Economy > Entrepreneurship > Paying Taxes > Index ranking: Countries Compared

DEFINITION: Doing Business records the tax that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as measures of the administrative burden in paying taxes. Taxes are measured at all levels of government and include the corporate income tax, the personal income tax withheld by the company, the value added tax or sales tax, property taxes, property transfer taxes, the dividend tax, the capital gains tax, the financial transactions tax, waste collection taxes and vehicle and road taxes. To measure the tax paid by a standardized business and the complexity of a country’s tax law, a case study is prepared with a set of financial statements and assumptions about transactions made over the year. Experts in each country compute the taxes owed for their jurisdiction based on the standardized case facts. Information on the frequency of filing, audits and other costs of compliance is also compiled. The project is developed and implemented in cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers. NOTE: This is a ranking derived from several indicators, 1 being the best (ranked first). The higher the number on this graph, the lower their overall ranking. Invert this graph by clicking on 'Amount' at the top. Consult source for details on methodology.