He said "taxes are excessive" not "high" and "bureaucracy is excruciating" not "high". Both his statements and your statements can be true simultaneously.
Taxes may be excessive but lower if the services received for the taxes are inferior or undesirable. Or if the tax is raised in regressive or arbitrary ways.
Germany may have a large, effective bureaucracy while Spain may have a smaller, corrupt bureaucracy. This I believe is demonstrated by the "Corruption Perception Index".
Welfare states really have nothing to do with how regimented society is.
Precisely. Value for your tax money is simply not there in Italy. You get either tolerable, or non-existent transport, healthcare and education depending on where you are.
In the south it's usually non-existent. The root of the issue is nepotism and cronyism, which gives very little hope to young people who would normally be the catalyst for change and improvement. Instead of participating in a rigged system they can just leave now, and most do.
Taxes may be excessive but lower if the services received for the taxes are inferior or undesirable. Or if the tax is raised in regressive or arbitrary ways.
Germany may have a large, effective bureaucracy while Spain may have a smaller, corrupt bureaucracy. This I believe is demonstrated by the "Corruption Perception Index".
Welfare states really have nothing to do with how regimented society is.