UK slips down world business table

According to the World Bank, the UK is now close to dropping out of the world's top 10 business-friendly countries.

The publication of the World Bank report lists the UK as a disappointing ninth in a table of the top 30 economies on the ease of doing business, two places lower than the same time last year.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned the government that over-regulation and a complicated tax system threatens to harm the country's attractiveness as a place to do business.

John Walker, FSB Policy Chairman, said: "We are dismayed to hear that the UK has slipped down the international business scale. The government must take this report seriously and do far more to tackle the burden of regulation on businesses.

"The convoluted tax system is partly to blame for the UK's poor performance in this report. We urge ministers to look seriously at ways of simplifying taxes in this country, which hit small businesses and start-ups disproportionately hard.

"An economy that creates jobs and encourages entrepreneurship and business excellence is in everyone's interest. More should be done to work towards these goals and restore the UK's international reputation."

The World Bank annual report, Doing Business in 2006: Creating Jobs, surveyed 155 economies in 10 areas including business regulations, taxes, trade costs, property and access to credit.