According to the Ease of Doing Business rankings, which include 189 countries, Portugal is placed best in the world for trading across borders. It is also ranked highly for resolving insolvency, coming in at eighth, and is the 13th easiest country in which to open a business.
Getting credit is where Portugal ranks worst, placed 97th, while it also fairs poorly when it comes to taxes or protecting minority investors. The list is topped by Singapore, with the UK coming in at sixth.
Despite not moving up from last year’s ranking of 65th when it comes to paying taxes, the World Bank report said that Portugal made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate and increasing the allowable amount of the loss carried forward. At the same time, Portugal slightly increased the vehicle tax.
Another change noted in the report is in the labour market, where Portugal introduced priority rules for redundancy dismissals and new regulations for collective bargaining agreements.
Doing Business measures regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business for 189 countries. Ten of these areas are included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures labour market regulation, which is not included in this year’s ranking.
The indicators are used to analyse economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why. This year’s Doing Business report continues a two-year process of introducing improvements in 8 of 10 Doing Business indicator sets—to complement the emphasis on the efficiency of regulation with a greater focus on its quality.
For more information, visit www.doingbusiness.org
