5) Ireland
> No. of procedures necessary to start a business: 4
> No. of days to start of business: 13
> 2010 GDP: $205.7 billion
> Pct. employment by companies with 250+ employees: 26.2%
Starting a business in Ireland only requires four procedures, a total of 13 days and costs between $100 and $165. The country rewards its most successful businesses by giving them special access to financing. Start-ups incorporated in the past five years, which have had at least 20% growth in three-consecutive years, had a 69% success rate in getting loans and a 100% success rate in receiving financing from existing stockholders. To compare, in the OECD 63.4% of start-ups that are growing quickly receive loans and just 77.6% receive shareholder financing. In 2011, 83% of people surveyed said successful entrepreneurs had high social standing. But the Irish Times estimates the number of people starting a new business each month has declined from around 2,800 in 2008 to 800 in 2010.
4) United States
> No. of procedures necessary to start a business: 6
> No. of days to start of business: 6
> 2010 GDP: $14.7 trillion
> Pct. employment by companies with 250+ employees: 52.8%
In the U.S., innovators and entrepreneurs are highly praised in the media, according to 68% of those surveyed by the OECD. There are very few procedures and $675 in fees necessary to start a business. There is, however, a high incidence of company failures, at 10.43% per year, which suggests that it may be difficult for small and medium-sized companies to stay in businesses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost half of new companies fold after just five years of operation.
3) Canada
> No. of procedures necessary to start a business: 1
> No. of days to start of business: 5
> 2010 GDP: $1.6 trillion
> Pct. employment by companies with 250+ employees: n/a
In Canada, there is just one step involved in starting a business: filing for incorporation through the online Electronic Filing Center. Filling out the necessary forms and paying all associated fees takes about five days and costs about $195. This process is relatively cheap, costing just 0.4% of Canada’s income per capita while requiring no minimum paid-in capital. Also, Canadian businesses were taxed in 2011, at just 28.8% of profit — far less than nations such as the U.S. and France, which taxed profit at rates of 46.7% and 65.7%, respectively. However, not many Canadians have taken full advantage of the ease of starting a business. In 2008, Canada had one of the lowest percentages of start-ups of any OECD country for which information was available.
2) Australia
> No. of procedures necessary to start a business: 2
> No. of days to start of business: 2
> 2010 GDP: $1.1 trillion
> Pct. employment by companies with 250+ employees: n/a
Entrepreneurs can enjoy the quick process of starting their businesses in two days for just over $400 in Australia. Of those residents surveyed by the OECD, 48% perceive Australia as being a good place for business opportunities, the fifth highest out of 27 OECD nations surveyed. Australian business owners have a total tax rate of 47.7% — five percentage points higher than the average OECD tax rate, which may deter potential business owners.
1) New Zealand
> No. of procedures necessary to start a business: 1
> No. of days to start of business: 1
> 2010 GDP: $134 billion
> Pct. employment by companies with 250+ employees: 42.1%
Starting a business in New Zealand only requires applying online with the New Zealand Companies Office. It takes one day and costs just $127, after which a certificate of incorporation is issued via email within minutes. Further, there is no minimum paid-in capital needed for starting a company in New Zealand. Despite the ease of starting a business, 42.13% of New Zealanders work for a company with more than 250 employees — more than any nation other than the U.S. and UK. Still, New Zealand has maintained a high percentage of new companies created each year: 12.1% in 2007, 12.1% in 2008 and 10% in 2009.
Michael B. Sauter, Alexander E. M. Hess, Lisa Nelson and Samuel Weigley
