> only really lose the easy "fill in a form and off you go" businesses. I don't imagine that's much of a loss

Sounds like you could easily justify soviet bureaucracy with that logic.

> It's also worth pointing out that if someone is falling at the hurdle of just registering and starting a company then the chance of success is very low

You're not wrong about this specifically. But why would I open in a difficult country if I can open in an easy country?