Doing Business in Veneto 2009

Italian

Doing Business in Veneto 2009 measures business regulations and enforcement in the city of Padua, representing the region of Veneto, Italy. The ease of doing business in the region of Veneto can now be compared with the ease of doing business in Rome (representing Italy) and another 180 economies globally in the Doing Business 2009 series. This new subnational report examines what it takes to start a business, deal with construction permits, register property, pay taxes, trade across borders, enforce contracts and close a business in Padua. In addition, 3 areas of business regulations that show no variation across regions in Italy - employing workers, getting credit and protecting investors - are based on the data of Italy in the Doing Business 2009 report. Results from all Doing Business topics would place Veneto 67^th among the 181 economies globally and 22^nd among 26 EU economies - just ahead of Rome (Italy). (See table below.)

The report highlights that, even in a relatively centralized country like Italy, business regulations differ from region to region. Improving the business environment in Veneto clearly requires reforms at both the national and local level, as well as improved coordination between them. The report identifies reforms that could make Veneto and other regions in Italy more competitive by reducing the time and cost of doing business.

Doing Business in Veneto 2009 was requested by the government of the Veneto region and prepared with the support of the Research Center of Unioncamere del Veneto.

Main findings:

Padua has benefited from business start-up reforms in Italy. A new, single-notice registration system (launched in February 2008) enables business registrations in just 2 days. However, more could be done to promote its use.
It may take 135 days in Veneto to obtain a building permit, which puts it significantly behind the EU average.
It is slightly cheaper (and faster) to register property in Padua than in Rome. Specifically, it costs 4.4% of the property value to transfer a title in Padua - which is similar to the EU average but quadruple the rates found in Slovakia, Poland and Denmark.
In Padua, a typical medium-sized company makes 15 payments which represent 73.6% of commercial profits and require 351 hours per year on tax compliance. Eliminating certain tax books for small - and medium-sized companies could reduce the burden of tax compliance.
It takes 15 days and costs $1,204 per container to export goods from Padua. Padua’s vicinity to the port of Venice makes it easier and more economical to export compared to Rome.
Similar to Rome, Padua ranks 156th globally in court efficiency. The reason for its relatively weak performance is the backlog in the court system: It takes almost 5 years to resolve a commercial dispute. Improvements to the Italian court system are underway. Padua has been selected as one of the pilot cities to adopt the Online Civil Trial (Processo Civile Telematico), designed to allow electronic filing of cases and facilitate case management by court staff.
Padua ranks among the top 30 performers globally for the ease of closing a business. Recovering debt from a bankrupt company in Padua takes on average 2 years and costs about 15% of the value of the estate. Creditors can expect to recover about 61 cents on every dollar.