1. DOING BUSINESS IN ESTONIA
Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
7th of May, 2014
Margus Ilmjärv,
head of Jõhvi office

2. THE ESTONIAN CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
was founded to represent and protect common interests of
Estonian merchants, manufacturers, bankers, and ship-owners in
the year of 1925.
The Chamber was re-established in 1989
The mission of the Chamber is to develop
entrepreneurship in Estonia through taking actively part in
designing economic policy and via rendering business services.

3. 3
Chamber’s regional offices and division of members
by region

4. 4
MEMBERSHIP
Non-governmental
Membership voluntary
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
791
933
1439
2007
2476
2728
2984 3167
3241 3310
3340 3347 3439
3616 3657
3350
3156
3164 3150

5. MEMBERSHIP
by employees

6. 7
Analysis and enbetterment of entrepreneurship-related
legislation: Tax Laws; Corporate Law; Property laws; Law on
obligations; Foreign trade; Professional qualification etc.
Some focuses:
• How to make local authorities more entrepreneurial?;
•Improving immigration policy – talents to Estonia;
• Supporting administrative-territorial reforms and education
reforms etc.
ECONOMIC POLICY ACTIVITIES

7. ECCI SERVICES
• Consultation:
legal, foreign trade, EU
• Contact services :
presentations, seminars, delegations, fairs
• Foreign trade services :
Certificate of origin, ATA Carnet
• Enterprise Europe Network:
EU contact and business information
• Training:
EU, taxes, legal, foreign trade

8. The Court of Arbitration of the Estonian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Confidential
• Cheaper
• Faster
• The decision of the Court of Arbitration enters
into force from the moment of its making

9. Estonian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
Toom-Kooli 17
10130
Tallinn
tel: 604 0060
faks: 604 0061
E-mail: koda@koda.ee
www.koda.ee
www.facebook.com/kaubanduskoda

10. Estonian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
Jõhvi office
Pargi 27, 41537, Ida-Virumaa
Margus Ilmjärv
E-post: margus@koda.ee
Tel:+372 337 4950
Gsm:+372 502 3699
Skype:margusilmjarv

11. Estonia in General
Location: Next to Finland, Latvia and
North-West Russia
Area: 45,227 km2 (similar in size
to Denmark or the
Netherlands)
Population: 1,3 million (69% Estonians,
25% Russians)
Capital Tallinn (420 000)
Government: Parliamentary Democracy
Language: Estonian
Currency: Euro
Member: EU, NATO, OECD, WTO,
Schengen Area

12. Estonia in General
15 counties
226 municipalities among which there are 33 cities and 193
rural municipalities.
Rural municipalities and cities form the local level of
Estonian public administration.
Two thirds of local government units have less than 3000
inhabitants.

13. Key economic indicators
GDP per capita (2013): 18 434 EUR
GDP per capita (EU27=100) 69 %
Real growth of GDP 2012: 3,2 %
Consumer price index (2013): 2,8%
Unemployment 2013: 8,6%
Average monthly wage (2012): 887 EUR

14. Key economic indicators
Exports (million Euro, 2013): 12 275
Imports (million Euro, 2013): 13 649
Accommodated visitors (2013): 2 981 000
Foreign direct investments (2013): 715,4 (EUR m)

15. Spring 2014 Forecast
The gross domestic product of Estonia will increase by
2.0% in 2014 and 3.5% in 2015.
Consumer price increase will slow down to 1.4% in 2014
and increase to 2.7% in 2015.
Unemployment will continue to fall with the unemployment
rate expected to decrease below 8% in 2014 .

16. Spring 2014 Forecast
• The foreign assumptions of this forecast were fixed in the
middle of February 2014, before the escalation of events in
Ukraine
• The future development of the geopolitical crisis is still
related to very big uncertainty and in order to assess and
quantify the short and long term economic impact would
need some stabilization of the situation.

17. 10
13 14
16
18 19
22
24
29
55
57
U
SA
ESTO
N
IA U
K
Finland
Sw
eden
G
erm
any
Lithuania
Japan
C
zechR
ep.
Latvia
Poland
Estonia has high position in business
environment rankings
Index of Economic
Freedom 2013
4
7
11
13
20 21
24 25
27
55
65
U
SA
U
KFinlandSw
eden
G
erm
any
ESTO
N
IAJapanLatvia
LithuaniaPoland
C
zech
R
ep.
Ease of doing business
rankings 2013

18. 1
4
13
17 17
19
32
41
48
54 54
FinlandSw
eden
G
erm
anyJapan
U
K
U
SA
ESTO
N
IAPoland
Lithuania
C
zech
R
ep.Latvia
... and high e-readiness and low
corruption
1
3
8
10
16
18
24
31
41 42
49
Sw
eden
Finland
U
SA
U
K
G
erm
any
Japan
ES
TO
N
IA
Lithuania
Latvia
C
zech
R
ep.
Poland
Networked Readiness
Index 2012
Corruption Perceptions
Index 2012

19. 20
-13,6-14,2
-9
-1,6
4,5
5,9
11,7
6,8
9,7
6,3 6,6
7,8
6,3
8,9
10,1
7,5
-3,7
-14,3
2,3
7,6
3,2
2
-0,3
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013*
Monetary
reform
Russian &
Asian crises
New
corporate
income tax
system
EU
Economic growth
Global
financial crisis
GDP growth (%)

20. GDP composition 2012 (%)
Other
13%
Education
5%Public
administration
and defence
7%
Health and social
work
4%
Realestate
10%
Finance
3%
Information &
communication
5%
Transport &
storage
9%
Wholesale and
retail trade
14%
Construction
7%
Agriculture &
forestry
4%
Electricity and
water supply
5%
Manufacturing
& mining
17%

21. Inflation
47,7
3 5
89,8
29
23,1
11,2
8,2
3,3 4 5,4 3,6
1,3 3 4,1
4,4 6,6
10,9
-1
3,9
3,5
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013*
Inflation (%)

22. Credit ratings
Estonia has some of the highest credit ratings in the
region
Standard
& Poor's
Fitch Moody's
Estonia
AA-
(outlook
negative)
A+
(outlook stable)
A1
(outlook stable)
Latvia BBB- BBB- Baa3
Lithuania BBB BBB Baa1
Finland AAA AAA Aaa
Russia BBB+ BBB Baa1

23. World countries Standard &
Poor's ratings

24. • The World Bank “Doing Business in 2013” report
places Estonia on 21th rank among 185 countries,
because:
– starting a business is easy
– taxation is simple and transparent
– investors feel secure
– trading across borders is active
– communication is easy
– flexible job regulation
but:
too many local government units
Doing Business in Estonia

25. Starting a Business
• Number of procedures – 5
• Minimum starting capital of most wide-used
company form (Ltd.) – only 2500 Euros. When
owners only private persons the payment of the
starting capital can be postponed (0 EUR)
• 2007 – electronic registering – max 2 hours
• Companies can be 100% foreign owned

26. Starting a Business
Business registry is public with free online access
https://ariregister.rik.ee/index.py?lang=eng&sess=3
68924835397308299693241533367557806480790
3414610459758315505170

27. Active companies in 2012
Companies No % employed
Micro 1-9 employees 42 760 86,5 112 007
Small 10-49 5 430 11,0 109 548
Medium 50-249 1 080 2,2 106 069
Large +250 156 0,3 95 540
Sum: 49 426 100 423 163

28. Active companies in 2013
Companies No % employed
Micro 1-9 employees 45 117 87,4 112 054
Small 10-49 5 293 10,26 106 942
Medium 50-249 1 036 2 102 328
Large +250 157 0,3 95 439
Sum: 51 603 100 416 763

29. Paying Taxes
Estonian Tax system:
– is simple, motivating and transparent
– is focused on taxing consumption
– has very few exemptions and deductibles

30. Tax system
• Value Added Tax –20% (with few exceptions – 9% - books,
accommodation, medicines)
• Social Tax – 33%: paid by the employer (20% for social security and
13% for health insurance)
• Unemployment insurance - 3%
• Income Tax – flat 21% rate for individuals (perspective – lowering
since 2015), income tax free – 144 EUR/month
• 0% Corporate Income Tax on all reinvested profits or profits
retained in the company
• no property tax

31. Labour tax calculators online
http://palk.crew.ee/
http://www.calkoo.com/?lang=3&page=1

32. 30,2
26,3 26 26
19 19 19
15 15
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Germany Sweden UK Finland Hungary Czech
Rep.
Poland Lithuania Latvia ESTONIA
Taxes on reinvested profits
Corporate Income Tax
Unique corporate tax system since 2000:
• 0% on all reinvested profits or profits retained in the company
• 21% of income tax is paid when profit is taken out of the company

33. Investors Feel Secure
• Private ownership is inviolable
• Foreign investors have equal rights with local
• Right to purchase and own land
• Continental European commercial legislation
• Shareholders control over management
• Investors prefer to reinvest than repatriate profits
• Total: over 13,9 bln Euros of FDI
• Stable monetary system

34. 81
68
63
53
47
41
35 34
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
ESTONIA Sweden Czech Rep. UK Latvia Poland Lithuania Finland
Foreign investments
Estonia has long been a leading European country in attracting
foreign direct investments
Inward FDI stock as
% of GDP 2011

35. Transport &
storage
5%
Electricity & gas
supply
3%
Manufacturing
17%
Wholesale &
retail trade
13%
Other
13%
Professional,
scientific &
technical
activities
9%
Real estate
activities
14%
Financial &
insurance
activities
26%
Foreign Direct Investments
by activities 2012

36. Finland
23%
Netherlands
11%
Russia
4%
Norway
5%Sweden
28%
USA
2%
Others
27%
Foreign Direct Investments
by countries 2012

37. Jõhvi logistics and business park
New business park being built in Ida-Viru County
Placed on about 105 hectares near to Tallinn-St.
Petersburg highway in the county’s center
Infrastructure construction starts in June 2014

38. Jõhvi logistics and business park
Prices for land 15,00 EUR/m2
More Information:
Teet Kuusmik + 372 5114 685 teet.kuusmik@ivia.ee
www.ivia.ee

39. Foreign Trade
2000-2012(MEUR)
-6000
-4000
-2000
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Exports
Imports
Balance

40. Trading Across Borders
• Up until EU-accession (2004) most liberal
foreign trade regime in the world – no import
taxes, quotas, tariffs
• Market is open for competition – increased
competitiveness of local businesses
• Good geographic location for trade with
Scandinavia, the Baltic Countries and North-
West Russia

41. Foreign Trade
by main partner countries 2012 (MEUR)
1823
1997
1096
1515
675
565
584
101
263
1981
1400
1315
933
1182
1410
119
479
524
Finland
Sweden
Latvia
Russia
Lithuania
Germany
USA
China
UK
EXP
IMP
EXP: 12,5 bln euros (0,3% of EU
27)
IMP: 13,7 bln euros (0,4% of
EU27)

42. Foreign Trade
by main commodity sections 2012 (MEUR)
563
1130
1246
646
623
1041
502
1873
3593
1267
773
1068
2137
3921
Wood & paper
Chemicals
Transport equipment
Metals
Food
Minerals
Machinery & equipment
EXP
IMP

43. Communication & IT
• Business-to-business:
– over 98% of banking transactions are electronic
– 96% of companies have internet connection
– mobile penetration rate 130%
• Government-to-citizen:
– 94,5% income tax statements submitted online
– e-tax-board for companies
– e-elections
• Advanced knowledge of foreign languages

44. Labour market
Total labour force (15-74): 696 000
Employed people (2012): 625 000
Unemployment rate (2012): 10,2%
General working time: 8 hours a day, 5 days per week
Duration of the annual vacation: 28 days
Average wage: 887 EUR
Monthly minimum wage for
full-time work: 355 EUR

45. 782797815
840
874907
589601615
639665672
454967
8998116
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035
Working age population (15-64) (thousands)
Labour force 15-64 (thousands)
Unemployed
Projection of labour force –
challenge for the future

46. Perspectives
• Taking Euro into use in 2011 =
credibility + stability
• Export development – new markets &
new products
• Skilled labour + flexible legislation =
easier job creation
• Creation of new companies active

47. Topics for 2014
Employment Register (01.07.2014)
VAT refund on cars, VAT declarations
Labour fource import (01.01.2015)
Ukraine/Russia

48. Estonian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
Toom-Kooli 17
Tallinn 10130
Tel: +372 604 0060
Fax: +372 604 0061
koda@koda.ee
www.koda.ee
www.estonianexport.ee