Portugal has remained the 23rd best country in the world to do business in, according to the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business 2016’ ranking.
Though placed in the same spot as last year, the World Bank applauded Portugal’s attempts to make paying taxes “less costly” by “lowering the corporate income tax rate and increasing the allowable amount of the loss carried forward”.
The ranking is headed by Singapore, with New Zealand, Denmark, South Korea, Hong Kong, Britain, the USA, Sweden, Norway and Finland completing the top-10.
Further down the list are the Portuguese-speaking countries of Brazil (116th), Cape Verde (126th), Mozambique (133rd), São Tomé and Príncipe (166th) Timor-Leste (173rd) and Guinea-Bissau (178th).
South Sudan, Libya and Eritrea rank as the three worst places to do business.
‘Doing Business’ measures aspects of business regulation affecting small and medium-sized firms in 189 economies – including everything from the ease of “starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity and registering property” to “getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency”.
The news of Portugal’s 23rd spot came at around the same time as Paul Schelfhout, a successful Algarve-raised businessman, described Portugal as a country with “massive potential” in an exclusive interview with the Resident (click here).
