Costa Rican Employees Can Get Their Salaries in Crypto

2018-7-23 16:59

While some jurisdictions in the world are still sitting on the fence about crypto’s legal status, there are places like Costa Rica that are setting new standards for technology adoption. The small Latin American nation, known for its scenic beaches and perfect Caribbean weather, is now taking steps to let workers receive a part of their salaries in cryptocurrencies.

The Legal System in Costa Rica Allows the Change

According to the fundamental principle of Costa Rica, anything that is not explicitly prohibited by law is, in essence, permitted in the country. As no law or statute makes the use of cryptocurrencies illegal in the country, the employers are free to pay wages in Bitcoin, Ethereum or any other cryptocurrency of their choice.

Digital assets are considered quasi-money, a tender that has a nature similar to that of legal money but isn’t exactly the same. According to legal regulations, quasi-money, quasi-goods, quasi-possessions and even quasi-contracts are considered perfectly lawful in the country. The crypto community in the country is quite excited with this as they believe that digital assets could help in improving their economy.

With better adoption, considering that the country also depends on tourism income, the cash flow in the economy could increase rapidly. More crypto payments would also mean better adoption domestically. According to a renowned Costa Rican lawyer, Rolando Perlaza:

“This is a trend that could take hold in the country.”

In a report on Summa Magazine, the lawyer also said:

“It is clear that, in Costa Rica, crypto-currencies cannot be used as cash or liquid wages but remember that here you can pay part of the salary with other goods that are not money or currency, provided that the legal minimum wage is recognized with money.”

But There Is a Small Catch

Perlaza states:

“Labor relations and forms of payment, compensation, and benefits evolve day by day, adjusting to the real needs of companies and social actors since legislation, jurisprudence and doctrine must be adapted quickly to their environment, respecting the basic principles of labor law, but without being an obstacle in the worker-employer relationship.”

From an accounting point of view, anybody who is working a minimum wage job will not be benefitted as they will still receive the entire amount in fiat. However, for someone who earns beyond the minimum wage, the difference could be paid in cryptos. This will be counted as a wage in kind. The only problem in the Costa Rican crypto space is that while laws allow the use of digital assets, there is still no specific regulation that caters to the use of digital assets in the country.

Costa Rican Employees Can Get Their Salaries in Crypto was originally found on [blokt] - Blockchain, Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

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