Doing Business 2009 - Government of Grenada

Kyrgyz Republic
Senegal
St. Kitts and Nevis
The Kyrgyz Republic, a top reformer globally and regionally, strengthened investor protections through
legal amendments allowing minority investors to take legal actions as shareholders. The amendments
also require an independent assessment of a related-party transaction before it is approved. Moreover,
directors can be held liable for negligence if they harm minority shareholders and will be forced to pay
damages and disgorge profits. A new one-stop shop made it easier to start a business by streamlining
and simplifying business registration processes and eliminating certain requirements such as proof of
residence. Obtaining a company seal became optional. Dealing with construction permits also became
easier, thanks to a one-stop shop making it possible to obtain a designing permit, construction license,
and occupancy permit at a single place. This reform eliminated nine steps, reduced the time required by
almost 6 months, and lowered the cost from 759 percent of income per capita to 406 percent.
Senegal’s one-stop shop for business start-up became fully operational, merging more than half the
procedures and speeding the process as a result. Similarly, the introduction of time limits at the Land
Registry and the Directorate of Taxes and Property sped property registration. The top reformer
globally in easing trade, Senegal introduced a single window for customs clearance, cutting document
requirements in half. It also set up an electronic data interchange system, implemented risk-based
inspections, extended the operating hours of customs, and improved port and road infrastructure.
In St. Kitts and Nevis no major reform was recorded.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
St. Vincent and the Grenadines reduced its corporate tax rate from 40% to 37.5%. And it introduced a
value-added tax at a standard rate of 15% to replace several existing taxes, including the hotel tax,
consumption duty, entertainment tax, stamp duty on receipts, and domestic and international
telecommunications surcharge. The country also enacted a bankruptcy law, its first set of rules
regulating the bankruptcy of private enterprises.
51