ADMINISTRATION SIMPLIFICATION FRENCH EXPERIENCE Clarisse Reille Ministry of Economy, Finance and Employment, France Seminar on Administrative Simplification Ankara 8-9 May 2008

Simplification : individuals versus business Simplification has been a popular political theme since 1969. But until recently, little result has been noticed. Citizens have been favored since 2003 in accessing public information and in dealing with their obligations Simplification for business is a new frontier since Nicolas Sarkozy election. A massive program of administration burden reduction has been launched. Clarisse REILLE

Individuals : internet, the driver for simplification Clarisse REILLE

Business faces a real “paper” tax The multiple heads of red tape : Difficulty to get the right information Complexity of laws and regulations Multiple obligations and declarations Multiple institutions with no common vision Duplication of data Heterogeneous criteria for taxes Frequent changes in legislation and regulation Slow feed-back Clarisse REILLE 4

International rankings 5 Clarisse REILLE Ankara - 8 & 9 May 2008 -

Some examples in the every day life A small company with less than 5 employees has to fill in 260 pages a year A company with 20 employees and to fill more than 400 pages for 92 declarations : almost 1 declaration every 3 working days The revenues have to be declared at least 15 times a year for a small company Clarisse REILLE 6

The every day life complexity Clarisse REILLE 7

A priority target : the recurring declarations Importance of choosing as main target for simplification the recurring declarations : Simplification has to be felt by any company, in any sector This process forces to put in place structural and virtuous reforms Clarisse REILLE 8

How to thwart complexity? Think process first Do not “dematerialize” too quickly without an overall vision Stick to the company daily life, consider it as a client Data standardization is key to put in place a common language : a business reporting standard. Conduct thorough cost-benefit analysis for any rule impacting business 9 Clarisse REILLE Ankara - 8 & 9 May 2008 -

From multiple and heterogeneous declarations to streamlined processes COMPANY COMPANY Datawarehouse ttt 10 Clarisse REILLE

SIMPLIFICATION IS A WIN-WIN GAME It fosters business competitiveness It improves public efficiency 11 Clarisse REILLE