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LatinNews Regional Monitor: Caribbean & Central America - 11 September 2018

In brief: Costa Rica

Costa Rica: The Costa Rican government led by President Carlos Alvarado has announced that 24 public institutions – including seven ministries - have filed complaints that a strike which took place on 10 September was illegal on the grounds that it did not follow the minimum requirements established by the labour code. Called by Costa Rica’s biggest trade union, Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos y Privados (Anep), the strike is against the government’s proposed tax reform aimed at addressing the country’s spiralling fiscal deficit which closed at 6.2% of GDP in 2017. The government’s proposal would replace the current sales tax with a 13% value-added tax (VAT) and increase the number of products and services to be taxed, among other measures. However, Anep has long grumbled that the reform would unfairly impact the working class due to provisions that would subject the wages of public-sector employees to a ceiling. The government has downplayed the impact of the strike which is expected to continue today (11 September), stating that most public services operated normally.

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