Why invest in Agricultural Commodities in Latin America

Here are just a few reasons to consider an investment in agricultural commodities in Latin America

• World population is projected to grow from 6.1 billion in 2000 to 8.9 billion in 2050, increasing therefore by 47 per cent. (source UN World Population to 2050). There is a corresponding requirement to increase food production accordingly.

• According to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Latin America has 42% of the world’s agricultural ‘spare capacity’.

• Favourable weather conditions in Latin America mean two harvests can be achieved every 12-14 months, twice the productivity of some other agricultural regions.

• The food price index has doubled since 2004, despite some short-term volatility the trend is upwards and increases in adverse weather continue to support the price.

In Naturewalk, you have the double benefit of owning development land, with permission for a home, and the land has fully managed crops giving you an income.

Road Construction continues in Naturewalk

Building Agricultural Reservoirs in Naturewalk

As the dry season is upon us, and more and more land is now planted with various crops in Naturewalk irrigation is a necessity to keep crop yields up.

Here are some pictures of some of the agricultural reservoirs under construction in Naturewalk:

Costa Rica signs agreement to report holdings of U.S. citizens living here

Costa Rica becomes the second country in Latin America to sign an agreement to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, FATCA. 

U.S. Chargé d'Affairs Gonzalo Gallegos (left) and Costa Rican Finance Minister Edgar Ayales (right) signed a memo of understanding Tuesday, Nov. 26, on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, FATCA, making Costa Rica the second country in Latin America after Mexico to sign such an agreement with the United States.

      

At Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry, Costa Rica joined Mexico as the second country in Latin America to sign a memorandum of understanding to comply with the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on Tuesday afternoon.

Costa Rican Finance Minister Edgar Ayales and U.S. Chargé d’Affairs Gonzalo Gallegos signed the memo, ratifying the agreement that financial institutions would report the holdings of U.S. citizens living in Costa Rica, or face a 30 percent retention tax on payments from the United States.

Under the memorandum, Costa Rican financial institutions will report this information to the Finance Ministry, who will then submit it to the Internal Revenue Service.

Starting on March 31, 2015, local financial institutions will have to start reporting to the IRS information about their U.S. taxpayer clients who conducted transactions during 2013 and 2014. Starting in 2016, personal accounts containing more than $50,000 and corporate accounts containing more than $250,000 will be reported.

“This shows Costa Rica’s willingness to be transparent [and] collaborate in the fight against tax evasion, money laundering, and legal loopholes,” said Ayales, who added that sharing financial information would improve the country’s once notorious reputation as a tax haven and bring Costa Rica in line with international banking standards.

Gallegos added that the mechanism would benefit both countries.

"FATCA is not a mechanism to collect taxes directly,” Manrique Blen, a tax specialist with Deloitte in Costa Rica, told The Tico Times, “It's a mechanism to collect information, investigate and then decide if there needs to be additional collection."

Blen reminded U.S. expats living in Costa Rica that the U.S. tax system obliges them to report their holdings abroad, even if they don’t receive an income. The tax specialist added that besides personal accounts, FATCA requires financial institutions to list any U.S. shareholders with at least a 10 percent stake in a Costa Rican corporation.

In 2010 the United States passed the HIRE Act, which grants incentives to employers who contract persons who have been unemployed for a certain period of time. To cover the cost of these incentives, the government created FATCA, which institutes a series of controls over international financial operations.

Story by Zach Dyer for the Tico Times (26th November 2013). Read the full story in the Tico Times here

Harvesting Tiquisque in Permalife Farms, Naturewalk 3