At least in Italy, this is exactly the opposite. The first 5 years you are given a "relatively" easy start, giving you a false sense of the costs involved. After the 5 year mark, the costs suddenly becomes 5-7x, often making the company fail.
There are several ways to obtain a VAT number, but the most economical is by binding the company to an individual, which of course won't be able to do so.
There are other way to start companies that are not directly attached to a person, but this involves a much larger upfront capital, which is designed to avoid exactly this scenario.
