Abstract
Since the 1990s, the debate about the need of fiscal reforms of diverse nature in Costa Rica has intensified. Although some ambitious reforms have been promoted, the results have been failure or, in the best case, marginal changes (not necessarily improvements) on existing taxes. At different points in time, different arguments have been put forth to justify the reforms, with reference, in most cases, to the immediate problems faced by a particular government. As a result, the tax system embodies the scars of failed experiments and partially implemented initiatives that have accumulated and become evident through a series of inefficiencies and injustices. In this paper, we will identify and analyze some of the main inefficiencies and injustices and discuss possible alternatives to overcome them or reduce them.
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