Red-tape runaround
Entrepreneurs who want to start up a business in Poland face a mountain of obstacles compared to their counterparts in neighboring CEE countries, according to the World Bank's most recent findings.
The organisation's "Doing Business 2005" report identifies a litany of problems, including the time taken to register a company, regulations governing new staff, and purchasing real estate. World Bank researchers found that far more favorable entrepreneurial environments exist in countries such as Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
What is likely to scare away potential businesspeople most is the regulatory burden they would have to face when trying to start up a company, registering a property, getting bank credit, and winding-up a company.
Unfortunately, Poland is still in dire need of reforms and even though it ranked among the 10 top reformers in this area it is still far behind other new EU member countries - both when it comes to the cost and speed of establishing a new company.
The initial capital one has to gather amounts to 237 percent of gross national income per capita, and if you want your debtors to repay their dues and decide to take the case to court you will have to wait as long as 300 days for a final decision.
In such countries as New Zealand, which topped the list, or the US, Hong Kong and Singapore - other countries that scored very high - the business environment is much more entrepreneur-friendly. It requires less paperwork, the regulations are easy to understand and not prone to change too often.
Poland still has a long way to go and hopefully the implemented reforms - decreased corporate tax rates and introduction of flat tax for small enterprises - will help it to at least catch up with other developing states in the region. K.D.
The organisation's "Doing Business 2005" report identifies a litany of problems, including the time taken to register a company, regulations governing new staff, and purchasing real estate. World Bank researchers found that far more favorable entrepreneurial environments exist in countries such as Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
What is likely to scare away potential businesspeople most is the regulatory burden they would have to face when trying to start up a company, registering a property, getting bank credit, and winding-up a company.
Unfortunately, Poland is still in dire need of reforms and even though it ranked among the 10 top reformers in this area it is still far behind other new EU member countries - both when it comes to the cost and speed of establishing a new company.
The initial capital one has to gather amounts to 237 percent of gross national income per capita, and if you want your debtors to repay their dues and decide to take the case to court you will have to wait as long as 300 days for a final decision.
In such countries as New Zealand, which topped the list, or the US, Hong Kong and Singapore - other countries that scored very high - the business environment is much more entrepreneur-friendly. It requires less paperwork, the regulations are easy to understand and not prone to change too often.
Poland still has a long way to go and hopefully the implemented reforms - decreased corporate tax rates and introduction of flat tax for small enterprises - will help it to at least catch up with other developing states in the region. K.D.
