The Uk is fast losing it's appeal. Brown (the chancellor) has announced that he is cutting tax......for large companies (in excess of €430,000.00 profit p.a.) but wait for it.. he is raising taxes for small business by 16%!! Not only is the man a fool and a buffoon, but he is joined by cohorts of slavish civil servants that are more meddlesome than he is. It is impossible for SME's to plan ahead any longer and we sink into a morass of red tape.  

Revenue is the spinal.  

In responce to Mr M: Yes. I was brought up in Colombia, you see Entrepreneurship everywhere. The alternative is to starve or steal.  

@ Mr M. : Exactly. In Belgium there're so many rules,you need so much budget and the risk is so high (due all those taxes) that the step to start is very high. I don't believe the 48% figure. It's less,but most people are affraid to tell that because Mr. Taxman might be watching. I confess, if I ever start up a company (for online business or to put the copyrights of my IDTV formats in) I go offshore. My own company in less then 14 days,no questions asked - how long did you go to school etc... - 1/5th of the startup price,and 80% less taxes to pay. Who doesn't sign for that ? The Belgian governement should not complain about that,because if they make it to difficult for starters with all their rules and paperwork the entrepeneur can't concentrate on his idea or work itself so he/she searches a place where there's no paperwork so they can give themselves 200% for the real work. For all my IDTV formats I have an offshore construction in the businessplan just because it all so easy and it's also very handy when it comes up to licensing the format to television producers in other countries. Of course offshore is good for services but to difficult for tangible items.  

I think it is a counter sense this question since an entrepreneur is by definition someone who created its own enterprise otherwise he is just a heir or at best a manager !  

I agree with JW.
We are considering relocating as a result of the red tape, costs and obstacles.
In the UK the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) has people dedicated to finding great new ventures looking for funding and a better place to develop
-> The UK.  

I think the answer is probably yes, more or less. But another important point is the tax-structure and fees involved. In France, for instance, anyone trying to start a new venture has great costs and obstacles to overcome from the beginning. The risk is great with any entrepreneurial venture, but in addition to that, there are the huge costs and red tape. My impression is that Belgium is similar. In the UK the general environment is much more supportive to entrepreneurial ventures. America too.  

It appears that in Belgium there's an overload of talent and entrepreneurial potential...But, because all those people have a nice job and risk losing everything when starting or co-starting a company, they are very reluctant and the amount of start-ups is very low. So my question is... are there more entrepreneurs in countries where the economy and labor market are less comfortable?