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23 Mar 2006 |
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Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, March 23, 2006
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Sala IV Rules Against
Tax Bill Procedure
The justices of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) yesterday dealt a severe blow to the tax reform bill recently approved in first debate by the Legislative Assembly when they ruled that the assembly did not follow the constitutional legislative procedure in its handling of the bill.
(Click for more)
MOPT to Consider
Changing New Bus Routes
San José's new bus routes, which went into effect Monday, have sparked complaints from enough drivers and bus riders that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) is considering modifying them, MOPT spokesman Fitzroy Villalobos told The Tico Times yesterday.
(Click for more)
International Tasters Choose
Coffee for Online Auction
Tasters from the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan and Costa Rica this week will choose the best Costa Rican coffees to participate in an electronic auction “Harvest of Gold 2006” scheduled to be held in May.
(Click for more)
Small Tremor Shakes
Central Valley Residents
An earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale shook residents throughout the Central Valley Wednesday morning at 1:54 a.m., according to the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica, based at Universidad Naconal (UNA) in Heredia, north of San José. No damages or injuries were reported.
(Click for more)
March 23
Multimedia Exhibition
Hyperrealist visual artist Zero K presents video slideshows and photographs of his "metafractals" (colorful abstract images transformed from photographs of real objects), and plays a new set of electronic music on the Soundspace 9 high-fidelity stereo system, March 23-25, 7-10 p.m., Plaza Itskatzu, Escazú, west of San José.
International Arts Festival, all Costa Rican shows unless otherwise noted, Surprise Performances, Sabana Lake, March 20, 22, 23, 25, 6:30 p.m. Concert by Humberto Vargas, Sonsax, Gaviota, Esteban Monge, María Pretiz and more, stage outside of National Stadium, 9 p.m. Play Uvieta, Children's Tent, 10 a.m., 2 p.m. Piano Night (Russia), National Theater, 8 p.m. Conference on Literature by William Ospina (Colombia), School of Modern Languages, University of Costa Rica (UCR), 3 p.m. For a complete schedule, visit www.festivaldelasartes.com.
Edited By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
Sala IV Rules Against Tax Bill Procedure
By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff
kstanley@ticotimes.net
The justices of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) yesterday dealt a severe blow to the tax reform bill recently approved in first debate by the Legislative Assembly when they ruled that the assembly did not follow the constitutional legislative procedure in its handling of the bill.
Though Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) legislator Rolando Laclé told The Tico Times at press time that he had not yet received a copy of the decision, he said it could mean the demise of the controversial bill, under consideration by the assembly since 2002.
According to a statement released by the Judicial Branch, the justices voted unanimously that the application of the 208 bis, a “fast-track” procedure designed to speed up approval for priority legislation such as the tax plan; the approval of the plan by a simple majority, rather than a two-thirds majority; and the assembly's failure to consult institutions involved in tax administration all violate the Constitution.
“If what the chamber says is that the 208 bis wasn't applicable… that would kill the bill. It's dead,” Laclé said.
The tax plan's opponents, particularly members of the Libertarian Movement Party, criticized the use of the 208 bis and the other procedural decisions mentioned in the Sala IV ruling while discussion of the plan was under way; 16 of those opponents filed a 143-page request for review with the Sala IV after the bill was approved Feb. 16. Libertarian legislator Federico Malavassi told The Tico Times that if justices found constitutional problems in the content of the bill, these findings would be non-binding – legislators could still decide to move ahead and vote on the plan in second debate. However, a ruling of procedural violations would mean the entire process would need to be repeated from the point when the violation occurred (TT, Feb. 24).
The tax plan, or Permanent Fiscal Reform Package, was designed by a group of former Finance Ministers to increase tax revenue for the central government.
See Friday's print or online pdf edition of The Tico Times for more on the tax plan.
MOPT to Consider
Changing New Bus Routes
By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
San José's new bus routes, which went into effect Monday, have sparked complaints from enough drivers and bus riders that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) is considering modifying them, MOPT spokesman Fitzroy Villalobos told The Tico Times yesterday.
Transit police, engineers and officials from the Public Transportation Council will begin studying the efficiency of some of the changes next week, and any changes they decide to make would be implemented at the end of April, according to a statement from MOPT.
Areas to be evaluated include bus stops along Avenida 6, Avenida 19 and traffic lights around the city, which drivers have said change too quickly.
Some bus riders have complained that their stops have been moved, requiring them to walk further and that the stops have been moved to areas that are dangerous after dark, such as La Merced Park, Villalobos said.
However, drivers and pedestrians may simply need time to get used to the changes, which will ultimately benefit everyone and shave minutes off of daily commutes by improving traffic flow, Villalobos said. For example, bus congestion along Paseo Colón has already been relieved. (TT Online, March 21).
“Everything requires a period of adjustment,” Villalobos said. “We're never going to be able to resolve everyone's complaints, and there are some people who will always find something to complain about.”
-Tico Times
International Tasters Choose
Coffee for Online Auction
Tasters from the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan and Costa Rica this week will choose the best Costa Rican coffees to participate in an electronic auction “Harvest of Gold 2006” scheduled to be held in May.
Noelia Villalobos, spokeswoman for the National Coffee Institute (ICAFE) said the auction is an initiative by the country's coffee sector to “promote Costa Rican coffee to the world” and offer the best high-quality gourmet coffee to international importers.
Today 13 international coffee importers and roasters
will select between 10 and 14 samples to be sold in the electronic auction.
Once selected, the 300-gram samples will be sent to buyers around the world, who will participate in the May 10 auction on the Web site of the U.S. Association of Fine Coffee, www.scaa.org.
ICAFE estimates that slightly more than 40% of the Costa Rican harvest is sold as gourmet coffee. In 2005, Costa Rica exported $230 million worth of coffee, according to the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER).
-ACAN-EFE
Small Tremor Shakes
Central Valley Residents
An earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale shook residents throughout the Central Valley Wednesday morning at 1:54 a.m., according to the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica, based at Universidad Naconal (UNA) in Heredia, north of San José. No damages or injuries were reported.
The quake originated 11 kilometers underground and four kilometers east of Santiago de Puriscal, southwest of San José.
- Tico Times
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