The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-09-18
MUST OPEN
THEIR BOOKS.
FveryLocaI Firms
I. Accounts to Be
Exported.
IA. B. SCRlMGEOUR
THE INQUISITOR
Tax Assessor Pratt Wants to Clear
Up Ambiguous Tax
| Returns.


w made by business firms to Tax
n Assessor Jas. w. Pratt in re-
Spouse to the Income Tax Act passed by
the last legislature, indicating that the
| law as framed and presented to the
public has not been generally under
stood, the Tax Assessor has commits
countant, to go over the books of every
business firm in this city, That the
Act has not been understood in it's de-
tails by corporations has been evidenc-
ed by the manner in which the returns
have been sent in. Complex as was the
law itself, the returns made by bust
ness houses have been equally so, and
the result has been that the Tax As
SCISSOR has been impressed with the fact
| that to equalize matters an expert ac
countant duly commissioned to act for
the Tax Office, should inspect whatever
books are necessary to make the re-
turns correct.
| The fault does not entirely lie with
those who made the returns in every in
stance and Assessor Pratt desires to
believe that he is nstituting this new
method as a means to ferret out false
returns. This is farthest from his de-
sires and is only intended to put the
returns in proper shape so that the
assessments when levied, will be as
much equalized as possible.
, Section 7 of Act 90 of the Session
Laws OF 1901, relating to the Income
Tax law, reads as follows:
1T shall be the duty of every person
: or corporation doing business for profit
: to keep full, regular and accurate books
of accounts upon which all it's transac-
: lions shall be entered from day to day
in regular order, which books shall be
: open to the inspection of the Assessor
). of the Division or any person authoriz-
ed by him to inspect the same, during
: business hours.
THE appointment of Mr.. Scrimgeour,
y as an expert accountant" said Asses
sor Pratt yesterday, lis simply for the
purpose of going over the books of the
. corporations making returns on the In
: come Tax law. He will simply take
3 these returns, go to the firms with
them, and, with the assistance of mem
bers of the firms, go over the entire
Q matter in order that the forms which
= they have filled out may be corrected
! and entered according to the law.
' THE accountant can verify the re-
: turns and report on the same to me
= and whatever conclusion is reached by
!: him will be satisfactory to this office.
Whatever affairs of corporations are
= learned by Mr.. Scrimgeour in the
J. course of his inspection of books will
9 be treated as confidential by him and
>. this office as the returns already made
have been treated. The law gives US
the privilege of going over their books
= and their confidence will not be violated
:, in the least. The section preceding
I Section which 1 will publish in BY
: Authority provides that all books shall
be produced before the Assessor when
ever he shall demand them.
. II do not believe 1 will have to take
, an action of that sort in any case.
That would be only when a matter
: would have to be brought before the
= court for adjudication. That is the rea-
son / have employed an accountant.
: He will straighten out all wrinkles in
the returns. He is supposed to be alb
U solutely indifferent in the premises.
? Any obstacle that he meets will be
= reported to me and if L have not al
ready obtained a decision on the point
I shall consult with my attorneys.
This law in regard to the Income
: Tax returns is different from the law
relating to real and personal taxes
i. wherein 1t calls for the books to be open
! | for public inspection at any time. The
Income Tax law has no clause of that
kind and therefore matters will be kept
:; private.
lone feature of the rather jumbled
: way in which returns have been made
4 is in the fact that the return blanks
. were not properly made out Glass A
(which calls for the gross income, also
lcslls for net incomes. This is confus-
ling and in the next blanks to be printed
many of the requests for Information
will be dropped out. For instance
: where a request is made for All other
Iprofts. gains and income / intend tc
eliminate profits and gains which III
my opinion, is redundant. Those max
ling returns have had to be content WITH
: entering sums without an explanation
t accompanying it. With this explained
| to the accountant I am certain thai
many of the snarls will soon be I'M
!. ravelled.