requeriría reducir la carga regulatoria, mejorar la combinación de impuestos, fomentar una mayor competencia en mercados clave y continuar los esfuerzos para lograr la descarbonización y protección del medio ambiente. Promover una mayor participación laboral femenina y mejorar la protección social ayudarán a una mejor adaptación a los cambios demográficos continuos y a mejorar la igualdad de oportunidades. La educación y la formación son una prioridad importante para Costa Rica, que les dedica una de las proporciones de gasto más altas entre los países de la OCDE. Sin embargo, los resultados educativos no son satisfactorios y las empresas tienen dificultades para llenar las vacantes, en especial en puestos técnicos y científicos. Se precisa mejorar la eficiencia y la calidad del gasto público en educación para favorecer más el crecimiento y la equidad.
CAPÍTULO ESPECIAL: EDUCACIÓN AND FORMACIÓN, HABILIDADES
Being able to swim empowers individuals to make choices, have agency, and be free to choose core aspects of their life, such as working safely on or near water. It is also associated with lifelong health benefits and reduces the risk of drowning. Using data from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2019, this paper provides the first global estimates of adults’ ability to swim without assistance. Individuals in high-income countries are considerably more likely to report being able to swim without assistance than individuals in low-income countries. Disparities also exist within countries. In particular, women are less likely to be able to swim without assistance than men in virtually all countries, birth cohorts, and levels of education. Investing in reducing inequalities in life skills, such as swimming, can foster economic development and empowerment, especially in light of threats, such as climate change.
Los gobiernos pueden utilizar la inteligencia artificial (IA) para diseñar mejores políticas, tomar decisiones más acertadas y específicas y mejorar la comunicación con los ciudadanos y la calidad de los servicios públicos. La región de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) está tratando de aprovechar el potencial de la IA para promover la transformación digital del sector público. La OCDE, en colaboración con CAF, Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina, preparó este informe para entender la línea base de acciones estratégicas y capacidades para la IA en el sector público; identificar los enfoques y acciones específicas para usar esta tecnología en la construcción de gobiernos eficientes, eficaces y receptivos; e impulsar la colaboración en la búsqueda de una visión regional para la IA en el sector público. Este informe incorpora un balance de las estrategias y compromisos de cada país en torno a la IA en el sector público, incluyendo su alineación con los Principios de IA de la OCDE. También incluye un análisis de los esfuerzos realizados para crear capacidades clave de gobernanza y poner en marcha los facilitadores críticos de la IA en el sector público. Concluye con una serie de recomendaciones para los gobiernos de ALC.
The paper is the second in a series of two papers mapping young people’s environmental sustainability competence in EU and OECD countries that were prepared as background for the forthcoming OECD Skills Outlook 2023 publication. The papers are the results of a collaboration between the OECD Centre for Skills and the European Commission - Joint Research Centre (Unit B4) on students’ environmental sustainability competence. The first paper is titled ‘Young people’s environmental sustainability competence: Emotional, cognitive, behavioural and attitudinal dimensions in EU and OECD countries.
The paper is the first in a series of two papers mapping young people’s environmental sustainability competence in EU and OECD countries that were prepared as background for the forthcoming OECD Skills Outlook 2023 publication. The papers are the results of a collaboration between the OECD Centre for Skills and the European Commission - Joint Research Centre (Unit B4) on students’ environmental sustainability competence. The second paper is titled: ‘The environmental sustainability competence toolbox: From leaving a better planet to our children to leaving better children for our planet’.
Costa Rica is seeking to consolidate democratic gains to safeguard trust in government and build economic resilience. This Integrity Review looks at how Costa Rica can translate its recent National Strategy for Integrity and Prevention of Corruption into a concrete and coherent integrity policy. It also reviews the framework for managing conflict of interest and considers how best to address the lack of regulation on lobbying and promote integrity and transparency in all activities aimed at influencing public decision making. Finally, the Integrity Review analyses Costa Rica’s disciplinary enforcement system, with a view to reinforcing the credibility and effectivity of its integrity policies.