This letter was sent from a reader to FNB's Chief Economist, Cees Bruggemans…

Dear Cees Bruggemans,

It is lonely at the top.

It is a sore point that entrepreneurs like myself are looking to Europe to invest in new businesses rather than start at home in South Africa.

The reason is the Europeans have had a serious wake-up call and slashed the red tape to just about nothing.

So to start a small business in France, for instance, you just tell them who you are and pay 13 percent turnover tax on some crude books which amounts to a cash book backed up by a copy of a bank statement (if they ever ask for it).

There are no other taxes or forms to fill in.

Labour can be casual or sub-contracted (until you get bigger) which is now a closed door here — our laws make everyone an employee with rights, so people like me don't employ anyone and limit sub-contracting to people that have no record of demanding unearned income.

We are on the wrong course.