2016年-世界发展银行全球_Doing_Business_Economy_Profile_2017___Austria_106页_1mb

Doing Business 2017: Austria Summary

Core Content

The Doing Business 2017 report provides an analysis of the regulatory environment for small and medium-sized businesses in Austria, comparing it with other economies and highlighting key reforms and challenges. The report measures 11 areas of business regulation and presents two main metrics: the Distance to Frontier (DTF) score and the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) ranking. These metrics help assess how easy or difficult it is to start and operate a business, based on the number of procedures, time, and cost involved.

Austria is ranked 19th in the EoDB ranking and has a DTF score of 78.92, indicating it is close to the best regulatory practices. The report also includes a gender dimension for several indicators, reflecting the differences in regulatory processes for men and women.

Main Topics and Key Findings

1. Starting a Business

• Austria's Rank: 111 (DB2017)
• Austria's DTF Score: 83.72
• Procedures for Men: 8
• Time for Men (days): 21
• Cost for Men (% of income per capita): 0.3
• Procedures for Women: 8
• Time for Women (days): 21
• Cost for Women (% of income per capita): 0.3
• Best Performer: New Zealand (Rank 1, DTF 99.96)

Austria has a relatively straightforward process for starting a business, with no significant differences in procedures or time between men and women. It remains slightly behind the best performers in the region, but is comparable to other European economies.

2. Dealing with Construction Permits

• Austria's Rank: 49 (DB2017)
• Austria's DTF Score: 74.96
• Procedures (number): 11
• Time (days): 222
• Cost (% of warehouse value): 1.3
• Best Performer: New Zealand (Rank 1, DTF 87.40)

Austria's process for dealing with construction permits is moderate. It has more procedures and longer time compared to some comparator economies, but the cost remains relatively low. The process has remained stable from 2016 to 2017.

3. Getting Electricity

• Austria's Rank: 20 (DB2017)
• Austria's DTF Score: 87.70
• Procedures (number): 5
• Time (days): 23
• Cost (% of income per capita): 95.7
• Best Performer: Korea, Rep. (Rank 1, DTF 99.88)

Austria performs well in getting electricity, with a low number of procedures and a short time. The cost is relatively high compared to the best performers, but it is among the top performers in the region.

4. Registering Property

• Austria's Rank: 30 (DB2017)
• Austria's DTF Score: 79.97
• Procedures (number): 3
• Time (days): 20.5
• Cost (% of property value): 4.6
• Best Performer: New Zealand (Rank 1, DTF 94.46)

Austria has a simple and efficient process for registering property. It is one of the top-performing economies in this area, with minimal procedures and cost. The process is similar for men and women.

5. Getting Credit

• Austria's Rank: 62 (DB2017)
• Austria's DTF Score: 60.00
• Strength of Legal Rights Index (0-12): 5.0
• Depth of Credit Information Index (0-8): 7.0
• Credit Registry Coverage (% of adults): 2.3
• Credit Bureau Coverage (% of adults): 53.6
• Best Performer: New Zealand (Rank 1, DTF 100.00)

Austria has a moderate credit environment. The legal rights index is average, and while credit bureau coverage is relatively high, the credit registry coverage is low. This suggests room for improvement in credit information systems.

6. Protecting Minority Investors

• Austria's Rank: 32 (DB2017)
• Austria's DTF Score: 65.00
• Strength of Minority Investor Protection Index (0-10): 6.5
• Conflict of Interest Regulation Index (0-10): 5.3
• Shareholder Governance Index (0-10): 7.7
• Best Performer: New Zealand (Rank 1, DTF 83.33)

Austria has a strong legal framework for protecting minority investors, but there is still room for improvement in conflict of interest regulation and shareholder governance. It ranks well compared to other European economies.

7. Paying Taxes

• Austria's Rank: 42 (DB2017)
• Austria's DTF Score: 83.39
• Number of Payments per Year: 12
• Time (hours per year): 131
• Total Tax Rate (% of profit): 51.6
• Postfiling Index (0-100): 98.5
• Best Performer: United Arab Emirates (Rank 1, DTF 99.44)

Austria has a moderate tax system. It has a high postfiling index, indicating efficient tax administration. However, the total tax rate is relatively high, and the number of payments per year is more than some comparator economies.

8. Trading Across Borders

• Austria's Rank: 1 (DB2017)
• Austria's DTF Score: 100.00
• Time to Export (Border Compliance, hours): 0
• Cost to Export (Border Compliance, USD): 0
• Time to Export (Documentary Compliance, hours): 1
• Cost to Export (Documentary Compliance, USD): 0
• Time to Import (Border Compliance, hours): 0
• Cost to Import (Border Compliance, USD): 0
• Time to Import (Documentary Compliance, hours): 1
• Cost to Import (Documentary Compliance, USD): 0
• Best Performer: 10 Economies (Rank 1, DTF 100.00)

Austria excels in trading across borders, with minimal time and cost for both exports and imports. It is among the best performers globally in this area, indicating a highly efficient customs and trade environment.

9. Enforcing Contracts

• Austria's Rank: 10 (DB2017)
• Austria's DTF Score: 75.49
• Time (days): 397
• Cost (% of claim): 20.6
• Quality of Judicial Processes Index (0-18): 13.0
• Best Performer: Singapore (Rank 1, DTF 84.15)

Austria has a solid but not top-tier contract enforcement system. It ranks relatively high compared to other European economies, but the time and cost are higher than the best performers.

10. Resolving Insolvency

• Austria's Rank: 20 (DB2017)
• Austria's DTF Score: 78.93
• Recovery Rate (cents on the dollar): 82.8
• Time (years): 1.1
• Cost (% of estate): 10.0
• Strength of Insolvency Framework Index (0-16): 11.0
• Best Performer: Finland (Rank 1, DTF 93.89)

Austria has a good insolvency resolution framework. The recovery rate is high, and the time is relatively short. However, the cost is still higher than the best performers, and the insolvency framework is not among the top globally.

Key Methodology Changes in 2017

• Expanded Indicators: The report includes postfiling processes in the paying taxes section.
• Gender Dimension: Added to starting a business, registering property, enforcing contracts, and labor market regulation.
• New Pilot Indicator: Introduced for selling to the government.
• Inclusion of Somalia: The report now covers 190 economies, including Somalia.

Conclusion

The Doing Business 2017 report highlights that Austria maintains a strong regulatory environment for businesses, particularly in areas like trading across borders and registering property. It has made minor improvements in some areas, such as the distance to frontier score, but still has room for reform in credit information systems and contract enforcement. The inclusion of a gender component adds a new dimension to understanding how regulations affect different groups. Overall, Austria is among the top-performing economies in the region, with a well-structured and efficient business environment.