World Bank: Recent reforms in Iraq pave the way for further progress



"In 2016/2017, Iraq has been able to implement fundamental changes in the local regulatory framework in two main areas: starting business and obtaining credit," the World Bank said in a recent 2018 Doing Business business titled "Equal Opportunities for All".

"Starting a business is easier in Iraq by combining multiple registration procedures and shortening the time required to register companies. Entrepreneurs are no longer required to register their companies independently with the General Authority for Taxation, and the time required to register companies has been reduced due to the increased resources available in registration departments and the improvement of the electronic registration system.

"Iraq has been working to improve access to credit information by launching a credit registry run by the Central Bank of Iraq. As of January 1, 2017, this register included 234,967 clients and 4,877 commercial borrowers, and provided information on their prospective history over the past five years. "

"The Doing Business data reveal that fragile economies continue to reform and deal with crises as opportunities to improve business systems," the statement quoted the World Bank's Mashreq World Bank Director Saroj Kumar Jha as saying.

"As part of Vision 2030, the Iraqi government has embarked on a fundamental reform agenda based on the General Government Framework Program (2014-2018), which places priority on institutional economic reforms and the development of the private sector," he said.

"The commitment of the World Bank to support the Iraqi government's efforts to implement priority reforms that will enhance the business environment and achieve better growth and opportunities for all Iraqis," Jha said.

Iraq ranked 168th in the ease of doing business compared with 165th ranked in last year's report.

It should be noted here that these two terms can not be compared, owing to the introduction of certain methodological and informational adjustments that would affect the order of States. In the Doing Business 2017, the tax payment index has expanded to include post-documentation operations - processes that emerge after the company complies with its usual tax obligations. This methodology has been subject to further modifications this year, in line with best practices. In particular, how the index covered VAT checks and corporate import tax was reviewed.

As for the distance to frontier, Iraq scored 44.39 according to Doing Business 2017, compared with 44.87 in the 2018 report, according to a similar methodology. This means that during the past year, Iraq has improved its business systems according to the indicators of doing business in absolute terms - reflecting the narrowing of the gap with the international organizational level.

https://www.imn.iq/archives/207126