According to Art. 59 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LIR), Costa Rican-source interest, commission fees and other financial expenses paid or credited to non-residents are subject to a 15% final withholding tax (tax on remittances) as applied on gross amounts. However, amounts paid to foreign banks and financial institutions approved by the central bank are exempt. The central bank and the tax administration each maintain a list of such approved banks and financial institutions. A recently released Decree restricts the availability of the exemption to the list maintained by the central bank.