If you have been following my business coach diaries blog for some time, and I hope you have, you probably have noticed that most of my articles are about happy things. I like to talk about successful mentors, being a business coach, positivity, overcoming obstacles and challenges, designing the life you want to live, and all things encouraging, educational and insightful into what I have learned throughout the week as a Thrivetime Show Business Coach. However, this blog is going to get dark and twisty. According to the Washington Post, Forbes, Mitt Romney, and countless published research shows that 47% of people don’t pay income tax. Let that sink in. I’ll wait while you pick your jaw up off the floor from utter dismay (this recently happened to me as well).
If you read further into this, you’ll find that some of this statistic may include the elderly, those who are disabled, veterans and those who legitimately need or have even earned assistance. That is not what this article is about.. Let’s talk about everyone else and how this applies to you as a business owner.
47% of people don’t pay income tax.
– The Washington Post
If there is a large statistic of people who do not pay income tax simply because they choose not to and somehow scam the government long enough to get away with it (until they don’t) why would they pay you? Why are you holding on to a $475,000.00 accounts receivable balance with false expectations that 90% of that will be collected? Can that happen? Sure. Will it? Not likely, unless you are one of the few. If a large number of Americans today are avoiding paying the inevitable tax, why are you any different?
The logic, as I can imagine as a business coach is typically not, “I haven’t paid my income tax in over three years but I definitely am going to pay my $1,639.57 outstanding balance at my dentist’s office because that really bothers me.” If you are invoicing, you must come to this realization that you will lose a very large amount of your earned revenue.
If you have ever listened to the Thrivetime Show Podcast, you know Clay Clark touches on this often. STOP INVOICING. STOP IT NOW! As a business coach, learning from Clay is invaluable and even life-changing. Then there are days he drops a knowledge bomb that completely transforms your outlook on the world (hello, Wednesday morning coaches meeting). The fact is, 47% of us don’t pay income taxes. Clay is reciting facts, not his opinion.
I will leave you with some positivity. I personally, absolutely love my sheltered life. I surround myself with people who may not enjoy paying their taxes, but do so because it is the legal, ethical, responsible thing adults do to avoid things like penalties and federal prison. To be honest with you, the people I interact with are incredible. I love my life and I love being shielded from the rest of the world like the able-bodied individuals who avoid paying taxes.
However, as unfortunate as it is, we must be aware of these startling statistics like, 47% of people do not pay income tax. Somehow, I have been living under a rock and had absolutely no idea of this. If you are invoicing your customers, you are me prior to Wednesday. You will not get paid in full if you invoice, deal with it or stop. Now I’ll go back to writing my happy, cheery blogs about success and sunshine with my like-minded people that I interact with every day.
