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And the air still smells like car exhaust in pretty much every city. I've been there many times and was actually there earlier this week. I've been all over the
by jm4 7y ago
And the air still smells like car exhaust in pretty much every city. I've been there many times and was actually there earlier this week. I've been all over the western half of the country. They have an insane tax on cars - I think it's like 20% of the value of the car - which means a bunch of people drive old beaters and cheap dirtbikes. They are noisy and dirty. I had an easier time sleeping last time I went to NYC than I did in Palmares with all the motorcycles riding around. They require you to bring your car in for regular emissions tests, but I don't know how that's working out because a bunch of the cars there are a lot dirtier than what we have in the US. Once you get away from the cities and cars it's beautiful though.
- alkonaut 7y agoIs 20% really insane? Do they also have a VAT? A VAT is often 20 or 25% so that seems like a normal tax on any product, not only cars. It’s probably high for not-very-rich country though (compare e.g with Norway’s sometimes over 100% tax).
- jm4 7y agoIt's high enough that people are driving dirty old beaters instead of something newer that pollutes less. You could probably make an argument that it does more harm than good. I think they also have VAT or it's coming soon. There have been protests about it since late last year. A couple weeks ago they were at it again and truckers clogged all the roads going 1 kmh.
- Voloskaya 7y agoWhat are you even talking about? VAT has existed in France for decades. The 20% tax has nothing to do with cars, its just the regular VAT you pay on any transformed good. People driving old cars also paid VAT when they bought it (it might have been closer to 17% back in the time). And finally the yellow vest movement has nothing to do with VAT.
- jm4 7y agoPretty sure you are missing something. We are talking about Costa Rica, not France. There have been protests in Costa Rica about a new tax. Truckers have been clogging up the roads. Costa Rica has high taxes specifically on cars. It’s a car import tax and every new car has to be imported. Someone there told me 20%, but a quick search looks like it’s 45-85%. Whatever it is, the result is most people are driving around in old cars that have higher emissions than newer cars. A lot of the stuff on the road is over 20 years old.
- Voloskaya 7y agoApologies, I was 100% wrong :)
- mrep 7y agoI'm guessing it has more to do with the fact that the average person's yearly salary is around $9,000 [0]. At that salary, it'd take over 2 years of pure saving just to afford a toyota corolla. [0]: https://alittleadrift.com/cost-of-living/costa-rica/ https://alittleadrift.com/cost-of-living/costa-rica/
- SlowRobotAhead 7y agoAgreed. San Jose in particular is rough.
- estebarb 7y agoThe import tax is around 50% and still have to pay sales taxes (like VAT but different). Here the cars are sell with nice seats and radio, instead of must have security features... You know, to die with style. Oh, yes San Jose smells bad, but most people avoid going there unless really needed.
- novok 7y agoThey could invert the tax to tax dirty vehicles more and reduce the import tax. Once the fleet is clean, they would add the import tax back.
- whyenot 7y agoTotally agree. If you spend any time in San Jose you feel like you have to take a shower afterwards because the exhaust from the cars and buses is so thick and gross and gets all into your clothes. If only they would take emissions a little more seriously.