I don't know if it is just me, but it seems like every time you turn around Costa Rica is having some sort of labor strike. Last Monday, about 2000 union workers of Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) (government monopoly on power and light company) went on strike, and snarled traffic on several major streets in and around San Jose. They were protesting a bill in the Legislative … [Read more...]
Will Canada’s Seniors Immigration Increase to Costa Rica?
09/12/2011 by 3 Comments
Costa Rica is an expats haven, taking advantage of their world class medial & education systems, democratic government, gorgeous tropical climate, diverse economy and of course the affordable real estate. The ones that top the list are Americans and Canadians. Currently, over 100,000 Americans and 20,000 Canadians live in Costa Rica. Like the U.S., Canada’s baby boomers are reaching … [Read more...]
Are Costa Rica’s Internet Service Providers Going to Be Charging Extra for Excessive Bandwidth?
08/23/2011 by 4 Comments
In the last couple of weeks one of our accounts has been having a hard time logging into their server. So after they rebooted the router a few times and then cleaned the ends of the cables the problem still existed. For a while it was driving me a bit crazy why this was happening until suddenly that light bulb clicked on; I remembered the article I wrote back in April, 2010, Net Neutrality For … [Read more...]
Protecting Costa Rica’s Rainforest – Most Expensive ($18,000) Flip-flops – Chipkos
08/15/2011 by 1 Comment
No doubt ecology is a big issue, and no doubt businesses will hype their ecology concern in an effort to increase sales. However, one company takes it to the extreme and hopefully it will benefit Costa Rica. Last week, designer sandal’s guru, Chipkos announced their latest pair of flip-flops. They will be the world’s most expensive, jaw-dropping $18,000 for a pair. WOW!!! - H.Stern's … [Read more...]
Costa Rica’s Internet Future – IPv6, Competition and Fraud
08/05/2011 by Leave a Comment
The world’s most advance technology will have it 20th Birthday on Aug, 8th; thats when the “World Wide Web (www)” first gained a public face in 1991. CERN, which straddles the border between France and Switzerland, publicized the new World Wide Web project, two years after, British scientist Tim Berners-Lee had begun creating HTML, HTTP and the first few Web pages at CERN. The World Wide … [Read more...]
American Football is Alive in Costa Rica – Invited to Football World Cup in Mexico City, 2012
07/20/2011 by 5 Comments
Back in April, 2009 we wrote about how Costa Rica was forming the Costa Rica Federation of American Football (FCFA) - since then, the game is becoming more popular with its 3rd season. For more info, contact Cody Gear at 321-218-9209 or via email at codygear (at) codylgearandassociates dot com. Costa Rica has also been invited to the World Cup of American Football to be held in Mexico City … [Read more...]
Costa Rica and China Make Another Free Trade Deal
06/07/2011 by 3 Comments
One of the biggest bummers in Costa Rica is their infamous import tax, a horrendous tax that is applied to so-called luxury items, such as boats, vehicles and electronics. A tax that makes these items VERY expensive. Anyone that has tried to import a vehicle knows how a $10,000 vehicle can quickly become a major investment and/or headache. However, this week may have changed that. It is no … [Read more...]
Tipping Now Taxed In Costa Rica’s Restaurants and Bars
05/31/2011 by 4 Comments
A tip (also called a gratuity) has always been a special thanks to a server for good service. Such payments and their size are a matter of social custom and etiquette and usually are around 10% plus of the total bill. Tipping varies among cultures and by service industry. In Costa Rica, those that provide services in restaurants and bars or unskilled labor make less than $2/hr (more like $1/hr … [Read more...]
Apple – ICE – iPhones – Costa Rica’s Newest Monopoly?
05/22/2011 by 3 Comments
Beginning this week the new Apple, iPhone G4 will start selling in Costa Rica. Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) the state’s telephone, and Internet monopoly, officially became the NEW monopoly distributor and exclusive seller for Apple's new iPhone G4s. Retailers who have iPhones for sale in Costa Rica, unless it is an ICE authorized agent, are not authorized by Apple to sell … [Read more...]
IRS Goes After US Income Expats in Costa Rica
05/06/2011 by 2 Comments
Once again the media hammered the public with the new IRS threat, that they are going after US expats that have failed to pay US income taxes! Back in February of 2011 the IRS announced a program for U.S. taxpayers who have overseas accounts, income, or other foreign assets that have not been previously reported and/or taxed. This is called the “2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative,” … [Read more...]
Online Poker Gambling Seizures – PokerStars, Full Tilt, Absolute Poker
04/17/2011 by 6 Comments
Last Friday (at around 1:30 pm), I got a call from a private investigator in Costa Rica, who said the U.S. Government's FBI just killed Costa Rica today! This is huge news! My friend continued with the outraged about how the FBI put over 4,000 Costa Ricans (we heard reports that this may be up to 20,000) out of work when the online poker world was shaken as the owners of the three largest online … [Read more...]
Government Seizes Sailfish Meat From Seafood Company
04/13/2011 by Leave a Comment
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. USA. – Costa Rican government officials released information to The Billfish Foundation (TBF) of the seizure from a seafood exporter, of over 7,000 kilos of sailfish meat bound for Peru. Sailfish are protected species in the popular Costa Rican fishery. Tico Times Editor Note: Costa Rica's ban of exporting billfish meat was established in Jan 2009. Investigators … [Read more...]
Comments