Business Friendly Governments

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Business Friendly Governments

Different countries have different procedures for registering a business. The longer the methods, the longer it takes to start the business. Stringent measures only bar prospective entrepreneurs from trading under a legally recognized entity. In turn, the country is denying itself income from taxes and duties that would have been paid by these businesspeople. The annual Ease of Doing Business report by World Bank ranks countries in the order of how easily a business can be started. I will, therefore, analyze the list by Hodgson CITATION Hod17 n t l 1033 (2017) and give opinions on why New Zealand made it to the top of the list, but Australia could not.

I am surprised to see Macedonia on the top-twelve list. It is a middle-income country, yet it has a better business registration process than first world countries like France, Germany, and China. A company only has to reserve a name and pay for a charter capital. I am also surprised to see Georgia on the list. It was just recently re-classified by the World Bank as a high-income country. It is not easy for financially strained individuals in such countries to start a business, but the ease in procedures has eased the task. I did not expect to see the US on the list since they have very stringent measures for non-citizens to start businesses in their country. Following the Brexit, UK also, in my opinion, may not have made a list, since they are withdrawing from the bloc trade. It, therefore, becomes hard for outsiders to engage in business.

New Zealand is ranked well than in Australia for many reasons. First, it has a conventional system for filing and paying taxes online. In Australia, one has to calculate their tax due or hire someone to do that for them. Information about avenues of paying taxes is not readily available. Secondly, the building regulations in New Zealand are straight forward and can be found online. Still, in Australia, the rules are amended annually by the Housing Industry Association in conjunction with the National Construction Code committee. Lastly, Australia has up to three steps to complete registering a business, and it takes around 20 business days to get an Australian Business Number. On the other hand, in New Zealand, it takes a single step and less than a day to complete.