Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-04-17
THE INCOME TAX
No Data Yet for an Estimate of the
Amount.
MANY FAILED TO MAKE RETURNS
These Will Be Proceeded Against
at Once.
BUSY TIME FOR OFFICIALS

Commissioner Miller of the internal rev.
enue bureau says that the data on hand
in regard to the income tax returns is not
| sufficiently complete to give any adequate
idea of the extent ef the returns. He has
received many kilograms on the subject
| from collectors in all parts of the country,
but they far from being complete. In
| the opinion of the bureau officers 1t will be
| impossible to learn the precise extent of the
returns until the full mail reports of the
collectors of the entire slxtytwo districts
shall have been received and scheduled.
Returns received at the main offices of the
collectors have not all been entered in their
books yet, and in some of the offices where
large numbers were received by mail Mon
day the envelopes have not all been OPEN
ed. There are also many thousands of re-
turns in all of the principal districts still
in the hands Of deputy collectors, and it
will probably be the end of this week or
later before anything like an approximate
estimate of the number of returns render
ed can be made.
Failed to Make Returns.
Although not officially admitted there is
reason for the belief that the returns in
many of the principal districts show that a
large number of persons with taxable in
comes have failed to make the requisite re-
turns Of their incomes to the collectors.
The proportion of these to the whole num-
Der liable to the tax is by some placed as
high as ten per cent. This state of things
is something of a surprise to the officials al
though 1t was expected that the division of
the Supreme Court on the conStitutionality
of the tax as whole would have the eff
feet of discrediting 1t with large number
of taxpayers, who would take the risk of
fha N
make their returns. This assumption has
been proved to have been correct, and the
result must necessarily be assessment
OF the penalty in a large number of cases,
as the officials, no doubt, will strictly en-
force the act SO long it remains the law
of the land.
Steps to Enforce the Penalty.
1t is 'sad at the treasury that as soon
as the facts are known steps will be taken
to enforce the penalty provisions of the
law against all delinquents. They say
that the taxpayers who are disposed to
contest the law can take their choice of
two courses. They can pay the tax under
protest and bring suit for its recovery or
they can refuse to pay and contest the
proceedings of the revenue officers to col
lect by dstraint
No new estimates have been made as to
the amount that will be received in view
of the decision of the court eXempting
municipal bonds, but it is now generally
believed in the Treasury Department that
the decision has cut off at least one-half
of the tax even IL the parts of the law
not declared unconstitutional can be en-
forced. No definite figures will be made on
this point until all of the returns have
been received and tabulated.
A Busy Time Expected.
Although the tax for 1894 is not payable
until after July l next, the amount of 1t
will be known approximately as soon as
the returns SO far submitted have been
examined. The work of tabulating these
returns, looking up delinquents and pre-
Earring assessments uron all known tax
able incomes will keep the entire internal
revenue force extremely busy from now
On, and especially so about the 1st of July,
when the tax collections will begin.
The Falling or.
1t is estimated by some who have been
observing the unofficial reports concerning
the returns in other cities, that the COM
pleted returns will show a falling off of
at least fifty per cent from the original
estimate of the treasury officials. Internal
revenue districts numbers one and three of
New York comprise the entire cities of
New York and Brooklyn, and are under
charge of Collector Sullivan and Collector
GTasse, respectively. These officials are
quoted as reporting the entire number of
returns received at 1S,0O0, which indicates
a large number of delinquents, 1t having
been estimated that there are fully forty
thousand persons in the two cities receiv-
ing incomes of $1,000 or more year.
Among other delinquents is the Standard
Oil Company which relies on the Supreme
Court decision, eXempting incomes derived
from ground rent. The oil people declare
their produce is the direct output of the
soil and must be classed as rent
In, 1a6n IL
returns received that there were only 1000
persons receiving incomes of $1,000 or more
a year.
The amount of tax received by the gov
ernment may not be more than half as
much as Secretary Carlisle expected to get,
while some say it will not exceed sl0OOO,OOo.
The Washington Office.
The officials of the local office were very
10th to say anything today with reference
to the collection of the income tax in this
city. Rather, they said there was really
nothing to say about the work in addition
to what has already been said in print.
There has been big let up in the work of
the office since Monday night, and the
deputy had practically no visitors in his
little cage today. In answer to a question
from Star reporter this afternoon Deputy
Collector Clagett said that there was no
way of telling how large a proportion of
Washington's eligibles had accepted the in
vitation to step up to the purser's desk and
shell out. Mr. Clagett said that a number
of the returns had been filled out and sent
al once to the Baltimore office. This he
knew, but how large the number was he
does not know. Until the Baltimore office
is heard from on the subject-whfch may
not be for several days yet--it will be i'm
possible to make more than guess as to
how large the delinquent lists will be in
this city. He said that so far as he could
judge there had not been any general at
haTe fn ba
admitted that this opinion was based from
the number and bearing of those who did
make returns rather than of those who
stayed away.
One Granted: Four Denied.
The President fas granted a pardon in
the case of Simeon E. Cook, convicted in