It's not just anecdotal. I did a lot of research on this, talked with the German tax office and (un)employment agency, and read everything I could find from the

It's not just anecdotal. I did a lot of research on this, talked with the German tax office and (un)employment agency, and read everything I could find from the chamber of commerce, since I'm toying with the idea of setting up a little business. I know a couple of people who have their own business. I have two people in my family in the export business, and I've worked in that area a long time ago as a summer job. So while one can hardly call me an expert, I am pretty familiar with the procedures. Your very right not to trust random strangers on the internet, but you shouldn't dismiss what people say as anecdotal and useless either. My point was just: Look, an average technical guy with no talent for burocracy can figure out the laws in his country (in this case Germany); and in general while laws are different in other countries, you can probably figure them out there as well.