Endeavor

tHE CItY's potEntIal Curitiba is one of the greatest exam- ples of the world's urban mobility, with its integrated bus system estab- lished almost 40 years ago. But it's not only the public transport net- work that explains its prominence in the Infrastructure sub-index. The city has a reasonable level of security, real estate costs are below average and most of the population is con- nected to the internet. In addition, Curitiba has a large airport, several highways linking the capital to other cities in the state — also connecting the South and Southeast regions of Brazil — and the Port of Paranaguá, one of the biggest in the country, is less than 80 km from center. Companies wishing to innovate and grow also find good investment op - portunities. After São Paulo, Paraná's state government has the high- est investment level in Science & Technology and the banks there moved almost R$ 1 trillion (which is over 15 times the local GDP). There's also Developing Paraná, a local develop- ment agency, which funded almost R$ 700 million directly to entrepre- neurs in the region in 2013. In Curitiba, not only is the paper work CURITIBA less intense than the average, but tax- es are lower as well. To begin, the new business owner takes 15 days less to start his business than the overall average of other cities, and Curitiba also comes out ahead in regards to getting electricity set up. But the biggest advantage for companies in Paraná is found in their tax bur - den, with an effective rate of 4.7%, even lower than stipulated by the National Simples tax (5.2%) — there, small entrepreneurs with revenue up to R$ 540 thousand a year has ICMS exemption, the broadest benefit for exemption offered by a state. 60

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