This is the third Paying Taxes publication based onthe ‘paying taxes’ indicator rom the World Bank – IFC
Doing Business
project. The project assesses theease o paying taxes as part o a broader analysis oregulations relevant to domestic, small to mediumsized companies in 181 economies around the world.It does so by assessing the time required or rms toprepare and le returns and pay taxes; the number otax payments per year; and the company’s total taxliability as a percentage o commercial prots.With the current global economic turmoil, economiesaround the world will be nding that tax revenuesare coming under pressure. This will cause them toexamine the eectiveness o their tax systems – not just the rates that they charge but the way the systemswork. The aim o the World Bank – IFC
Doing Business
project is to provide an objective basis or improvingthe regulatory environment or business, inorming theanalysis o regulatory burden and providing insightor reormers. In this spirit, the Paying Taxes studyexplores the ndings embodied in the ‘paying taxes’indicator and illustrates both successul reorms andreorm challenges. Whilst there are almost as manyways o levying taxes as there are economies in thisstudy, there is a common message o eciency, whichpays benets to all sides.This publication brings together the latest ndingsand analysis on the ‘paying taxes’ indicator romthis years
Doing Business
report in Chapter 1, withperspectives rom PricewaterhouseCoopers on thedata in Chapter 2.For the rst time this year, we include some analysisand discussion o data which, whilst collected aspart o the study, does not orm part o the rankings(in Sections 2 and 3 o Chapter 2). This additionalnon‑indicator data has allowed us to look at otheraspects o tax systems across the world, and hasadded insights and understanding to our analysis.In last year’s publication, we included a signicantamount o detail on the methodology used to producethe data, and more transparency on the case studycompany and the underlying assumptions. This isincluded again this year in Appendix 2.This year we have also included, throughout thereport, examples o how many dierent economieshave made use o the data. These provide insightinto the discussions which the Paying Taxesstudy has generated with government and otherinterested parties.We hope that the results o the study are interestingand, as in previous years, we welcome eedbackand comments.Penelope BrookDirector o the Global Indicators and Analysis GroupWorld Bank GroupSusan SymonsTax partnerPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, UK
Foreword
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