Washington, D.C., October 23, 2012 — A new IFC and World Bank report finds that in the year from June 2011 to June 2012, the Russian Federation improved its business regulatory climate by focusing on reforms that make it easier for local entrepreneurs to pay taxes and to deal with construction permits.
Released today, Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises finds that Russia made obtaining a construction permit simpler by eliminating requirements for several preconstruction approvals. It also eased the administrative burden of paying taxes for companies by simplifying procedures for complying with value added tax and by promoting the use of tax accounting software and electronic services. This was part of a broader E-government initiative. Starting a business became faster in Russia thanks to improved coordination between the federal agencies involved in the business start-up process.
This 10th edition of the annual Doing Business report also finds that since 2005, Russia has implemented a total of 17 institutional or regulatory reforms that improve the business regulatory environment for domestic firms.
“Russia has taken important steps in the last year to narrow the gap in the quality of the business environment with respect to that existing in high-income economies,” said Augusto Lopez-Claros, Director, Global Indicators and Analysis, World Bank Group. “That is part of the government’s continuous effort to improve the country’s investment climate, which was recently highlighted by President Vladimir Putin as a top policy priority.”
The report finds that four economies in Eastern Europe and Central Asia were among the 10 worldwide that improved their business climate most in the past year: Kazakhstan, Serbia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan improved in four areas of regulation measured by Doing Business, the others in three.
The report’s global annual ranking on the ease of doing business shows that the 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulation are Singapore; Hong Kong SAR, China; New Zealand; the United States; Denmark; Norway; the United Kingdom; the Republic of Korea; Georgia; and Australia. Singapore retains its number one slot for the seventh consecutive year.
About the Doing Business report series
Doing Business analyzes regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and protecting investors. The aggregate ease of doing business rankings are based on 10 indicators and cover 185 economies. Doing Business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors. For example, it does not measure the quality of fiscal management, other aspects of macroeconomic stability, the level of skills in the labor force, or the resilience of financial systems. Its findings have stimulated policy debates worldwide and enabled a growing body of research on how firm-level regulation relates to economic outcomes across economies. This year’s report marks the 10th edition of the global Doing Business report series. For more information about the Doing Business report series, please visit www.doingbusiness.org. Join us on Facebook.
About the World Bank Group
The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It comprises five closely associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), which together form the World Bank; the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Each institution plays a distinct role in the mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in the developing world. For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org, www.miga.org, and www.ifc.org.
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