Israel Improves Business-Friendly Rating

The annual World Bank Doing Business report, which assesses the ease of doing business in various countries, has raised Israel’s ranking to 35th place from 49th last year and 54th the previous year.

Upon receiving the report, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ said it was “a very great jump,” and commended the work of the Finance Ministry, including the Accountant General, the Justice Ministry and the PMO’s Business Office.

The annual survey of 190 countries examines regulations including those related to starting businesses, obtaining construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and obtaining credit.

Israel has in recent years facilitated business starts by allowing for joint registration of corporate tax and value added tax, improved access to credit information, made paying taxes easier and reduced the corporate income tax rate, and made trading across borders easier, according to The Times of Israel.

New Zealand took first place, followed by Singapore, Hong Kong and Denmark. The United States was ranked sixth, the United Kingdom eighth, and Canada 23rd.

Israel came in just below France, Turkey and Azerbaijan, but above Switzerland, Slovenia and Rwanda.

In last place: Venezuela, Eritrea and Somalia, where doing business is only one of the many things that are not easy to do.