Environmental Audit (Data Response) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Environmental Audit (Data Response) - Essay Example Together, these three indicators or drivers should adequately give an investor a clearer idea about the feasibility of any economic investment in that country. Against this background, the three key economic drivers are discussed as follows. Tax Policy of Portugal The payment of taxes is mandatory as an economic policy in almost all economies of the world. Taxes are targeted at all groups of persons living in a country, who make an earning. The tax situation is no different in Portugal. There exist two major forms of taxes in Portugal. These two major forms of taxes in Portugal are individual tax and corporate tax (Abednego, 2003). Individual tax taxes are those that are paid by earning or income making citizens and foreigners. In this direction, the Investor Glossary (2011) explains that â€Å"An individual tax return is used to determine a person's personal income tax liability. On the contrary, corporate tax may best be referred to as business tax because it is paid by people in business. It is the kind of tax that is paid by companies, organizations and institutions. Corporate taxes are generally higher than individual taxes because corporate entities are profit making bodies are believed to be earning more than individuals. Any of the two forms of taxes affect businesses and by extension the company wishing to enter Portugal. This not withstanding, the tax environment in Portugal is one that can be described not to be too hostile; especially in comparison with what exists in other countries. In Portugal, individual taxes come in different forms as far as the executives in the company seeking to enter are going to make income they are likely to pay one form of individual tax or the other. The AngloINFO Lisbon (2011) explains that individual taxes paid in Portugal include taxes on salaries, capital gains and real estate income. On the broader scene, there is a 25% individual tax paid on earnings even though â€Å"income derived from real estate is subject to a tax rate of 15 percent† (AngloINFO Lisbon, 2011). The corporate tax payment regime that exists in portugal presently is not as lucrative as it used to be before the coming of the European Union and OECD. This is because before these era, Lowtax (2011) observes that â€Å"Portugal used to offer a number of special corporate income tax regimes by which businesses either paid reduced corporate income tax rates, were exempted from certain taxes altogether or were able to artificially inflate tax deductible allowances so as to reduce taxable profits.† Today, these tax incentives do not exist any longer. There is however other prudent measures taken by the government to ensure that the payment of taxes does not become a burden unto foreign investors. On the whole, there is â€Å"25% + a municipal surcharge (up to 1.5% of the taxable income): Effective rate: 26.5%† for foreign companies and taxes are exclusively on income made only in Portugal (Emporiki Bank, 2011) . Regulatory Policy of Portugal Regulatory policy refers to the kind of rules, regulations and laws that binds businesses and corporate entities that which to establish themselves in Portugal. Contrary to the ascertion that regulatory policies are in place to sabotage the