The Spanish system absolutely boggled my mind when I lived there. I also remember the "retenciones" system where your client retains a percentage of your paymen

The Spanish system absolutely boggled my mind when I lived there. I also remember the "retenciones" system where your client retains a percentage of your payment for the government to collect as upfront tax (like a secondary VAT for income tax). I always assumed the complexity and untrusting nature of the tax system drives a lot of people to evade taxes partially or completely.