New Zealand Named Fifth Most Resilient Country and Second in World's Best Tax Rate Systems

New Zealand was ranked as the fifth most resilient country out of 130 countries. According to the FM Global Resilience Index, the country is among the least corrupt and most politically stable country. New Zealand Herald reports that Tom Lawson, FM Global president, said the country was rated high for its strong performance in the annual list.

Each country was ranked based on economic risk quality and supply chain factors. FM Global evaluated New Zealand according to its natural hazard exposure, quality of risk management, corruption control, and quality of infrastructure.

The annual global resilience index also took into consideration the ability of the country to cope and recover from natural disasters. Out of 130 nations, Norway emerged as the most resilient, followed by Switzerland, Canada and Australia in the top 4. New Zealand rounded out the Top 5 highest-ranked countries.

At the bottom of the list were the countries declared as the riskiest. The bottom 5 countries are Bolivia, Mauritania, Kyrgyz Republic, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

New Zealand was second only to Denmark in terms of controlling corruption. The country placed third in among the least politically risky countries. Despite the massive earthquake in Canterbury in 2011, New Zealand ranked relatively well in terms of exposure to natural hazards.

Lawson said New Zealand performed well in the stability of infrastructure and stability of government. He added that the country is a good place to be a supplier or customer because the supply chain is "very reliable."

Norway is ranked first overall in the FM Global Resilience Index because of its North Sea Energy Supply which protects it from any threat brought by a sudden increase in oil prices.

Meanwhile, New Zealand was ranked in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as the second most competitive tax system in the world. The rankings were released by The Tax Foundation based in Washington, U.S.

The report said New Zealand has remained competitive by reducing income tax rate from 38 to 33 percent. The country's corporate tax rate has also been lowered from 30 to 28 percent. Despite having an above-average corporate tax rate than the OECD rate of 25.5 percent, New Zealand's tax system is still known as fairer and simpler system compared to other countries.