The World Bank annual report 'Ease of Doing Business Report 2011' said that Pakistan made registering property more expensive by doubling the capital value tax to 4 percent and ranked 126 out of 183 economies of the world.
Ensuring formal property rights is fundamental, the report said, adding that effective administration of land is part of that. If formal property transfer is too costly or complicated, formal titles might go informal again, it added.
Doing Business records in the past 6 years, 105 economies undertook 146 reforms making it easier to transfer property. Globally, the time to transfer property fell by 38 percent and the cost by 10 percent over this time. The most popular feature of property registration reform in these 6 years, implemented in 52 economies, was lowering transfer taxes and government fees, the report said. It further states that economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 - 183, with first place being the highest. The ease of doing business index averages, the economy's percentile rankings on 10 topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic.
The World Bank, in its report has recognised Pakistan as 85th most business friendly country in the world. "Recent reforms improved our position and helped sustain our position as the first most business friendly location in our region", Board of Investment states. The index is based on the study of laws and regulations, with the input and verification by more than 5,000 government officials, lawyers, business consultants, accountants and other professionals who routinely advise on or administer legal and regulatory requirements.
The report admired that Pakistan reduced the time to export by improving electronic communication between the Karachi Port authorities and the private terminals, which have also boosted efficiency by introducing new equipment.
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