New Orleans Republican., 1875-11-17

Report of the Csmm,ssioner of Internai
Revenue.
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue
mas completed his report for the fiscal year
ended June 30. 1875. The document is very
voiuminous. The commissioner says It
may be some consolation to know that
grievous as our burdens. laid upon such of
| our population, forty-tw0 millions or more,
as consume the articles taxed by our inter
bering less by one-fourth than our own
people, paid under their excise laws during
the year ending March 81, 1875, taxes
measured in gold to the amount of $l83..
962,756 against Sic, O,545, ,l54 paid in cur
rency BY the people Of this country during
| the fiscal year ended June 80, 1875.
The collections for the fiscal year ended
june 30. 1874, were $102. .644746; for the
year ended June 30. 1875, $llO, ,545, ,l54. The
increase during the last fiscal year ia owing
| IN part to the Increase of the duties laid by
tie act of March g. 1875, upon distilled
spirits, manufactured tobacco, cigars, cigar
ettes, and in part to taxes collected under
the laws repealed, extraordinary efforts
having been put forth to collect delinquent
| taxes due from banks and bankers, rail-
road and other corporations, aad taxes due
on incomes, legacies and successions.
| The number of distilleries registered du-
ring the year was 4736, and the number
| operated 4608 Of the lumber operated,
656 were grain distilleries, seven molasses
distilleres, and 3945 fruit distilicries. The
commissioner Gays public attention A.s.
been often called, within the past w
! months, to the extensive frauds commit. I'd
| in certain localities upon the revenue by
dislillers and rectifers of distilled spirits.
He gives an accounts. first, of the checks
guards and projections against frauds es-
tabl shed by law; second. OF the manner in
which the whisky frauds, so-called. lately
exposed, were perpetrated upon the gov
| ernment; third, the extent of these frauds;
fourth, the checks recently established to
| prevent recurrence of The same; and,
fifth, suggests legislation which. in his opin-
ION, is necessary to insure fuller collec-
tion in future of the taxes upon distilled
spirits.
The commissioner says, with regard to
the additional legislation required to en-
force the honest collection OF the tax on
distilled spirits: II give it as my opinion
| that the only law necessary is one that shall
make the requirements as stringent and the
penalties for defrauding the government as
severe in the case of the rectifier as they
are now in the case of the distiller. The
rectiier should be required to give bond
in an amount equal to the tax represented
by all the spirits he can possibly rectify
each month. The house and tract of land
upon which the establishment is located
should be forfeited to the United States in
|
to handle any spirits at his rectifying house
except those he purchases for rectifcation
and sells under reotifer's stamps. Under
the present system of detecting frauds, at
least thirty days must elapse before dis
covery could be made and guilt fixed. AS
the apparatus in a rectifying house capable
of refining the quantity of spirits upon
which the tax would amount to $lOO,O 900
month may not be worth more than $4,000,
it will readily be seen that under the
present law, which only fOrfets the appar-
atus and spirits owned by him at the time
of seizure, a rectifier may aid in defraudiDg
the government of Sl00, 900 and forfeit only
$4,000. By absconding to a foreign coun-
try he also escapes criminal punishment. 1
have also to suggest that the law now in
force in regard to the returns to be made
by rectifers is SO indefinite that some legis-
iation is needed to enforce the regulations
of the Commissioner. also think it would
be better if reotiiers, distillers and whole
sale LIQUOR dealers were required to make
transcripts of their books monthly, instead
of this labor being performed by local Off
cers, as it is at present. 1t would also re-
lieve officials of an immense amount of la
Dor, and would accomplish the most impor-
tant result of preventing the destruction of
books by parties about to be detected in
fraud. There would then be sworn copy
in this office that would always be admissi-
BILE evidence in courts against guilty parties.
81 am firmly OF the opinion that the pres
ent large tax upon distilled spirits can be
collected with but small loss. The opinion
is based upon the fact that every store
keeper, gauger and employe who is con-
nected with distillery where'fraud is per-
| petrated becomes pepsloner upon the
distiller. If, therefore, distillers be kept
under strict surveillance that the amount of
money gained by fraud is not sufficient to
pay large corp of officers and workmen in
| N
sumate fraud, they will, as a matter
| of policy, be honest. AS an indication
of the extent of the frauds above
described, I have the honor to report
that documentary evidence is in possession
of this office, which has warranted the seiz-
ure of twenty-tour distilleries and thirty.
seven rectifying houses, and implicated
over fifty United States gaugers and store
| keepers. This evidence also shows the issue
between July l, 1874, and May |, 1875. of
fraudulent spirits, by duplication, of 10000
packages, containing probably 100000
to the additional amount of 100000 proof
| gallons. This, of course, is but a portion
| of the fraud actually committed, but in
itself indicates the loss of tax to the gov
ernment in ten months of an amount not
less than 81, $50, ,0O0."
fermented liquors for the. fiscal year were
$9,l44,004. a decrease OF $l6O,6s5 as com.
pared with 1874. The number of brewers
manufacturing fermented liquors is 1884.
The commissioner expresses full conf
dence in the stamp system for the collection
of revenue.
The total receipts from tobacco were
$37 ,3O3, ,46l, an increase over lS1i of S4,060,-
536, and an increase over any previous fiscal
year of So ,9l7, 1913. The total amount of tax
collected on tobacco and snuff from Septem-
Der l, 1862, to June 80. 1875, is S225, ,356, ,2l9.
The total collections on cigars, cherOots and
cigarettes the same time is $6S, ,233. .2O6. 1t
is expected that during the current year the
assessments of tax on tobacco will be large
ly increased. The whole amount of taxes
assessed during the year was So, DOB; in
crease over the previous year, S3i4, ABS.
The quantity Of distilled spirits in ware
house July l, 1874, is IL ass, 1863 gallons; dis
titled spirits produced during the year,
60, 1880, 425 gallont; total, ,394; total
Withdrawn, s.. 1914 leaving in bond June
30, l075, l3,367 ,253. Spirits removed from
wAEehouee for export for the year ending
june 80. 1874, 4,060,l06 gallons, while only
1 50 ,4l3 gallons were thus removed during
the last fiscal year.
The quantity Of tobacco removed for ex-
povsation in bond without paying the taxes,
ai7s,SiS pounds, > decrease of l,62l,6ll
pounds.