another German investment, another 6 hours of a notary reading every single word of all the documents out loud to each party to the transaction after we’ve all agreed on the docs

https://x.com/nathanbenaich/status/2011731562166137326

Potential to will hunting your way into a legal jerb too, by identifying some obscure issue and wowing the parties

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822599&forum_id=2],#49592480)

History lovers will know that one of the sparks that lit the American Revolution was the Stamp Act, which forced colonists to pay an official fee for an unnecessary stamp on basic documents. The idea that the state should insert itself into every contract and charge for the privilege looked absurd even in the 1700s.

Modern Italy still does it. Every house sale, company registration, inheritance update, power of attorney, or corporate amendment must go through a notary, and notaries operate as a legally protected cartel. Fees are fixed, numbers are capped, and entry requires a notoriously selective exam with pass rates often below 10%. An Italian notary can earn well over €200k a year, and in some regions more than €400k, largely because the law guarantees their monopoly.

The economic effects show up everywhere. Simple property transfers can cost several thousand euros in mandatory notary fees; corporate registrations proceed more slowly and more expensively than in almost any other EU state; and international investors routinely cite notary costs as a friction point. Italy has built a system where routine paperwork functions as a private tax, collected by a small profession with legally enforced scarcity.

https://danlewis8.substack.com/p/the-worst-policies-in-the-developed

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822599&forum_id=2],#49592502)

how to get in on this racket without speaking a lick of Italian?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5822599&forum_id=2],#49592556)