International Tax, Finance, and Legal Information
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When looking to expand a business overseas, researchers often look to see what sort of legal and financial issues they will face. The list of resources below should help in researching this type of information.
Economist Intelligence Unit
Economist Intelligence Unit
The EIU database contains full-text reports on several dozen countries that provide country profiles (Country Profile section), economic and political trend analysis (Country Reports section), financial information (Country Finance section), and commercial information (Country Commerce section). Of particular interest is the Country Finance Section which contains:
- Market assessment
- Market watch
- Country at a glance
- Banks
- Other financial institutions
- Monetary system
- Currency
- Foreign-exchange regulations
- Taxation and investment incentives
- Cash management
- Securities markets
- Currency and derivatives markets
- Short-term investment instruments
- Short-term financing
- Medium- and long-term financing
- Trade financing and insurance
Also take a look at the Country Commerce section, which contains information on the following:
- Fundamental indicators
- The operating environment
- Organising an investment
- Incentives
- Licensing
- Competition and price policies
- Exchanging and remitting funds
- Corporate taxes
- Personal taxes
- Capital sources
- Human resources
- Foreign trade
- E-commerce
CountryWatch
CountryWatch
This online database provides “country specific geopolitical intelligence on each of the 192 countries of the world. ” Includes basic information on each country, constantly updated news stories, links to official websites, etc. Topics include government, economy, investment climate, and social and environmental issues. Of particular interest in this database is the section called ‘Investment Overview’ which includes:
- Investment Climate (gives an overview of how receptive a country is to foreign investment, and may contain information about particular industries, commodities, and potential trade areas). See also Exporter's Encyclopaedia.
- Taxation (depending on the country, this section offers corporate tax information, income tax information, tax benefits and incentives. Please note that this gives an overview, not the actual country tax code)
- Stock Market (contains information on the stock market, and if applicable, information for foreign and institutional investors).
- Commercial Guide (PDF)
- Partner Links
Doing Business (World Bank)
Doing Business -- Benchmarking Business Regulations
"The Doing Business database provides indicators of the cost of doing business by identifying specific regulations that enhance or constrain business investment, productivity, and growth. The indicators are developed by the Private Sector Vice Presidency of the World Bank Group in cooperation with the Lex Mundi Association of law firms and the International Bar Association."
"The principal data collection methods for the indicators are the study of the existing laws and regulations in each economy; targeted interviews with regulators or private sector professionals in each topic; and cooperative arrangements with other departments of the World Bank, other donor agencies, private consulting firms, business and law associations. The project team prepared a set of templates or questionnaires for use by staff of the World Bank Group, or other agencies, in their work on business environment issues."
Topics covered include:
- Starting a Business
- Dealing with Licenses
- Hiring & Firing Workers
- Registering Property
- Getting Credit
