Norwich bulletin., 1914-11-28

collection of the deacieney tax which goes into effect on Dec. have been received at the office of the collector of internal revenue for this district and take zup the cancellation of tax stamps on manufactured articles ana the rules for tax collection Of tele- phone and telegraph messages. Re- Earding the cancellation of stamps. the instructions say:
 Cancellation.
 The proviso to Section 8. Act of Oct. 22, 1914, reads as follows: That in- stead of cancellation by initials and date, the stamps on the articles emu merated in schedule B shall be so a1- fixed on the box. bottle or package that in opening the same, or using the contents thereof, the said stamp shall be effectually destroyed; and in de- fault thereof. the party making de- fault shall be liable to the same pen- alty imposed for neglect to afflx said stamp as hereinbefore prescribed In this act"
 Section g. however, authorizes the commissioner of internal revenue to prescribe such method for the cancel lation of stamps as he may deem ex- pedient in lieu of the method pre- scribed by the act.
 Perfumery, Cosmetics, Et
 Under this authority. it is held that as to stocks of articles subject to tax
 
 cosmetics and other toilet prepara- tions, chewing gum and substitutes therefor-now in the hands of manu- lecturers and packed ready for ship ment on orders not yet received, which stocks already packed in boxes or car, tons remain in their hands on Dec. l, and it is impracticable to unpack the boxes or cartons for stamping without serious loss. the stamps cov- ering the entire contents of the con- &rN~ IA Hwnl fn khn fTNa and cancelled with the initials of the manufacturer, the month and the year.
 Goods Packed.
 When goods have been previously ordered for delivery at future date, and the same are already packed in shipping cases, to fill the order, and marked for shipment to the purchaser, such goods may be delivered to pur- chaser, without each article being stamped, provided that the purchaser is provided with proper stamps to at- tach to taxable articles when the case is opened.
 Retailers receiving goods in such boxes or cartons bearing stamps should retain the stamped container until the contents are disposed of and will be held liable for the tax on goods exposed for sale unstamped, un- less they are able to produce such stamped containers as evidence that the goods have been taxpaid by the manufacturers.
 When Retailers Put Stamps On.
 Cased goods, which have been re- moved from the place of manufacture to depots or warehouses prior to Dec. 1, may be regarded as in the hands of the manufacturers and should be stamped by the retailers before being sold at retail
 Where goods are usually offered for sale in small quantities attached to display cards, stamps covering the tax on all attached articles may be af- fixed to the cards.
 Where several articles, all taxable or some taxable and some untaxable are packed in boxes for sale as en- tireties, the stamps covering the tax able contents may be affixed to the box in such manner as to be broken on opening the boxes. If the outer coverings in such cases are fancy containers which would be marred by attaching stamps to covers, or which are of such character that it is i'm. practicable to attach the stamps so that they will be broken on opening the article for use, stamps may be af- fixed to the side or to the bottom of the container.
 In all cases where stamps are so at- tached as to be broken when the arti- cle is used, cancellation is unneces- sary. In all other cases cancellation of the stamps will be made by affixing initials with month and year.
 On Individual Packages.
 Retailers who are required by law to stamp all taxable articles in their possessiqn Dec. 1. or received stamped from wholesalers before offering them for sale at retail should in all cases where practicable stamp the individual bottle, can, pot, carton or box usually sold and delivered to the customer. Tn cases where this is impracticabIe the eSaR0nE av 70 methods here outlined.
 Most incenVenient Time,
 Without doubt this deficiency tax will go into operation at the most in. convenient time of the year for re- tailers. Not early enough in the year to operate smoothly before the Christ mas rush, the big manufacturers will have much trouble in seeing that the articles shipped for the holiday trade are properly stamped, and the retail CTS who already have received large portions of their Christmas stock which aTe'liahle for tax, must suspend business on Dec. l to stamp each of the many articles which are displayed According to the law it is illegal to make g single sale after the law goes into effect without affixing the stamp, and it is certainly bad business to sell articles on which stamps have been affixed before that time.
 Telegraph and Telephone Messaaes.
 The collection of the tax on tele- graph and telephone messages pre- sents a peculiar phase. The law pro- Videe that a tax of one cent must be paid on all messages the charge for which is over 15 cents, and that this tax must be collected from the sender of a prepaid message. It is very of- ten convenient and necessary to send messages, both telephone and tele- graph. from telephone pay station, which has slots for 5. 10 and 25 cent tcoinG How the one cent tax is to be collected in this instance is a prob lem which the treasury department dodges neatly by saying: "rhe method of collecting the tax from the send CTS of such messages Is a matter wholly within the province of the com- panfes receiving and transmitting the messages.
 without doubt the method used will be a modification Of the system now in use when toll line call or teIe- graph message comes to @ sum other than multiple of five. The operator