Tax On Bottled Water
Proposed To Finance Sustainable
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Tax On Bottled
Water Proposed To Finance Sustainable
Development Centre
Drinking bottled water may cost as much as
32% more if legislator Salvador Quirós gets
his way. The legislator is proposing to open
a Centro para el Desarrollo Sostenible (Cendes)
institute - a centre for sustainable
development - to be located in San Carlos,
that will be paid for by the tax on bottled
water.
If the tax proposal, if approved, would
increase the current average price of ¢400
colones for a 600 ml bottle of water to
¢530.
Quirós figures to receive some ¢1.4 billion
colones a year from the tax revenue, based
on a calculation that 20% of the Costa Rican
population drinks bottled water.
The legislator says the Cendes will have
several key functions, including the
promoting of academic programs related to
the environment, open and eco-museum and to
purchase land to protect natural water
sources.
The project has not been received well by
fellow legislators.
The Procuraduría General de la República
(Attorney General) office has said the tax
is disproportionate and unreasonable and
would also create the problem of the
legislature to oversee the functions of
Cendes, which is also unnecessary as many of
the functions proposed under Cendes are now
handled by other institutions.
Criticizing the proposal are also the
Universidad Nacional (UNA), the Instituto
Costarricense de Turismo (ICT), the UCR and
the UNED.
Notwithstanding the criticism, Quirós
insists that the institute is necessary and
important for the environment.
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