The Costa Rican Infocommunication and Technology  Chamber (Infocom) warned about an eventual tax collection on cable and satellite TV and digital platforms, which will affect more than 833 thousand subscribers. This is a new 1.5% tax, which is intended to finance the country’s film industry.

‘The project’s aim is to achieve income from cross-border digital services such as Netflix, but, due to the complexity of achieving it, it ends up taxing only services delivered and billed in our country’, said Jose Gutierrez Salazar, Business Development and Regulatory Affairs Manager at Cabletica.

The project is focused on promoting Costa Rican cinematography and audiovisual industry in a systematic way, throughout its creative and productive cycle, including distribution, exhibition, conservation and  showing and promotion of what is done.

From Infocom they have also expressed themselves on the tax through Vanessa Castro, President of the entity. ‘We believe that the country is going through a difficult time, with a proven economic contraction. Costa Ricans are still assimilating the implication of VAT and it is not time to establish a new tax that, after all, will result in an increase in the monthly bill paid by consumers’, she said.