by Keren Setton
JERUSALEM, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Israel ranks 35th place in the World Bank "Doing Business 2020," an annual report rating countries according to the ease of doing business in them, jumping 14 spots compare with last year.
The study, released last week, focuses on regulations relevant to businesses. Israel's economy is considered with relatively heavy regulatory limitations.
"This a very great jump," read a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding "there is still a way to go, but the work that has been done by the Finance Ministry...the Justice Ministry and our ministry is a very welcome effort that is changing the face of the Israeli economy."
"Israel reported progress on reforms that correspond very accurately with the demands of the index," Gilad Alper, head of research at Excellence Nessuah brokerage, told Xinhua.
"Being 35th means almost all of the countries in the developed world are ranked better," he added.
The regulations the study focuses on include ease of getting electricity, obtaining construction permits, registering property, getting a credit line and others.
For small and large businesses, both local and foreign, these can be quite a feat in Israel.
The report mentioned areas in which Israel has improved over the year. Online tax filling has been introduced in recent years and export has also been streamlined with the elimination of the requirement for a certificate of origin. This decreases the time and cost of export documentary compliance.
"Israel's economy is developed, with a high GDP and a relatively high growth rate and technology dominated, regardless of the ease of doing business in the country," Alex Zabeshinksky, chief Economist of Meitav Dash, told Xinhua "this makes it attractive for business."
"However, there is a problem with ease of doing business in Israel, which does not match our GDP. Israel needs to aim higher and there are many things that need to improve, more digital, for example," Zabeshinksky said.
Even as online tax reporting has been introduced, the system is still complicated and requires the smallest of businesses to hire accountants in order to complete filing.
In many cases, actions cannot be fully completed online and one is required to make a trip to the local tax office. These trips are usually time consuming and often more than one visit is required.
Israel, known in the world as "start-up nation," waited until 2019 to make email a mandatory first point of contact for citizens needing government services.
"Opening firms, registering property, solvency and bankruptcy are cumbersome in Israel," said Zabeshinksky.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) , Israel's regulatory burden is one of the toughest in the developed world.
"The jump in the ranking is big, but if it was a real reflection of what is happening on the ground, people would have felt it," said Alper.
"More time is required before we understand if this jump is because companies are becoming more skilled in dealing with the index or is it really a reflection of actual positive change."
