Romania ranks 48th among the 189 countries surveyed for the most recent Doing Business report drawn up by the World Bank, up from 72nd in 2013.

The report acknowledges Romania’s progress in the tax payment system. Romania improved the most in terms of the ease of paying taxes in 2013/14.

“The government has developed an electronic system for filing and paying corporate income tax, value added tax and all 6 mandatory labor contributions measured by Doing Business. The system was initially launched in 2010, though with only the possibility of submitting tax returns online. Over the past 2 years, however, online payment of taxes and contributions became possible with the use of banking cards and was gradually taken up by the business community. By January 2013, the majority of firms were making their tax payments online,” reads the report.

Romania ranks 52nd in the world for paying taxes. The country is better ranked for ease of getting credit, on 7th place among the 189 countries analyzed. In terms of starting a business, Romania ranks 38th out of 189 countries.

When it comes to dealing with construction permits, Romania is not doing so well, being at number 140, with an average 255 days to wait to get a building permit. Romania does even worse in getting electricity, for which it is ranked 171st, due to the long waiting period and the high costs of getting connected to the electricity grid.

Doing Business measures the ease of doing business in 189 economies based on 11 business-related regulations, including business start-up, getting credit, getting electricity, and trading across borders. The report does not cover the full breadth of business concerns, such as security, macroeconomic stability, or corruption.

This year’s report, “Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency,” uses new data and methodology in three areas: resolving insolvency, protecting minority investors, and getting credit, according to the World Bank.

Singapore ranks first in the 2015 Doing Business report, with 88.27 points, followed by New Zealand and Hong Kong. The U.S. ranks 7th and Germany is 14th. Poland is 32nd and Bulgaria is 38th. However, Romania is better ranked than Hungary, Turkey, Italy, Greece and Russia.

Find the full report here.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com