The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1914-12-31
MURPHY UNABLE TO ANSWER
ALL.
Revenue Collector Receives Stacks Of
Mail in Which He Finds Numcr.
GUS Inquiries Regarding Use
of Stamps.

GUS Inquiries Regarding Use
of Stamps.
| Louis Murphy, collector of inter-
nal revenue for Iowa, has issued a
statement reassuring to persons who
lnave applied for licenses and stamps
under the war revenue emergency
act.
81 take it for granted" says the
collector that there are several
thousand persons in Iowa ready to
testify that among Iowa's other needs
is collector of revenue who will
answer their letters. These people of
course have no conception of the vol
ume of work thrown upon the collcc-
tors Office It is pretty hard to de-
scribe it, can think Of no smile
better descriptive than to say it was
as though a flood had swept over
200 mics of country and deposited
all it's debris in my office.
For days sacks of mail went up
opened. Most urgent letters laid un-
attended to. Hundreds of letters ask
ing information haven't been answer
ed and there is no telling when they
will be. Four weeks, night, day and
Sunday twenty-five deputies have
been coping with the work. Needless
to say, they're all tired out, but stay
ing with the job nevertheless.
"The man who sent in his money
for license now wants to know why
he hasn't received it. The same with
the man who has ordered stamps.
Both may rest assured they'll get
what they ordered. All persons who
are subject to license tax-brokers,
commission merchants, theatre own
ers, tobacco dealers and bowling al
ley and pool table owners were wise
in getting forms on which to make re-
turns before December 81, because
thereby they may avoid penalty
Hundreds of correspondents raise
stamp the toilet articles he uses on
his customers, or sells to them?' He
must, of course. Are toilet soaps
taxable?' Such as are used as cos
metics must be. Must talcum pow
der be stampede 1t must. Send me
stamps for vanilla and lemon ex-
tracts, grocers write, thinking these
extracts taxable, whereas they are
not. What about perfume sell in
small bottles-do put the stamps on
them or on the larger bottle from
which l fill them?' The answer is,
in every case, on the container, with
contents, sold to the consumer.
1.-The question is raised, Does
! deed executed and delivered prior to
December l and presented for record
on or after that date require stamps?'
If the deed was delivered before De-
cember LIST, it requires no stamps. In
cases where stamps have been put on
such deeds, refund may be had by fill
ing with form 46, which may be had
from my Office, the stamps put on the
deed. If they can't be removed, a
! deputy collector should be solicited
to view the deed and certify the facts.
1t is to be remembered, in this con-
| nection, that deeds not properly
stamped render the grantor liable to
prosecution and the grantee gets
clouded title.
Bankers ask if overdrafts on
which they charge interest must be
stamped. Discerning no difference
| between them and promissory notes,
or certificates of deposit to cover
loans by one bank to another, my Of
flee holds all alike taxable. The ques-
llOu VI udC Ccl ClAlCdICS AOQuiO
stamps is easily answered. Is it
specifically taxed? If not, is it re-
quired by law? If not specifically
taxed and not required by law, then
/, is not taxable Are security bonds
given by a public official taxable?'
! They are; if personal bond, SO
cents; if corporate surety COM
pany's bond, one-half Of one per cent
on each dollar of premium paid. The
banker also asks about assignments
and satisfactions of mortgages and
mortgages themselves. They are
not taxable The principal mortgage
note is, however, and so are the in
terest notes. Notarial acknowledge
ments and aftidavits require no
stamps Neither do bills of sale, nor
contracts for sale, which do not vest
tile. Deeds in escrow are not to be
stamped before they are delivered,
but on delivery to the grantee.
people who have been unable to
get stamps are required when they do
get them, to cancel enough (proprie-
tary) to cover their sales since De-
cember 1st, and return these with at
/ fidavit statement to the collector.
! Those who have not secured docu-
mentary stamps will, when they get
them, properly affix them to all docu-
ments requiring them executed on or
after December L. Stamps of loo and
higher value, by the way, must be
cancelled by writing the initials and
date on the face of the stamp and in
addition by making three parallel
incisions with some sharp instrument
lengthwise through the stamps after
the stamp has been attached to the
document
"My Office would have made a
much better record in supplying
stamps had it itself had them in
quantities to suit its needs But the
engravers and printers haven't been
able to turn out stamps fast enough"
A Very Successful Meeting.
| n 70