7092, of April 21, 1988, and its amendments, article 73, the text of which shall read:
"Article 73.--Tax on corporate assets (Impuesto al activo de las empresas) A tax is established on the amount of assets owned by taxpayers covered by articles 2 and 3 above, when the value exceeds thirty million colones (¢ 30,000,000.00), and they shall be obligated to pay it in accordance with the provisions of this article. This amount shall be updated by the Executive Branch, in each fiscal period, in accordance with the changes experienced in the wholesale price index maintained for this purpose by the Central Bank of Costa Rica.
The following shall enjoy exemption from this tax: the entities covered by subsections e) and f) of article 2 of this law, as well as the entities covered by subsection a) of article 3 of this law. Also enjoying this exemption shall be the entities covered by subsections b) and ch) of that same article 3 and associations that exclusively bring together small and medium-sized producers of goods and services and whose objectives are to provide them with technical assistance, facilitate their acquisition of inputs at low cost, and seek alternatives for production, marketing, and technology, provided they are non-profit.
Autonomous institutions, semi-autonomous institutions, and public enterprises structured as corporations (sociedades anónimas) shall not be subject to this tax, in the proportion of the capital belonging to the State.
Also exempted from payment of this tax are sports associations and federations, registered in the respective registry of the Dirección General de Educación Física y Deportes.
Also excluded from the payment created in this article shall be cooperatives and public enterprises that produce and distribute electric power.
Enterprises with taxable assets during the pre-operating period shall enjoy exemption from this tax. The same exemption shall apply to investments by already established enterprises, in real property or depreciable assets according to this law, during the pre-operating period of such assets.
These exemptions shall be applied according to the regulations to be drafted by the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda).
The taxable event (hecho generador) is the ownership of assets by the taxpayer (sujeto pasivo), on the end date of the fiscal period for the income tax (impuesto sobre utilidades).
The tax shall be calculated using the method of self-assessment, determination, and payment by the taxpayer (sujeto pasivo). To this end, the self-assessment shall be filed within the filing period for income tax (impuesto de utilidades) returns for the year following the occurrence of the taxable event (hecho generador) and shall be paid within the period established for this tax in that same year. For the purposes of this tax, goods under lease with an option to purchase shall be considered part of the lessee's assets.
The taxable base (base imponible) shall be constituted by the total value of the assets owned by the taxpayer (sujeto pasivo), less the sum of the following: the value of current assets, contributions in other companies of which the taxpayer (sujeto pasivo) is a partner, and investments in securities or other assets whose income is not subject to the income tax (impuesto sobre las utilidades).
The amount of thirty million colones (¢ 30,000,000.00) referred to in this article constitutes a minimum exempt amount to be deducted from the taxable base (base imponible). However, if the resulting tax quota exceeds the excess value over thirty million colones (¢ 30,000,000.00), which determines liability for the tax, the tax quota must be reduced so that it does not exceed the amount of that excess.
In the case of banks of the National Banking System (Sistema Bancario Nacional), financial entities established in Law No. 5044, and other financial intermediaries regulated by the Auditoría General de Entidades Financieras, the taxable base (base imponible) shall be constituted by the difference between the total value of the assets owned by the taxpayer and the sum of the value of investments in securities or other assets whose income is not subject to the income tax (impuesto sobre las utilidades), the liabilities subject to reserve requirements (encaje), and the liabilities covered by subsections 3) and 4) of article 58 of the Organic Law of the National Banking System (Ley Orgánica del Sistema Bancario Nacional). Equally excluded are the revenues corresponding to tax collection and other services on behalf of the central Government and public institutions.
Areas protected in accordance with the Forestry Law (Ley Forestal), No. 7174, whether forest reserves, protective zones, national parks, biological reserves, or national wildlife refuges, shall not form part of the taxable base (base imponible) for this tax.
The value of goods subject to the territorial tax, even if exempt from that tax, and that of vehicles, shall be the value verified by the Tax Administration (Administración Tributaria), even if for purposes of other taxes, without being able to exceed their fair market value.
In the case of term deposits, they shall be determined by the balance on the date of the occurrence of the taxable event (hecho generador) or, if this is greater, by the average balance of the last quarter.
Rights derived from intellectual and industrial property shall be determined by their acquisition value; other goods and rights, by the value resulting from accounting, without prejudice to adjustments based on market value.
The proportional tax rate to apply to the taxable base (base imponible) shall be one percent (1%).
The tax quota for this tax, as well as payments made on account, shall constitute a credit against the income tax (impuesto sobre las utilidades). In the event that the asset tax is greater than the income tax (impuesto sobre las utilidades) or when the latter does not exist for any reason, the difference shall not constitute any credit in favor of the taxpayer. However, when the asset tax has been paid while a loss exists, the amount paid under this heading may be credited only against the income tax (impuesto de utilidades) for the immediately following year or against its partial payments.
The taxpayer (sujeto pasivo) shall enjoy exemption from this tax if the insufficiency or non-existence of income is attributable to any of the following circumstances:
- a)If a declaration of emergency has existed in the respective zone, provided that this situation is the cause of the income being insufficient or non-existent.
- b)If the owner of the asset cannot exploit it in an activity developed at usual market prices, due to the existence of a public order law that directly prevents it, provided that this is the cause of the non-existence or insufficiency of production.
- c)If exceptional economic conditions that generally affect a specific sector of economic activity cause the income to be insufficient or non-existent. For this exception to apply, a declaration of exceptional economic situation, by decree of the Executive Branch, shall be required.
In the cases covered by the preceding subsections, the burden of proof shall fall on the taxpayer." REFORMAS DEL IMPUESTO GENERAL SOBRE LAS VENTAS