I have been doing business since 1989. Started with the strengthening of the entrance doors in a Moscow apartment. Then there were a lot of different directions: wholesale trade of grain, electricity and newsprint paper (famous in the early 90s, offsets…), the representation of the pulp and paper mill, food imports, commercial real estate in Moscow – and this is not a complete list…
10 years later, at the end of the last century I became acquainted with the philosophy of Ron Hubbard. It deeply affected all aspects of my life. But if we talk about the business, the most significant and severe change from acquaintance with the works of Hubbard looks like – I became very careful to comply with all laws and even more carefully to pay all the taxes. Why? Because I realized that not only is it right and safe, but beneficial…
I always felt that way, but thanks to the work of this philosopher for the first time I really realized how we ourselves do weaker, if you start something from somebody to hide.
For example, if I gave a significant part of the salary “in envelopes”, the cashing out money for 5%; or have sold anything, understating the price according to the documents, and the rest took unreported cash. Arithmetically this is significantly more profitable than working “in a forehead”, according to the law. But life is not arithmetic! When we start to hide something from someone (in this case, the state and its officials), then, apart from the obvious arithmetic consequences, 2 things:
1. we spend attention to, to hide it, which means we have less free attention to the creative activity of making money;
2. we become vulnerable. We got to catch up, to blackmail, to frighten, to punish, etc even if we are not caught and not punished, we still keep the potential.
To handle this, or prevent, we have to spend forces and energy: to second books, to store data in remote locations, depend on those who know about it, etc. So we become less effective. And if you count the money, what does this decrease efficiency, it turns out that the losses outweigh those of the arithmetic advantages from breaking the law…
The moment when I realized this was a turning point in the way of doing business – I generally no longer anything to break. Someone thinks that it’s stupid or even impossible. And he makes it in arithmetic calculations. But he misses a very important factor is the decrease in efficiency.
On the figures it might look like. The company’s turnover 1.000.000 R. Company breaks the law (banks the money, pays the black z.p. etc) – and as a result the total taxes can be reduced, for example, up to 20%. If this company starts to work on the forehead, ie 100% white, the total tax increase, for example, up to 50%. Yes, it is. But (and this is a few understand until you study the philosophy of Hubbard), starting to work in white, due to efficiency, increased turnover, for example, 5 times. And now count, what is better: to earn 1.000.000 R and R 200.000 pay taxes, or earn 5.000.000 R and pay 2.500.000 R taxes?
Add to this the quiet life, no need to fear anyone, do not have anything to hide – and You get the full picture. For the past 16 years I have opened several consulting projects. And explain this simple logic to many hundreds of entrepreneurs and executives. Most of them understood and changed the style of doing business. They have to pay more taxes!
And as a result, not only they, but all our government has become richer from this!
What I like about this philosophy – everyone wins!
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