Costa Rica Uber to charge 13% VAT

Online ride-sharing company, Uber, has announced that it will be charging 13% VAT to consumers using its services. The change in policy may be to head off draft plans to raise a higher rate services tax on car ride platforms.

Costa Rica is due to implement VAT in July 2019, replacing the existing 13% Sales Tax. The difference will be that VAT is charged on B2B transactions throughout the supply chain to the final consumer. Businesses will be able to recover their VAT paid by offsetting it against the VAT they then charge their customers.

The new VAT regime will also be levied on digital services sold to consumers, including: streaming media, online gaming, e-gambling, e-books, software and other SaaS supplies.