Aust business finds it harder to pay taxes

Australian businesses are finding it more difficult to pay their taxes, according to a new report.

The Paying Taxes 2016 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and World Bank Group comes at a time when the Turnbull government is trying to make the tax system more efficient.

The report, released on Friday, shows Australia ranks 41st in the world for ease in companies paying their taxes, two positions lower than a year earlier.

The report says governments are increasingly recognising that tax is an important dimension of an economy's competitiveness, that encourages growth and inward investments.

But it is not just the rate of tax that is important.

"The way in which the tax system collects and administers its taxes has an impact on businesses in terms of the time required and the costs associated with that time," it says.

Qatar and United Arab Emirates are ranked equally as the easiest places in the world for business to pay their tax obligations, while Bolivia is the worst in position 189.

Australia lags the UK at 15 and New Zealand at 22, but it is ahead of the US (53rd), Japan (121st) and China (132nd).