OECD Economic Surveys: Costa Rica 2018

Annex 1. Legislative initiatives

Table A1. Recent and ongoing legislative initiatives of relevance to the 2018 Economic Survey of Costa Rica

Policy area	Bill/Law description	Status
Fiscal	Bill 20.580 to strengthen public finances, comprising: i) a bill to transform the current sales tax into a fully-fledged value-added tax, including the removal of a number of exemptions; ii) increase capital gains tax to 15%; iii) several bills to reform the remuneration schemes of public sector workers; iv) a fiscal rule bill.	Presented to the Legislative Assembly on 9 November 2017. Allocated to the Commission for Fiscal Affairs. Fast track procedure was approved on 28 February 2018.
Fiscal	Bill 20.595 to reduce earmarking by delinking certain spending categories from revenues.	Presented to the Legislative Assembly on 17 November 2017. Allocated to the Commission for Fiscal Affairs.
Fiscal	Bill 20.203 to include deconcentrated agencies in the national budget and increase the Ministry of Finance’s control of the budget.	Presented to the Legislative Assembly on 13 December 2016; affirmative vote of the Special Commission on 3 August 2017; affirmative vote after the first debate (7 February 2018) and second debate (22 February 2018). Enactment of the Law is pending.
Fiscal	Bill 20.649 to reduce public sector fragmentation by eliminating non-functional institutions.	Presented to the Legislative Assembly on 13 December 2017, allocated to the Commission on Legal Affairs.
Fiscal	Law 9371 allowing the Ministry of Finance to reclaim mandated transfers to autonomous institutions that have not been spent within 2 years.	Adopted in 2016 and effective from 2018.
Fiscal	Bill 19.787 to reform public sector employment by establishing a new performance management system and limiting pay increases.	Bill 19.787 was withdrawn following opposition from trade unions. However, components have been included in Bill 20.580 to strengthen public finances.
Fiscal	Law 9428 re-introducing a tax on all legal entities on the National Registry, not just those registered with the tax administration.	Approved in 2017.
Fiscal	Law 9416 to fight against fiscal fraud allows the tax administration to access information on taxpayers through a centralised registry of ultimate beneficiary owners.	Approved in 2016 and came into force in 2017.
Fiscal	Law 9328 to enhance the fight against smuggling, which strengthens the enforcement of and penalties for customs tax fraud.	Approved in 2015 and came into force in 2016.
Fiscal	Laws 9388, 9380, 9381 and 9383 to reform the pension regime to limit pension inheritance and curb excessive increases.	Approved in 2016 and came into force in 2017.
Monetary	Bill amending Art. 17 of Law 7558 (Organic Law of the Central Bank) seeking to strengthen the independence of the Central Bank by delinking the appointing of the President of the Central Bank from the political cycle.	Draft bill is ready to be sent to Congress. It has been consulted and agreed internally by the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance.
Financial stability	Bill 17.776 establishing a deposit insurance scheme and bank resolution regime covering all financial entities supervised by SUGEF.	A new text that incorporates the recommendations and best practices of the OECD is ready to be sent to Congress.
Competition	Bill 19.996 establishing the National Competition Council (CONACOM) to provide a strengthened competition authority with greater independence and resourcing.	A substitute text was presented to the Legislative Assembly on 25 April 2017; and designated by the Executive as a priority bill. A second round of consultations was conducted and finalised. Hearings were also held during 2017. As part of the process, there have been negotiations with the sectors involved. A new substitutive text is being negotiated with the sectors in order to be presented to the Legislative Commission of Government and Administration for discussion and approval.
Informality	Bill 19.805 proposes a 5.05 percentage point of gross payroll decrease in employer social security contributions related to IMAS and Asignaciones Familiares for new, small businesses for the first four years of operation.	Presented to the Legislative Assembly in November 2015.
Labour	Law 9343 to modernise labour legislation, including reforms to individual labour law governing the employer-employee relationship, collective bargaining and labour dispute procedures, and strengthening of the labour inspectorate.	Approved by the Legislative Assembly in December 2015 and came into force in July 2017.
Labour	Bill 19.130 to grant labour inspectors the right to impose sanctions directly on employers.	Initiated in 2014 and presented to the Legislative Assembly in 2015.
Social	Bill 19.960 to transform the current Ministry of Human Development and Social Inclusion by granting it resources and staff to enable it to fulfil its current mandate as the social sector co-ordinator.	Presented to the Legislative Assembly in May 2016.
Education	Bill 19.378 to establish an apprenticeship educational track and regulate the contractual situation of students in the workplace.	Presented to the Legislative Assembly in October 2014.
Education	Bill 19.549 to make accreditation of all teaching programmes in private universities mandatory.	Presented to the Legislative Assembly in April 2015.
Corporate governance of SOEs	Draft bill to strengthen the corporate governance of SOEs.	Bill is currently being drafted.
Innovation	Bill 19.822 to concentrate funds and responsibilities relating to firm innovation and development in one entity (FOMPRODUCE).	Presented to the Legislative Assembly in November 2015 but subsequently withdrawn in April 2016. This proposal has stalled.
Insolvency	Draft bill to create a unified regulatory framework and streamlined procedures for insolvency.	Bill has been drafted but has not yet been submitted to the Legislative Assembly.
Productivity	Bill 20.331 to institutionalise the Presidential Council on Competitiveness and Innovation, including the Productivity Commission.	Presented to the Legislative Assembly in April 2017, under the revision of the Commission of Economic Affairs. In the meantime, the Commission has been put in place through Executive Decree 40.227.