
Business and finance
Modern e-solutions make setting up and running a business in Estonia quick and easy. Estonian solutions like digital signatures, electronic tax claims, e-Business Register or the availability of public records online have pared bureaucracy down to a bare minimum and facilitated an environment where business is easy. Industry 4.0. is another step on the road to the digital revolution.
It’s a simple fact – where business is easy, business will grow. No wonder Estonia is one of countries with most startups launched per capita than anywhere else in Europe.
- 98% of companies established online
- 99% of banking transactions online
- 99% of tax declarations filed online
e-Tax
e-Tax is the electronic tax filing system set up by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Each year, around 98 per cent of all tax declarations in Estonia are filed electronically.
Using a secure ID, a taxpayer logs onto the system, reviews their data in pre-filled forms, makes any necessary changes, and approves the declaration form. The process typically takes three to five minutes. Even one-click tax returns have been possible since 2015 – the data that is already in the system is displayed for the user along with the calculated result, then all the users have to do is click on the confirmation button. All this can take less than a minute.
In addition to individual income tax claims, other declarations can be made in the system:
- An enterprise’s declarations for income tax, social tax, unemployment insurance and contributions to the mandatory pension fund
- Value-added tax returns
- Alcohol excise, tobacco excise, fuel excise and packaging excise duty returns
- INF declarations
- Customs declarations
Visit the Estonian e-Tax and Customs Board.
e-Banking
It is hard to overstate the enormous role Estonia’s banks have played in creating and promoting the nation’s e-government solutions. Banks not only wholeheartedly embraced e-ID, encouraging customers to use their ID cards for secure transactions, even giving away free card readers, they also helped move the population online by developing and offering high-quality internet banking services. Today, over 99% of all banking transactions in the country are carried out online.
- You can access internet banking services anytime from anywhere in the world
- You can do transactions online without visiting a bank
Users of bank services benefit from the convenience of having user-friendly online services available 24/7, a vast improvement over typical banking hours. In contrast with the US, where a third of money transfers are still carried out by writing and mailing checks, which can take days to process, Estonia’s e-banking system is simple, secure and practically instantaneous.
Based on regulatory changes in 2017, opening a bank account is now possible online using e‑ID or e-Residency card, a video interview recording and facial recognition technology. Banks are working hard to develop technical solutions that will allow them to welcome clients from anywhere without a face-to-face meeting by enhancing the security of customer identification.
Read more about finance solutions in Estonia.
e-Business Register
Estonia’s e-Business Register is an advanced and secure tool that allows entrepreneurs to register new business online in just minutes without having to go to a notary or some other official. From 2011, most companies have been established over the internet using the e‑Business Register and this process has come down from 5 days to couple of hours.
The e-Business register allows you to register a new company over the internet, change data in the business register, file annual reports, manage the members list for political parties or make detailed inquires about other companies. All it takes to register an Estonian company is an ID card, Mobile-ID or e-Residency card, and an internet connection.
The e-Residency programme allows non-Estonian citizens to also access the register and use the digital solutions when establishing a company in Estonia. The e-Business register makes the process of registering a company and submitting documents like annual reports easy and efficient for users online no matter where they are.
Visit the Estonian e-Business Register.
Developers of Business and finance
These business, industry 4.0 and finance e-solutions are provided by the following Estonian companies:
- Cybernetica e-Tax Visit website
- Nortal Industry 4.0, e-Tax, e-Business Register, e-Banking, Quality Management, Digital Oil and Energy, Tax Administration System, Government Integrated Financial Management Information System Visit website
- Icefire e-Tax, e-Banking Visit website
- Guardtime KSI Blockchain for e-Banking, e-Business Register Visit website
- RIK e-Business Register Visit website
- Helmes Industry 4.0 Visit website
- Proekspert Industry 4.0 Visit website
- Columbus Industry 4.0 Visit website
- Tieto Industry 4.0, EasyFS e-Banking and Leasing, e-Invoicing and e-Trade services Visit website
- Fujitsu Industry 4.0 Visit website
- LeanEST Industry 4.0 Visit website
- Evocon Industry 4.0 Visit website
- FlowIt Robotic Process Automation, Digitalisation Visit website
- FiscalAdmin e-Tax, State Revenue Compliance Risk Management Visit website
Find out more about the services and know-how of the Estonian IT sector
Building blocks of e-estonia
- e-Identity
Did you know that more digital signatures have been used in Estonia than in the rest of the European Union altogether?
- Interoperability services
Did you know that X-Road saves over 844 years of working time for Estonia every year?
- Security and safety
Did you know that scalable blockchain technology called KSI is invented by Estonian cryptographers?
- Healthcare
Did you know that Estonia uses blockchain technology to ensure healthcare data security?
- e-Governance
Did you know that 99% of public services are available to citizens as e-services?
- Mobility services
Did you know that self-driven vehicles have been allowed to drive on public roads in Estonia since 2017?
- Business and finance
Did you know that you can establish a company in Estonia just in 3 hours?
- Education and research
Did you know that twice as many students pursue IT careers in Estonia than the average in other OECD countries?