Can't say about other countries but the bureaucracy in Portugal is quite high as well. But the interesting thing is (and it was before my time so I'm taking my

Can't say about other countries but the bureaucracy in Portugal is quite high as well. But the interesting thing is (and it was before my time so I'm taking my parents word for it) most of it was created because of the assumption people will cheat on their taxes if they can, so they added a lot of paperwork and 'silly' taxes to make up for it. Most is unneeded now but remains. Most stores are forced to use certified software they can't tamper with. A lot of purchases are done using credit/debit card so they can't be 'forgotten' in the tax forms, but because there is still the mentality of 'business owner' = 'tax evader/thief' a lot of this bureaucracy remains. I have two examples that for me are just absurd, but if you start a company, even before you start developing a product or whatever you do, even if you don't take a salary or hire anyone, you are forced to pay social security (about 150 euros) and a chartered accountant per month (about 100 euros) before even having any income on the company. This was introduced so business owners couldn't just try and declare no 'profit' and avoid taxes, but now, it cripples a lot of small business just trying to start or hold on.