The Portland daily press., 1895-03-22
CONCERNING THE INCOME TAX.

Mr.. Thomas Harland, who was deputy
commissioner of internal revenue for six
years during the war and. thereafter, and
who while in the department wrote
every legal opinion on questions arising
out of the old income tax law, makes
some interesting statements in the New
York Evening Post concerning the new
law. Mr.. Harland holds that the admin
istrative part of the law is very defective
collect the tax under 1t If people
stand upon their rights. In the first
place Mr.. Harland holds that the duties
which the statute imposes upon the
deputy collectors are precisely the same
as the old law imposed upon assistant
were of a character that could
only be performed hy United
States officers. The deputy col
lectors provided for in the new law are
not United States officers within the
meaning of the constitution, inasmuch
as they are appointed neither by the Pres
ident nor by courts of law nor by heads
of departments. and therefore cannot
constitntionally perform the functions
which the law attempts to clothe them
with. AS regards the collection of the
tax Mr. Harland holds that it is the duty
of the collector or deputy collector to
call at the residence or place of business
of every taxpayer for the purposes of
receiving his return and until this has
been done the taxpayer is under no obli-
CATION to send return to collector.
The language of the present statute on
this point is copied almost verbatim
from the old statute, and under that it
was the uniform holding of the internal
revenue office that the taxpayer incurred
no liability if he waited for the assessors
call before making his return. The
commissioner of internal revenue issued
every year instructions to his subordin-
ate officers for their guidance in the as
sessment of the annual taxes, and in the
instructions for the year 1866, the COM
missioner directs the assessors to cause
their assistants to proceed through their
districts Immediately after the first Mon
Gay in May Chat date, under the law
then in force, corresponding to the first
Monday in March, or the 18th of April
of the present law,) and to serve notice
on all persons not found, re-
uiring them to make return within ten
days thereafter. "This being DONE" say
the instructions "it becomes the duty of
| the taxpayer to seek the officer for the
purpose of making his return" Mr..
Garland says he has consulted many
lawyers on the subject.and finds them
all agreeing that the instructions re-
| ferred to were correct, and that the opin-
ion that the present commissioner is said
to have expressed that the taxpayer who
| does not hunt up the collector to submit
return incurs penalty of $1,000 is
founded on "a misinterpretation of the
law. Mr.. Harland points out other very
serious defects in the administrative
features of the law, and concludes that
the machinery for the collection of the
tax is very inefficient. The Post says
that many prominent law firms of New
York who have examined Mr.. Harland's IS
point of view consider his position well
taken and have accordingly advised their
clients to make no returns, Tut to await
the personal call OF the collector, and
then to leave to him the examination
and appraisement of their property. They
feel confident that if this course is pur-
sued the tax will not be levied or collect
ed until at least the law is amended.