Los Gravamenes a la Intermediacion Financiera

Abstract

This paper examines the incidence and the implications for financial deepening of a tax on the flow of bank deposits, as incorporated in a bill being discussed by the Costa Rican Congress. The key distinction is between a demand for a flow of financial services and the demand for a stock of financial assets. The incidence of a tax on the flow of deposits depends on the velocity of rotation of the bank account and becomes extremely onerous. As a tax on the use of money it is equivalent to the inflation tax, but more repressive, in its impact on financial deepening. Currency substitution and other avoidance actions would lead to limited revenue generation.