15/05/2014 - Greece could save its businesses hundreds of millions of euros a year and improve their competitiveness by reducing administrative burdens, according to a new OECD report.
Measurement and Reduction of Administrative Burdens in Greece: An Overview of 13 Sectors identifies 3.3 billion euros worth of burdensome regulations weighing on businesses each year and says a quarter of these could be eliminated. Around three-quarters of the costs relate to company law, tax administration and public procurement.
Greece has worked to strengthen its public finances and restore competitiveness as it emerges from a deep crisis, but it needs now to reduce the layers of administrative requirements on businesses to support economic growth and jobs, the report says.
“This report takes a careful look at what it is costing Greek businesses to comply with rules and regulations which in many cases are unnecessary,” said OECD Deputy Chief of Staff Luiz de Mello, presenting the report in Athens. “Cutting some of this red tape would enable companies to spend less on administration and more on doing business.”
Proportion of the 13 priority areas studied in total administrative burdens
>> Download the underlying data in Excel
The report makes 87 recommendations for cutting down paperwork in 13 areas, including energy, telecommunications and fisheries. Many involve eliminating obligations to submit several paper copies of a document or dossier to different public authorities.
The 87 specific recommendations include:
An Overview Report summarising the findings and the 13 sectorial reports with detailed data and recommendations are available here: http://www.oecd.org/regreform/measurement-and-reduction-of-administrative-burdens-in-greece.htm
For further information, please contact the OECD Media Division on +33 1 45 24 97 00 or news.contact@oecd.org.
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