The Washington herald., 1914-06-28


ly to facilitate the collection Of income
tax returns. The House finally acceded
to Mr.. Underwood request.
Gives ofneIaI Figures.
''The commissioner of internal revenue
has stated TO me that he believes this
additional appropriation will allow him
to make investigations that will enable
him 10 collect from SIS TO S25 for every dol
lar of this, additional appropriation; that
the indications are that a great many
people have not made their returns, and
some who have made their returns. have
not made the returns that the law re-
quires them to make" said the majority
leader.
Although the returns from the income
tax this year will not reach the maxi
mum. and will fall somewhat less than
500. 10000. / think I can demonstrate TO
the House In a few minutes that the
ordinary returns in a normal year from
the income tax and the corporation tax
viii amount to more than $4,000 900.
More than that there are a great many
people in the United States who do not
understand the law. You have got the
machinery OF that law TO build up.
As there have been a great many mis-
leading statements made in the daily
press, desire TO call to the attention
OF the House in the record a few facts
in reference to actual conditions. As a
matter OF fact the present law, instead
Of being a disappointment as a revenue
measure, has exceeded the expectations
Of those who wrote the law. am read
ing now from a statement furnished to
me by the experts OF the Treasury De-
partment yesterday. and from the re-
port of the Secretary OF the Treasury for
1919 50 that the figures that propose to
give TO the House are oficial, and not
mine.
Predict Large sarpIus.
First. in reference to receipts. When
the recent tariff bill was written. the
committee estimated that the receipts
from the customs dues under the FIRST
year Of that bill. would amount to t270.-
100000. The Treasury estimate OF the
moneys that will be received from Gus
toms for this fiscal year amount 10 S292.
100000. or an excess in customs receipts
Of 900 above the estimate that We
stated TO the House when the bill be-
came a law.
Under the last year of the Payne bill
the receipts from custom dues amounted
to $Sls, 1000 and odd, SO that 1t is seen that
the falling on in customs between the
present law and the Payne law will
amount to about 81, ,O00, 900. OF course, We
expected that there would be a falling
on In custom dues To some extent. or 1t
we had not, we would not have proposed
the income tax
As to the corporation and income tax.
which was carried as a corporation tax
in the Payne bill, but is combined under
the new law. We estimated that the re-
turns from the corporation and income
tax would amount to Sc. .00O,OoO. As
matter Of fact this year II will not
amount to more than S15Ooo.0oo. which Is
a falling of OF SEQ 10000 according to the
estimates for the income tax.
No Actual DeacIt.
But We have made up So. .ooe, 900 in
customs receipts l want to say TO the
House that although there Is an ap-
parent falling OF OF SO, 0o0.o 900 in the in
come tax receipts there will be no actual
falling OF for the next fiscal year. II is
true that the income tax has been on
the statute books for ten months, but It
must be borne in mind that a large pro-
portion Of income accrues and becomes
payable in January OF the year. Prob
ably nearly one-half Of the dividends and
coupon interest on bonds are payable in
January and February Of each year, and
OF course they are not included in this
years returns OF the income tax. More
over. the additional or supertax did not
become operative until fall So II is fair
to say. so far as the income tax features
of this law are concerned, that only one
half OF the year has been available in
which to collect the tax. Exclude the
corporation portion of the tax and double
the amount OF the income tax that is
collected for this year, and you will have
considerably more than 500, Ooo.ooo."
Mr.. Underwood repeated his early as
sertion that the income tax would collect
more in succeeding years than during the
first year Of its operation. This, he said,
had been the case with the corporation
tax.
Continuing. he said:
Summing up all the estimates, total
receipts for 1872 as estimated a year ago
by the Ways and Means Committee, they
amounted to $7SsooO,oO0. As a matter of
fact, as shown by the returns of the
Treasury Department. the collections will
amount to S733, 10000. In other words,
the returns for this year will fall OF only
S3,OOOOO less than our estimates, and our
estimates were not based upon the half
year for the income tax. but upon the
full year. Furthermore. that shortage OF
s., 100000 in our estimates is almost en-
tirely absorbed by a falling OF Of S2.0oO,-
coo in miscellaneous receipts, over which
we have no control whatever.
Not All Collected.
Now, when you compare the fact that
We will raise this year S7S3. 10000 with
only a half year exercise of the income
tax features of the law, with the fact
that the Payne bill for 1913 only raised
S72LOOO,0OO, and our bill with the half
years income tax not accounted for, ex-
ceeded the Payne bill by S9,OooOoo, II
seems TO me that gentlemen who have
been criticizing this bill from the stand
point that It would cause a deficit in the
Treasury have been dreaming idle dreams
and making statements that were backed
up by the wishes that sprung from politi-
cal antagonism, and not from basic facts
as shown by the report Of the Treasury"
Mr.. Underwood concluded by stating
that there would be a surplus of $50 co.,
900 in the Treasury at the end OF the
present fscal year. and that this would
be wiped out by SS5,OOo.oO0 expended on
the canal, leaving a deficit of 5000. ooo.
but taking no account of the half years
income tax still to be accounted for.
Declaring that he was unprepared with
definite statistics but could reply to Mr.
Underwood from memory, Mr.. Payne
took the. floor as soon as the majority
leader resumed his seat
THE gentleman has confused the years
greatly in his statement" he declared.
He is claiming credit for the revenues
OF the entire fiscal year ending the S0th
day OF this month, but the blessed In
derwood bill did not 60 into operation
until three months and three days Of the
fiscal year had already passed away. and
the revenues then were due to the Payne