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Doing Business 2010
Portugal and Singapore. In the past, tax reforms were often part of government responses to financial or economic crises. During the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s Singapore was one economy that undertook elaborate tax reforms to combat the economic downturn. It lowered business costs through a series of tax cuts, rebates and exemptions introduced over the course of the crisis. It also reduced the number of payments by removing the stamp duty on almost all documents.4 Today Singapore is still one of the easiest places in which to pay taxes as measured by Doing Business. The size of the tax burden on businesses matters for investment and growth. Where taxes are high and corresponding gains seem low, the incentive for businesses to opt out of the formal sector increases. A recent study shows that higher tax rates are associated with lower private investment and fewer formal businesses. A 10 percentage point increase in the effective corporate tax rate is associated with a reduction in the ratio of investment to GDP of up to 2 percentage points and a decrease in the business entry rate of about 1 percentage point.5 Other research suggests that a 1 percentage point increase in the statutory corporate tax rate would reduce the local profits of existing investments by 1.31 percentage points on average 6 and lead to an 18 percentage point increase in average debt-to-asset ratios (part of the reason for the lower reported profits).7 A 1 percentage point increase in effective corporate tax rates reduces the likelihood of establishing a subsidiary in an economy by 2.9 percentage points.8 Besides the taxes paid, there are costs of complying with tax laws and of running the revenue authority. Worldwide on average, a standard small to medium-size business still spends 3 working days a month complying with tax obligations as measured by Doing Business. Where tax compliance imposes heavy burdens of cost and time, it can create a disincentive to investment and encourage informality.9 Particularly in
Table 8.2
Reducing tax rates—the most popular reform feature in 2008/09 Reduced profit tax rates
Algeria, Bangladesh, Benin, Brunei Darussalam, Cape Verde, Fiji, Iceland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Kosovo, Montenegro, Philippines, Russian Federation, Spain, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Togo, Vietnam
Simplified process of paying taxes Angola, Belarus, Belgium, Colombia, Czech Republic, Finland, Guatemala, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Lebanon, FYR Macedonia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Sierra Leone, Taiwan (China), Tunisia Revised tax code
Djibouti, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, FYR Macedonia, Oman, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Uzbekistan, Vietnam
Reduced labor tax or mandatory contribution rates
Belgium, Benin, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, FYR Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland
Eliminated one or more taxes
Cameroon, Djibouti, Kyrgyz Republic, South Africa, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Vietnam
Source: Doing Business database.
developing economies, large informal sectors contribute to the creation of an uneven playing field for formal small and medium-size enterprises, squeezed between smaller informal competitors and larger competitors whose greater resources can help win a more effective audience with government and thus greater tax concessions. Worldwide, economies that make paying taxes easy tend to focus on lower tax rates accompanied by wider tax bases, simpler and more efficient tax administration and one tax per tax base. They also tend to provide electronic filing and payment systems, which reduce the tax burden for firms while lightening their administrative requirements.
Who reformed in 2008/09? Between June 2, 2008, and June 1, 2009, 45 economies made it easier for businesses to pay taxes—almost 20 more than in the previous year.10 Reforms over this period both lowered the tax burden on businesses and simplified tax compliance processes. Twenty economies reduced corporate income tax rates, while 9 reduced labor tax rates (table 8.2). A second category of reforms focused on making it easier to file tax returns and pay taxes. Fourteen economies, more than in any previous year, introduced electronic filing and payment systems. Seven reduced the number of taxes paid
by consolidating or eliminating taxes. Twelve adopted new tax laws or substantially revised existing ones to simplify procedures and modernize tax regimes: Djibouti, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, FYR Macedonia, Oman, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. Timor-Leste was the top reformer in 2008/09. A new tax law came into force in July 2008, transforming the tax regime for businesses. It cut the profit tax rate from 30% to 10%, allowed all depreciable assets to be fully written off in the year of purchase and abolished the alternative minimum tax and the withholding tax on interest (table 8.3). Corporate income tax is now paid in quarterly rather than monthly installments when turnover is less than $1 million, with simple rules for its calculation. The time required for paying taxes fell by 364 hours a year. Mexico was the runner-up reformer thanks to its introduction of electronic filing systems for payroll taxes, property taxes and social security. This reduced the number of payments in a year by 21, to 6. For the third year in a row Eastern Europe and Central Asia had the largest number of reforms, with 10 economies reforming. Kazakhstan cut its corporate income tax rate by 10 percentage points. Kosovo, Montenegro and Russia also reduced their corporate income tax rates. Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic,