ZAGREB, December 10, 2019 – Six in ten companies in the EU believe that tax rates, swift changes of laws and policies, and complex administrative procedures are their main problems in doing business, according to the findings of a Eurobarometer survey of the business sector’s corruption perception.
The findings, published on International Anti-Corruption Day, show a downward corruption trend but 63% of the companies polled consider corruption to be widespread. In 2013, 75% of companies said corruption was widespread.
The corruption survey has been carried out since 2013 every two years. The latest one was carried out by phone in October, covering 7,722 companies in the EU28, including 300 in Croatia.
In Croatia, 76% of respondents consider tax rates to be a problem while 22% think they are not. In the EU28, 63% of respondents believe tax rates are a problem while 35% think they are not.
In Croatia, swift changes of laws and policies are a problem for 80% of respondents (63% in EU28), while they are not for 19% (36% in EU28).
In Croatia, complex administrative procedures are a problem for 70% of respondents (62% in EU28), restrictive labour regulations for 59% (48% in EU28), and inadequate infrastructure for 57% (46% in EU 28).
Lack of means or debt collection procedures is a problem for 64% of Croatian companies (45% in EU28), sponsorship and nepotism for 51% (37% in EU28), corruption for 57% (37% in EU28), and access to financing for 38% (36% in EU28).
Asked how widespread corruption was in their country in their opinion, 91% of respondents in Croatia said it was widespread and 6% that it was rare (63% and 30% in the EU28 respectively).
The feeling that corruption is widespread in their country has dropped in relation to 2017 in companies in 17 member states, while increasing in 11.
More news about the corruption issue can be found in the Politics section.
