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TRUMP UNIVERSITY WEALTH BUILDING 101

Having control over your tax bill can make a great difference in your
life and put you on the road to wealth, but you can’t take the first step if

you’re not willing to take action and control the amount of income you now
lose every year to unnecessary taxes. You can reduce your tax bill signifi cantly,
but you’ve got to do the work—nobody is going to do that for you.
For most people, realizing that they are, indeed, in control of their taxes
is the hard part. It’s much easier to blame the problem on someone else. If
you don’t believe me, think about what I’m saying for a minute, and then ask
yourself this question: “What have I done this year to reduce my tax bill?”
It continues to amaze me just how little we know about taxes. Most tax-
payers focus almost exclusively on income taxes, and ignore the rest. Most

Americans actually look forward to filing their taxes annually because “tax
time” means refunds, and refunds mean fun. We take vacations with refunds.
We pay down debt. We send the children to school. We splurge on the latest,
state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment. I’m asked frequently, “How can I get
a larger refund?” Well, the answer is simple, “Pay in more money.” The more
you pay in; the more you stand to get back. That’s the simple mathematical
formula accepted by millions of taxpayers. Yet, they’re overlooking something
very important: A refund is money that you already paid the government.
You should be asking this question instead:

How can I pay in less money—and legally keep more of the money I earn?

This chapter is geared toward helping you get enough of a working
knowledge about taxes that you can come up with a better strategy than “Pay
in more money” to increase your annual refund. Most people don’t under-
stand taxes, so let’s start with some of the basic facts. Take the following quiz

to assess your knowledge of taxes and find out whether you are maximizing
your potential deductions. By giving yourself a business check-up, you can
keep more of your hard-earned dollars, rather than giving them unnecessarily
to your Uncle Sam. ( To download your Tax Quiz, visit www.trumpuniversity.
com /wealthbuilding101 .)

Downloadable Exhibit 18.1 Tax Quiz*
1. When determining your deductible costs for business use of a car, the 2006
standard business mileage rate for passenger automobiles is:
a. $1 per mile
b. .25 per mile
c. .35 per mile
d. .445 per mile

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