QCOSTARICA — Hundreds of hosts of non-traditional accommodations that offer their services on platforms such as Airbnb are asking the deputies of the Tourism Commission to facilitate the formalization before the Ministry of Finance.
That is why they advocate for a reform to the law that would provide a definitive solution to the regulation of the sector, while providing legal security to investments.
“To date, the Tourism Commission has not received us even once to listen to our position, but they receive hotels there all the time,” said Sergio Pacheco, vice president of the Board of Directors of the Association of Non-Traditional Accommodation Providers (ASOHOST), who wants the sector to be heard.
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Data from the Ministry of Finance as of January 2025 reveal that there are more than 6,800 owners of the non-traditional lodging sector registered with the General Directorate of Taxation, but the number could increase even more with modern legislation, without so much bureaucracy and more sanctions.
The group defends the approval of bill 24,061, which essentially harmonizes the tax and registration obligations of providers of non-traditional lodging and digital platforms with the most up-to-date legislation and the collection model of the Value Added Tax on cross-border digital services in force in Costa Rica.
In this way, the paperwork that falls on this sector is reduced, while various legal loopholes originally left by the Framework Law for the Regularization of Non-Traditional Lodging and its Intermediation Through Digital Platforms are corrected.
The problem is that the commission, promoted by Carolina Delgado, a legislator and PLN pre-candidate, is promoting another working text that would rather complicate things with new sanctions and more paperwork.
“They want to sell us another project, 23.766, promoted by the PLN deputy and pre-candidate Carolina Delgado. This project is bad for our sector because it has excessive sanctions and double taxes,” added Pacheco.
In this case, for example, the closure of properties for up to two years is contemplated, in addition to an additional retention of ordinary income from VAT and income tax.
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