How many of you guys pay virtually nothing in taxes due to write offs?

[biophase]

I just filed my taxes and still feel robbed. They took 18% of my money and all they're doing is paying off the interest on their national debt. Doesn't help you or me any. I'm looking to be educated on how I can give big brother the big finger next year.

Just be happy they only took 18%. I would gladly do that every year!

 

[Kak]

For the most part, not paying taxes = not making money.

Exactly.

Write offs, deductions, expensing (whatever you call them) are there to make sure that you only count the actual income from a business, not more.

If you sell 10 million worth of shrimp in a given year, and spend...
-2.5 million on boat fuel
-1 million on insurance
-1.5 million on employees and benefits
-650k on boat slips
-1 million on maintaining
-500k on depreciation of the boats
-850k worth of random credit card business expenses

You made- $2,000,000 in net income. Depending on your tax election, you pay taxes on that $2,000,000 in some form or fashion. Whether it remains corporate or flows through.

End of story. That’s why you keep track of what you spent money on to run the business and try to stay organized.

After that, there are personal deductions if you exceed the standard deduction.

So basically the people who “write everything off” and “don’t pay taxes” because of it, are probably running up that random expense category full of personal shit and are actually filing fraudulent tax returns.

Now, if you want to LEGALLY pay less taxes. Your only two options are make less money or move. From a high tax state to a low tax state. From the mainland states to Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands. Or immigrate to a country with lower taxes and renounce.

 

[CareCPA]

Exactly.

Write offs, deductions, expensing (whatever you call them) are there to make sure that you only count the actual income from a business, not more.

If you sell 10 million worth of shrimp in a given year, and spend...
-2.5 million on boat fuel
-1 million on insurance
-1.5 million on employees and benefits
-650k on boat slips
-1 million on maintaining
-500k on depreciation of the boats
-850k worth of random credit card business expenses

You made- $2,000,000 in net income. Depending on your tax election, you pay taxes on that $2,000,000 in some form or fashion. Whether it remains corporate or flows through.

End of story. That’s why you keep track of what you spent money on to run the business and try to stay organized.

After that, there are personal deductions if you exceed the standard deduction.

So basically the people who “write everything off” and “don’t pay taxes” because of it, are probably running up that random expense category full of personal shit and are actually filing fraudulent tax returns.

Now, if you want to LEGALLY pay less taxes. Your only two options are make less money or move. From a high tax state to a low tax state. From the mainland states to Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands. Or immigrate to a country with lower taxes and renounce.

I always tell people that if they want to lower their taxable income, I will happily increase my fees and take on the tax burden for them.

So far, zero people have taken me up on that offer.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Wow, if 18% is triggering, wait until you start paying 50%.

Well, I'm exaggerating, actually I only pay 45% in income taxes. But I'm sure with sales taxes, property taxes, telecom taxes, and gas taxes I'm in way above 50%.

A business does help, but a "write off" only reduces the net owed. Moreover, it makes no sense to trivially spend $1 now so I can save 45 cents later on taxes.

 

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[Johnny boy]

No.

I mean, maybe you can get away with this for a bit, but foreign control rules have gotten a lot more strict over the last couple years. If you have control over a foreign corp, then all that income gets pulled back into the US. You even put "owner" in quotes, do you think the IRS won't see right through it?

Further, if you don't report it and the government finds out, penalties start at $10k per missed filing (plus the penalties and interest you'll face on the tax itself).

Are there ways around it? Maybe, but you'd probably have to have a pretty high income for the compliance costs to make sense.

got it, thanks!

 

[eliquid]

I just filed my taxes and still feel robbed. They took 18% of my money and all they're doing is paying off the interest on their national debt. Doesn't help you or me any. I'm looking to be educated on how I can give big brother the big finger next year.

Popcorn gif

 

[Kal-El1998]

I just filed my taxes and still feel robbed. They took 18% of my money and all they're doing is paying off the interest on their national debt. Doesn't help you or me any. I'm looking to be educated on how I can give big brother the big finger next year.

 

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[ljean]

For the most part, not paying taxes = not making money.

I will likely owe around 300-large next month...

 

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[Kak]

Just be happy they only took 18%. I would gladly do that every year!

Yeah, I’d promise to be a total bootlicker for an 18% federal tax rate.

 

[socaldude]

Long gone are my days where I used to get my $1,300 tax refund.

Now I wait until the very last day on the tax deadline to pay Uncle Sam. Present value of money.

 

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[Kung Fu Steve]

How Many Of You Guys Pay Virtually Nothing In Taxes Due To Write Offs?​

Nice try, IRS.

 

[CJRealEstate]

I'm not understanding how buying a house at the end of the year lowers your income level?

Unless you are talking about taking depreciation from cost aggregation study fully in the first year. By your RE handle I assume that you are a real estate professional.

Yes, I am a real estate investor /agent. I’ll try to help explain. This doesn’t factor in depreciation fully in the year though. I operate a few LLCs taxed as an S Corp. I usually am set up for a salary at a percentage income tax level. I add up rents and sales income around October. I Figure out if the year ends like it is going now I will show a profit of let’s say 500k. I will owe around 20% which should be 100k. Option 1 I can 1031 exchange into a larger property and roll taxes down the line as some have stated. Option 2 I can go buy two 200k houses before the end of the year. This would take my taxable business pass through income owed from 100k down to 20k. Not including other expenses. So instead of paying 100k I can get two houses, which would be be my goal the entire time. Since the bank won’t loan I’d just pay cash. I do get the years of depreciation after I buy. I believe it’s 27.5 years I might be wrong on exact figures. I can then go to the bank and pull 70 percent back out to use for more investment properties. That should be about 280k minus closing cost. It reduces taxes gives me more equity, depreciation increase, more rental income, a cash out refi, and the ability to acquire more properties. Hopefully this explains a little better. I know there are multiple strategies, but for my situation this works well for my goals.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I found this incredibly helpful in determining potential moves for myself.

State Business Tax Climate Index - Tax Foundation

The State Business Tax Climate Index is a measure of how well states structure their tax systems. It enables policymakers, business leaders, and taxpayers to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare, and provides a roadmap for improvement.

statetaxindex.org

 

[Kak]

Depends on the moral perspective.

One could make a utilitarian argument for the moral imperative of a moderate level of taxation. One simplistic argument: There is a component of "the greater good" to be had from a certain level of government (roads, shared defense, a working judiciary) and it follows then, from taxation.

A duty based ethical framework (ask not what your country can do for you...) can also support the morality of taxation, even if you slap a statist label on this argument, it doesn't negate the ethical or moral approach of it.

Of course there are other duty based moral arguments which oppose taxation. Perhaps there is no one size fits all approach, which is why I chuckled when I read "100% correct".

I subscribe to the belief that paying taxes is an imperative. "Render unto Caesar", to me, is a cut and dry take on it.

And as a Christian it is obvious to me Jesus wouldn't advocate falling victim to a sinful act, so no, taxation is not and cannot be theft as theft is a sinful act.

So I would pay 30% or 5% or 60% if that was the law of the land. Not because I'm a statist, rather because God said to, which is my basis for morality. No gun to my head needed.

I could quote other scripture, or even explore the moral distinction between the imperatives "render unto Caesar" vs "render unto God" but the forum bans religious discussion, so I'll keep this focused on the moral question more generally.

How much would I pay if it was voluntary? Probably none and then I'd vote to oust the politicians who put that lunacy in place.

I believe there is an "optimal" level of tax, I believe the right of a government to levy taxation is biblical, legal, and just, and I believe it takes a God level brain to calculate exactly what that optimum level is.

As a citizen in a representative democracy, I'll vote for people who want to lower my taxes, and I vote against those who believe we should eliminate them. I look on the latter with suspicion. All else equal, if I had to choose between someone promising a moderate increase in taxes vs someone who wants to eliminate the IRS and abolish income tax, I'd vote for the former and consider them the more honest and level headed of the two. (Which is not to say politicians are actually honest or level headed).

I respect that others have different moral codes, but I can easily make a few cogent moral arguments in favor of taxation.



I've learned some US income/cap gains taxes can be legally avoided*. Ironically enough, by dying.

Here's a simplistic example.

Take an appreciating asset (say a portfolio of stocks or real estate). Let's say it's worth $10M. Borrow against it, say a line of credit of $5M. Live on the $5M for the rest of your life as the $10M asset(s) continue to appreciate.

Die.

Upon death, the basis in your asset(s) goes to current market rate. With the stepped up basis, a sale generates no, or at most a negligible, taxable event. Your heirs/estate can sell without income/cap gains tax and pay off the loan. The outstanding loan amount lowers the value of the overall estate so you may be able to avoid some/all death tax as well, depending on the size of the estate and other factors.

*Usual disclaimers for not being a tax expert, this is just an illustration, this is not tax advice, there are many many risks inherent in this example which are not discussed, it's probably a dumb idea, good luck finding a bank to do a perpetual line of credit, consult your professionals, yadda yadda, it's at least possible...

I’m going to try to pick this apart a little. Your line of beliefs isn’t the monopoly on Christian thought.

The Bible isn’t a binary book, it has tons of gray area… Literally the majority of how people choose to live by the scripture is interpretation. That’s what your opinion is… Interpretation. Just like a plethora of other interpretation.

You read- Render unto Cesar what is Cesar’s.

You interpret- It is morally good to pay taxes. And somehow not theft.

I interpret- Jesus saying yes, I understand your objection to the theft of your assets, but you shouldn’t place your hopes in your own resources anyway. This government currency is literally nothing compared to God. It was almost dismissive of the concept of government money. He is saying “give him what’s his.” Not because it’s moral, but almost a “who cares in the scheme of things.” I read it like… Stay out of trouble with them because you have work to do with me.

Let me be clear. One can easily obey that scripture, to the word written, and just pay their taxes… Like I do… While simultaneously knowing exactly what it is, theft.

The context of that is that Cesar was the person minted on the coin. It was government issued currency of the day. The tax collectors at the time were crooked and kept a lot of the money for themselves. It was clearly theft, yet Jesus, in response employed, basically, the “turn the other cheek.”

Joseph unjustly became a slave, was imprisoned unjustly, and was led to be the best slave and prisoner he could be. Do the best with your circumstances. He became some kind of governor thereafter. Does that make somehow his enslavement moral? No.

And before you go straight to Romans 13, like you always do… It says to submit, not agree with, not stay put under oppressive regimes and be oppressed. The Bible doesn’t preclude someone from desiring better out of their government. It basically once again says stay out of trouble because you have more important work to do.

The Bible is FULL of battles and wars between God’s people and unjust governing authorities. So it’s not going to simultaneously tell the warring people to both war and to submit to authority. There is once again gray area

Nehemiah 5 discusses oppressive taxation to the point where people were mortgaging their homes and still not coming up with enough taxes. It literally defines taxation as slavery. Theft of one’s labor and life.

Moses skirted the law when they were killing the babies. Jesus, Mary and Joseph fled Herod and his oppressive regime. It’s a pretty common theme of the Bible that human government sucks.

Taxation is 100% theft. Stealing half of what one puts into the world is oppression. We are all victims of theft. Choosing between losing what freedom I have or surrendering my money, doesn’t make it much of a choice. There is nothing voluntary about it. Render unto Caesar doesn’t change that.

Even Samuel in Chapter 8 warns of a human kingdom. The people evidently wanted to be ruled. In 8:17 he flat out tells them you will end up being the king’s servants if you do this. Basically, he was telling the people they are choosing the wrong god, a human.

The way we address modern human government is verging on false idol worship. Most people have replaced God with government. There is a reason golden statues are a problem LOL.

I can easily justify my questioning of human authority with my Christian faith.

 

[CareCPA]

Okay okay cool I see a lot of “make less money” but let’s talk about this

can a foreign company avoid paying taxes on income it gets online?

can that company pay for things in America with a foreign bank account?

can that company offer “consulting” services to the tune of about 150,000 or more per year to a lawn care company in Washington state?

can I just so happen to own that foreign company?

or

can I hire someone who lives in the Cayman Islands to be the “owner” of that business, and I have access to all banking information, so the money is charged to the Cayman Islands business which makes hundreds of thousands and pays no taxes, my business breaks even, and the Cayman Islands business bank account pays for everything.

No.

I mean, maybe you can get away with this for a bit, but foreign control rules have gotten a lot more strict over the last couple years. If you have control over a foreign corp, then all that income gets pulled back into the US. You even put "owner" in quotes, do you think the IRS won't see right through it?

Further, if you don't report it and the government finds out, penalties start at $10k per missed filing (plus the penalties and interest you'll face on the tax itself).

Are there ways around it? Maybe, but you'd probably have to have a pretty high income for the compliance costs to make sense.

 

[Tom.V]

After the "new" tax news, I'm looking forward to seeing more of you guys down in the Caribbean

 

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[Johnny boy]

Okay okay cool I see a lot of “make less money” but let’s talk about this

can a foreign company avoid paying taxes on income it gets online?

can that company pay for things in America with a foreign bank account?

can that company offer “consulting” services to the tune of about 150,000 or more per year to a lawn care company in Washington state?

can I just so happen to own that foreign company?

or

can I hire someone who lives in the Cayman Islands to be the “owner” of that business, and I have access to all banking information, so the money is charged to the Cayman Islands business which makes hundreds of thousands and pays no taxes, my business breaks even, and the Cayman Islands business bank account pays for everything.

 

[eliquid]

I still got popcorn folks, please keep these rolling in.

 

[Tom.V]

When you get to the franchise phase, you could do the “move to PR” as the business would be providing services outside of PR and qualify for the super low tax rate. Not tax free, but super low and you only have to spend so many days there, half a year or something @Kak ?

You could do it before if you structure things properly. The Export Services Tax Incentive Puerto Rico Guide For Businesses | Relocate to Puerto Rico

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

If anyone interested, there's a webinar tomorrow to discuss proposed changes to tax policy in the new admin for US citizens.

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Putting President Biden’s Corporate Tax Agenda in Context. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

On the campaign trail, President Joe Biden proposed several changes to the corporate income tax, including raising the rate from 21 percent to 28 percent and imposing a 15 percent minimum tax on the book income of large corporations. Join us for a timely virtual discussion to learn more about...

us02web.zoom.us

 

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[GlobalWealth]

No.

I mean, maybe you can get away with this for a bit, but foreign control rules have gotten a lot more strict over the last couple years. If you have control over a foreign corp, then all that income gets pulled back into the US. You even put "owner" in quotes, do you think the IRS won't see right through it?

Further, if you don't report it and the government finds out, penalties start at $10k per missed filing (plus the penalties and interest you'll face on the tax itself).

Are there ways around it? Maybe, but you'd probably have to have a pretty high income for the compliance costs to make sense.

Chris is correct, you cannot do this the way you have outlined it @Johnny boy .

That doesn't mean there aren't legal options for you to minimize your taxes and tax rate by using an offshore structure.

For example, you can run your business operations thru a zero-tax offshore structure that is a 100% owned subsidiary of a US c-corp.

Under the CFC and GILTI tax rules, 100% of the foreign subs profits would pass thru to the US c-corp owner, but you'd only pay 10.5% corporate tax. If your c-corp was formed in a zero tax state, like WY, then you'd owe no state tax (this is assuming you have no nexus in a taxed state, if so you'd owe state corporate tax in that state).

Of course, you'd personally pay taxes on the qualified dividends you'd receive, however you can retain earnings tax deferred indefinitely inside the c-corp.

There are other strategies as well that could blend with this, for example you can establish a DBP (defined benefit plan) and contribute 6 figures (based on your personal salary) that would reduce your taxable income (like an ira).

If your business met some specific criteria, it could also be possible to defer income in the offshore company, but these are quite narrow.

 

[GlobalWealth]

Exactly.

Write offs, deductions, expensing (whatever you call them) are there to make sure that you only count the actual income from a business, not more.

If you sell 10 million worth of shrimp in a given year, and spend...
-2.5 million on boat fuel
-1 million on insurance
-1.5 million on employees and benefits
-650k on boat slips
-1 million on maintaining
-500k on depreciation of the boats
-850k worth of random credit card business expenses

You made- $2,000,000 in net income. Depending on your tax election, you pay taxes on that $2,000,000 in some form or fashion. Whether it remains corporate or flows through.

End of story. That’s why you keep track of what you spent money on to run the business and try to stay organized.

After that, there are personal deductions if you exceed the standard deduction.

So basically the people who “write everything off” and “don’t pay taxes” because of it, are probably running up that random expense category full of personal shit and are actually filing fraudulent tax returns.

Now, if you want to LEGALLY pay less taxes. Your only two options are make less money or move. From a high tax state to a low tax state. From the mainland states to Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands. Or immigrate to a country with lower taxes and renounce.

There are more than 2 options, although those are 2 great ones.

There are several options, but much of it depends on your level of income and personal situation.

For example, real estate investors can dramatically minimize or even eliminate their tax burden with some very careful planning.

You can move to another country without renouncing and easily eliminate your US tax bill on your first $150k (ish), and there are ways to defer offshore as well, but that would depend on your personal preferences and income level.

If you are not from the US (basically any country other than the US can do this), you can move from your home country and give up your tax residency, then arbitrage your residency and company structure and be completely tax free in most cases (sorry @Kak, only for non-US persons).

If you have a growing company and you plan to sell it in the near term (2-5 years), you can "sell" the company to an offshore PPLI (private placement life insurance) policy and pay immediate capital gains on a much lower valuation, then the PPLI sells the company at a later date and pays no tax on the company sale, and you can draw tax free loans from your policy until you die (assuming of course the amount was high enough).

You could setup a personal LLC, create a DBP and fund it with up to $250k per year (depending on your income level), and that money would be invested like a 401k or ira tax deferred.

Your PR and USVI options are also great for Americans as long as you meet the criteria. I've had many clients do this in the past couple of years to realize huge crypto gains.

 

[AceVentures]

The way to avoid taxation is through cryptocurrency. You should ask @AceVentures about it.

I suspect there will be a lot of money to be made in the 1-2 years before regulations.

Wtf... what's your deal guy?

Just to be clear: I do not advocate tax evasion, and my interest in this space has got nothing to do with such behavior.

@DoingDeals I keep repeating this to you but getting tired quickly - you need to educate yourself if you're interested in crypto/NFTs.

Please refrain from tagging me in incriminating suggestions.

 

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[BizyDad]

Listening to the Kyle Keegan Radio Show & it will convince anyone taxation is theft.

100% correct, taxation is theft from a morality perspective, or at least income tax.

Depends on the moral perspective.

One could make a utilitarian argument for the moral imperative of a moderate level of taxation. One simplistic argument: There is a component of "the greater good" to be had from a certain level of government (roads, shared defense, a working judiciary) and it follows then, from taxation.

A duty based ethical framework (ask not what your country can do for you...) can also support the morality of taxation, even if you slap a statist label on this argument, it doesn't negate the ethical or moral approach of it.

Of course there are other duty based moral arguments which oppose taxation. Perhaps there is no one size fits all approach, which is why I chuckled when I read "100% correct".

I subscribe to the belief that paying taxes is an imperative. "Render unto Caesar", to me, is a cut and dry take on it.

And as a Christian it is obvious to me Jesus wouldn't advocate falling victim to a sinful act, so no, taxation is not and cannot be theft as theft is a sinful act.

So I would pay 30% or 5% or 60% if that was the law of the land. Not because I'm a statist, rather because God said to, which is my basis for morality. No gun to my head needed.

I could quote other scripture, or even explore the moral distinction between the imperatives "render unto Caesar" vs "render unto God" but the forum bans religious discussion, so I'll keep this focused on the moral question more generally.

How much would I pay if it was voluntary? Probably none and then I'd vote to oust the politicians who put that lunacy in place.

I believe there is an "optimal" level of tax, I believe the right of a government to levy taxation is biblical, legal, and just, and I believe it takes a God level brain to calculate exactly what that optimum level is.

As a citizen in a representative democracy, I'll vote for people who want to lower my taxes, and I vote against those who believe we should eliminate them. I look on the latter with suspicion. All else equal, if I had to choose between someone promising a moderate increase in taxes vs someone who wants to eliminate the IRS and abolish income tax, I'd vote for the former and consider them the more honest and level headed of the two. (Which is not to say politicians are actually honest or level headed).

I respect that others have different moral codes, but I can easily make a few cogent moral arguments in favor of taxation.

two things are certain: death and taxes.

Edit: you can optimize for tax or delay it, but never avoid it.

I've learned some US income/cap gains taxes can be legally avoided*. Ironically enough, by dying.

Here's a simplistic example.

Take an appreciating asset (say a portfolio of stocks or real estate). Let's say it's worth $10M. Borrow against it, say a line of credit of $5M. Live on the $5M for the rest of your life as the $10M asset(s) continue to appreciate.

Die.

Upon death, the basis in your asset(s) goes to current market rate. With the stepped up basis, a sale generates no, or at most a negligible, taxable event. Your heirs/estate can sell without income/cap gains tax and pay off the loan. The outstanding loan amount lowers the value of the overall estate so you may be able to avoid some/all death tax as well, depending on the size of the estate and other factors.

*Usual disclaimers for not being a tax expert, this is just an illustration, this is not tax advice, there are many many risks inherent in this example which are not discussed, it's probably a dumb idea, good luck finding a bank to do a perpetual line of credit, consult your professionals, yadda yadda, it's at least possible...

 

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[Antifragile]

Paul was both a rich man & a poor man, but he was always happy in life.

I wonder how much he paid in taxes.

Wait a minute, how did this become a religion thread?

There are three things too dangerous to debate:
1. Religion
2. politics
3. Real estate

That’s my opinion and I’m sticking with it.

 

[biophase]

Wow, if 18% is triggering, wait until you start paying 50%.

Well, I'm exaggerating, actually I only pay 45% in income taxes. But I'm sure with sales taxes, property taxes, telecom taxes, and gas taxes I'm in way above 50%.

A business does help, but a "write off" only reduces the net owed. Moreover, it makes no sense to trivially spend $1 now so I can save 45 cents later on taxes.

Yeah, he will be complaining like a MF later. High taxes definitely helped me make my decision to close some of my lower profitability businesses.

 

[CareCPA]

This still doesn't sound correct to me. You can't just go purchase a home and subtract its purchase price from your income. If this was the case, everyone would be doing this every year. But, I'll wait until someone who knows more than me to chime in @CareCPA.

Are you in the United States?

Assuming he is in the US, I am not aware of any situation where you could take a full deduction for buying a house in the year you buy it.

There are two scenarios:

Scenario 1. You buy and hold for rental. In this case, the cost of the house is depreciated over 27.5 years based on when it is placed in service. So if you buy a house December 2020, spend 6 months renovating it, and it's available to rent in June 2021, then depreciation does not begin until June 2021. No deduction for this house in 2020.

Scenario 2. You are a flipper. In this case, the house is treated as inventory. You get no deduction until you sell the house, in which case it is factored in to calculate your profit.
Example: buy a house December 2020 for $50k, put $70k in renovations into it over 6 months, sell for $200k in June 2021.
In this case, no deductions in 2020, profit in 2021 of $200 - 50 - 70 = $80k

 

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[Envision]

I still don't understand. When you go purchase a home, it's not a business expense. So how does your income go from $500k down to $100k by buying $400k in real estate?

You might be missing out on depreciation. You should look up The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2017, rules on bonus depreciation.

This, maxing out bonus depreciation on equipment and cost seg studies on real estate is the only way ive found to lower taxable income significantly..

Its a catch 22 though because to buy the depreciable real estate or equipment you need to have the cash to foot it and in an inventory based business that can be difficult. Merging commercial real estate with high income from a business is probably your best bet to legally lower your tax burden.

 

[DoingDeals]

You've all failed we should've stuck to the plan & elected Ted Cruz he was going to eliminate the IRS back then.

 

[DoingDeals]

"In 1874, England made income tax a permanent levy on its citizens. In 1913, an income tax became permanent in the United States with the adoption of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. At one time, Americans were anti-tax. It had been the excessive tax on tea that led to the famous Tea Party in Boston Harbor, an incident that helped ignite the Revolutionary War. It took approximately 50 years in both England and the United States to sell the idea of a regular income tax.

What these historical dates fail to reveal is that both of these taxes were initially levied against only the rich. It was this point that rich dad wanted Mike and me to understand. He explained that the idea of taxes was made popular, and accepted by the majority, by telling the poor and the middle class that taxes were created only to punish the rich. This is how the masses voted for the law, and it became constitutionally legal. Although it was intended to punish the rich, in reality it wound up punishing the very people who voted for it, the poor and middle class.

"Once government got a taste of money, the appetite grew," said rich dad. "Your dad and I are exactly opposite. He's a government bureaucrat, and I am a capitalist. We get paid, and our success is measured on opposite behaviors. He gets paid to spend money and hire people. The more he spends and the more people he hires, the larger his organization becomes. In the government, the larger his organization, the more he is respected. On the other hand, within my organization, the fewer people I hire and the less money I spend, the more I am respected by my investors. That's why I don't like government people. They have different objectives from most business people. As the government grows, more and more tax dollars will be needed to support it."" -Rich Dad Poor Dad