Today is tax day. A day where small business owners, like myself, cringe when they realize just how much the United States government is taking from them. Small business owners all across the US today will certainly spend time thinking, "Even if I just had half of that money back, I could have..." In 2015, my wife and I paid more taxes then we ever have. After I write the last few checks today, we will have paid a total of $48,641 to federal, state and local government on a gross profit of $151,191. That means that 32% of the money that we made selling t-shirts this year went to the government.
32%!!!!!
More than 3 out of every 10 shirts we sold, were sold to pay the United States Government.
Now, before you give me the "government helps people..." speech, let me ask you a question -
Do you want to pay the government $48,000?
Do you think they are using that money more efficiently and wisely than I would? Do you think they will do a better job with that money than I will?
Let's imagine for one second that my tax rate is 15%, which it could be if Ted Cruz is elected president. I am not against paying some taxes, I'm just totally in favor of paying LESS taxes - for paying a flat rate no matter how much you make.
So, that means I would have $24,320.50 out of that $48k still in my pocket.
Now, let's imagine if I was the most selfish individual in the history of time and only wanted to spend that extra money on myself. I would take that money and do one of two things - buy a newer car or fix our back deck, which is slowly sinking into the ground.
If I bought a car, I would be putting that $24k back into the economy and helping the business of a local dealership, insurance, gas stations, etc. Maybe an extra car sale is all a dealership in our area needs to hire another salesman...
If I fixed our deck, I would hire a local contractor, Josh Strayer of Home Improvement Services. Imagine what the job could do for him and his family. He would also have to buy supplies from a local lumber mill. Maybe he would have to hire someone to help him with the job. After the deck was finished, Brooke and I would want to paint it, so we would either buy paint or hire a painter to do the job. We then would probably want to get some new furniture and we would go out and buy some. While we were out furniture shopping we would probably get coffee or stop for lunch and so on.
The possibilities are endless when you let the American people keep the money they've earned and spend it how they see fit.
Now, I am not the most selfish person in the world, so let's imagine another scenario.
Imagine if I was able to keep that extra 24k and use it in my business. I could give my employee, Alexa, a raise that she could use on her house, car and in her life. She and her husband could go on vacation or have an extra date night every week. Again, the possibilities are endless. After giving Alexa a raise, I could buy more inventory which results in paying our printer, manufacturer, and so on. I would have more to sell and some extra money, so maybe I could spend more money on Facebook advertising. Then Facebook has to hire more people to manage their advertising branch. Again, the possibilities are endless when the money we make is circulating in the economy.
I run just one of the millions of small businesses across the United States. Imagine if we could all just keep half of what we work to make day in and day out. Do you think we would spend it better than the US government does? I think we would.
Now, I know that some will argue with this post by saying, "What about the less fortunate?" "T.J., you are so selfish.." "Don't you care for the poor?" And I would say this, in 2015, Brooke and I also personally gave away more money than we ever have, totaling $20,473.25. I don't share the number for praise, but to prove a point because the "Don't you care about the poor?" argument is terrible. Does the government care about the poor? Should they care about the poor? Shouldn't that be the job of the people? Of friends? Of family? Of the CHURCH!?! Has the welfare system ever given someone a good paying job to provide for their family? Or is it small business owners, like me, providing jobs?
Even if I didn't want to give away my money, again, do you think the government is going to use it more efficiently than I will? Imagine if I used that 24k to hire someone in my area and gave them a well paying job? Do you think that would help more than a government handout?
I am sure that some of you are still caught up on the fact that my business made $151k and that in some way makes me "the man" or an evil white guy....
To that I would say this, Brooke and I are both employed by our business and are currently paying ourselves a salary of $58k.... combined. That means we each make a salary of 29k because we want the rest of the money we make to go back into growing our business. I could easily make more money working for someone else than I currently do working for myself. But I want to grow my business and I LOVE IT, so I am willing to sacrifice while walk in love. grows.
So you can call me selfish, and tell me that the money we make should go to the government, but again I ask this question - DO YOU WANT TO PAY THE GOVERNMENT $48,000 OF YOUR MONEY?
In 2016, we will have the opportunity to elect a new president. Three out of the four candidates want make government bigger and give it a greater reach into our personal freedoms and liberties. A bigger government will mean higher taxes and less money in the pockets of the US citizens. Only one candidate, Ted Cruz, is campaigning on the idea of a limited government with less power, which is the way the constitution laid it out.
If our government is smaller, we will simply have less to disagree with. If our government is smaller, we will keep more of our money to do whatever the heck we want to with. If our government is smaller, it is the people who have the power. If our government is smaller, I could probably fix my deck, which is sinking into the ground. 😂 If our government is smaller I could probably stop driving a 2006 Chrysler Town + Country Mini-van, where the wheels might fall off at anytime. 😂 If our government is smaller, I would have more jobs to give and more money to give away.
I am not an extravagant guy. One of my main goals in business is to give away a million dollars. It is hard to do that when 3 out of every 10 shirts I sell are sold for a government overrun with waste, corruption and greed. We the people, need to raise our voices and shrink the ever growing, overreaching government that is invading our personal lives more and more.
I started my business with $300 almost 11 years ago. I don't come from wealth. My mom is a flight attendant and my dad is a missionary. I want to grow my business to be as large as it can be, so I can help as many people as possible. I completely understand I have to pay some taxes, and I am not advocating that I don't. I am simply stating that I am paying too much to an inefficient, over-sized government.
It doesn't take long to realize that people are fed up with the government, so why would we ever want to make it bigger? Why would we ever want to give it more control over our lives? I can only imagine what would happen if small business owners, like myself, were able to keep the money we work so hard for.