Evidently, it’s not enough when many people try to block or ignore ads.

What would stop them would be a sufficiently large minority that really takes note of the ads they see and actively avoids the products. Like, even when it is the best for a given situation, buy the second best instead.

Only that would take away from the people they still do reach.

In theory, even a minority (20%?) could make ads harmful for the advertiser.

The one point I don’t completely understand is the tax debt: Wouldn’t a failed business, no matter how ridiculous, be a complete write-off?

Maybe the problem is that he has to tax each fiscal year independently, so a tax debt in 2023 from successful freelance work would not be diminished by a failed “business idea” in 2024.