Earlier this week, ERR published a satirical article about the amount of reports required by the authorities. Responses from entrepreneurs to the piece suggested it was not far from the truth.

Palts told "Terevision" on Friday the state requires around 400 reports in total but how many a company needs to submit is dependent on its field of activity. The number can be from two to 20.

One example, he said, are obligations that concern all employers. For example, when giving a TV interview, both Palts and the host have to complete various occupational safety requirements.

He could not say how many jobs have been created to deal with reports rather than "substantive activities".

"For example, we have been analyzing the need for accounting people in the labor market for years, and while some time ago there was a general understanding that new technologies would come along and the need for a simple accounting clerk, an accounting person, would disappear, IT would do the work, today the trend is somewhat the opposite – there is an increasing need for these people, and this shows that employers have had to hire people to cope with all this," he stated.

Palts said a lot of time is needed to fill in reports as sometimes extra data is required which is not covered by daily accounting.

In an attempt to change the situation, the chamber is gathering entrepreneurs' experiences. This week Palts asked members to give feedback about bureaucracy that interferes with everyday work.

"This is the only way to show the country that the obligations imposed are unnecessary and to provide input that cannot be answered with a single sentence, which in most cases states that these data are very much needed for the efficient management of the country," Palts wrote.

He said a project to reduce bureaucracy ended in 2018 and attempts to continue this effort were largely abandoned as many important things had to wait for better times.

"In the meantime, however, time has moved on, and bureaucracy has increased, though not always through the fault of our own officials – a lot of reporting also comes from Europe. But the question of whether officials know what business is remains open," the chairman said.

He added that the red tap discourages entrepreneurs. However, it can also encourage solutions.

"We recently came up with the idea that we could work together with business and government to find, for example, five redundant reports, permits or mandatory applications and really do away with them. And on a monthly basis. It would be something that shows that the state is also taking action to cut our red tape and create a competitive advantage," Palts suggested.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!