Doing Business in Brazil 2006

Brazilian cities vary significantly in the ease of doing business, according to the new Doing Business in Brazil report. This report is the second state-level report (last year's Doing Business in Mexico was the first), and it highlights the increasing importance of state and city level reforms in a globalized world. Cities, as much as countries, are now competing for investments.

 The report covers the following thirteen Brazilian cities and five areas of regulation:

Brazilian City Rank Regulations
Brasilia, Federal District 1 (Easiest) Starting a business
Manaus, Amazonas 2 Registering property
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 3 Obtaining credit
Porto Velho, Rondônia 4 Enforcing a contract
São Luís, Maranhão 5 Paying taxes
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul 6  
Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul 7  
Rio de Janeiro 8  
Florianópolis, Santa Catarina 9  
Salvador, Bahia 10  
São Paulo 11  
Cuiabá, Mato Grosso 12  
Fortaleza, Ceará 13 (Most difficult)  

Points of interest:

Compared with Mexico, Brazilian cities perform better when it comes to the cost of registering property. But despite identical regulations across Brazil, there is a wide variation in the time it takes to transfer property – less than a month in São Luís, almost three months in Campo Grande. Also difficult in Campo Grande is contract enforcement. It can take over four years, while São Paulo's 18 months is the easiest.

Complying with business regulations is easiest in Brasilia, but in Belo Horizonte it takes a mere two days to create and register collateral, as compared to 45 days in Brasilia.

The tax burden is heavy across Brazil, in terms of tax rates and administrative complexities. Businesses in Rio de Janeiro have one of the highest tax burdens in the world.

 Easing regulation and establishing a favorable business environment for entrepreneurs is key to creating jobs and equitable growth. Brazil has undertaken reforms at the national, state, and municipal level but this report suggests areas where further reforms are possible.

 Download the complete report: