After clearing the constitutional court for any potential anomalies, Costa Rican legislators voted last week to approve the return of the annual corporate tax.

Every year in July, those holding any type of S.A., limited liability corporation, including foreign companies, registered in the National Registry in Costa Rica must pay an annual fee for each corporation which ranges from about US$119 to US$394, depending on whether or not the company is active and the amount of income generated.

The tax applies to economic activities carried out within previous fiscal period which runs from January 1 to December 31, said the Costa Rican treasury.

Inactive companies this year will pay 63 thousand colones. Those with activities that generate up to 50 million colones annually will pay 106 thousand colones, Those those that generate from 51 million colones to 118 million will pay 127 thousand colones, and finally, those companies that generate above 118 million colones will owe 212 thousand colones.

The bill establishes that 90 percent of the taxes collected through this provision will be assigned to the Ministry of Public Security to be invested in physical infrastructure of police stations, purchase and maintenance of police equipment, and to aid the ministry in citizen security, and the fight against crime.

Five percent of the total collected will be assigned to the Ministry of Justice and Peace to support the program that aids people return to society after being in prison through their social adaptation program.

And the remaining 5 percent of the tax revenue from this collection will go to the Judiciary for the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) for their work on organized crime, said the treasury.