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1. PLANNING TO INVEST IN COSTA RICA
ABC’s to Incorporating, Buying Property and Becoming a Resident: Many of our foreign clients have similar concerns when we first discuss their investment plans in Costa Rica. Almost everyone we have met wants to know about incorporating, buying property and obtaining residency.
We believe these three issues are the main components of what we would call the “typical investment package”; which, just by following some basic steps would make your Costa Rican investment venture a very successful one.
2. INCORPORATING IN COSTA RICA STEPS
a. The incorporators must choose a name (which must not be similar to any existing corporate name); appoint a Board of Directors (which, by law, must have a minimum of three members, President, and Secretary) and a Comptroller. Each one of these positions must be occupied by a different person; however, the initial incorporators may occupy them.
b. The typical liability company (Sociedad Anonima “or S.A.”) must be incorporated by at least two people before a Costa Rican Notary Public. After such incorporation the shares may be transferred and it is legally feasible to have a corporation in which one person is the owner of all shares.
c. The Owner(s) must decide the capital of the corporation (the higher the capital, the more registration taxes are to be paid); the number of shares composing such capital (a share cannot be divided according to Costa Rican Law- fractions of shares are not acceptable-;thus, it is advisable to have a number of shares that would permit future distributions of the participation in the company ) and the representation of the newly formed company (there must be at least one representative of the company with powers of attorney to act on its behalf; however, at the time of incorporation, or late on, the powers of the company’s representatives may be limited, for example, to specific actions or amounts).
d. Costa Rica has what we like to call a “hybrid” corporate system. The incorporation deeds, as well as all changes to the company’s By-Laws, are to be recorded in the Public Registry, where any person has access to them. However, all transfers of the company’s shares are recorded in the Shareholders Registry Book, which is kept by the corporation
And is only available to company’s shareholders and officials; all other parties can only
Review it with a Court Order.
e. When you are buying real estate, it is advisable to do it on a corporation’s name. In this case, transfers could be made easier and the structure may be more flexible for other transactions and for organizational matters....
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