What is Tributación Directa doing? One does not know whether to get drunk, curse, or cry.
Tributación is the tax collecting agency.
Last year, taking company books to be legalized was a long process in San José. A registrant had to fill out a form, play musical chairs, and then leave the five or six books for over a month.
In February, the tax department decided to become efficient. The first thing officials did was make a new rule that made all unused, printed legal books currently existing obsolete. They wanted the first page of any book they legalized to have imprinted on it a special form.
Thousands upon thousands of legal books printed over the years that were sitting in warehouses all over Costa Rica instantly became nothing more than trash. This fact meant thousands of trees had been chopped down, made into paper for use in these books needlessly. Complaints to the workers at Tributación Directa met with blank faces. It was their way or no way — meaning they would not certify any books without the form. Registration and certification of books is required in Costa Rica for any company. One reason is to avoid fraud.
