What to Learn from Your 2011 Income Tax Declaration
By Carlos Eduardo de Athayde Guimaraes
For those who do not already have a basic tool for personal financial planning, here’s a tip: Now that you’ve done your income tax return and the government already knows more about your financial life than you, utilise this information for your personal management.
First, your assets and liabilities are listed in your return as property, rights, expenses and obligations; so balance your books and plan what should happen with each item during the next fiscal year. Decide if you want to dispose of any property, change applications in investment funds, diversify your stocks and shares further, reduce debt, etc.
You would be smart to plan for a growth of, for example, 20% in your estate’s net worth and create a one-year strategy to achieve it. Remember that your receipts are also described in your return, so see how you can use them without consuming them all with your living costs. Learn from the government and note that part of your income is taxed at source, that is to say, the government already takes part of it before you start spending. So protect your money from yourself and put another 10% in your savings account before you start spending.
There is no investment without money, nor money without saving, and saving is the act of not consuming!
Carlos Eduardo de Athayde Guimaraes has a Master’s Degree in Finance and is a professor and financial director for FESP-PR.
