The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1914-04-02
EXEMPTIONS PROVE A TROUBLE
County Treasurer, County Clerk and
District Attorney Given Power to
Compromise Tax Payments Subject
to Approval of Tax Commission.

The work of correcting income tax
assessments as made in 1913 and col
lected by the city and town treasurers
during the past few months, has been
taken up by the county treasurer,
county clerk and the district attorney
as provided by law and this year the
commission named in the statute will
be called to pass upon more than thirty
petitions for rebates in income tax.
For the most part these will be cor
rections as the taxes have not been
paid, the people against whom they
were assessed prefering to pay the two
Fer cent penalty rather than to advance
the full amount of the income tax as
'sessed. In the thirty petitions now IN
the hands of the county treasurer the
largest number of demands is for
wrong assessments.
People have not yet learned to solve
the mystery of the income tax state
ment and many people who have sought
to be honest with the state in the
statement of the income have found
that the amount returned has been
unfair to them as taxpayers. The
various exemptions provided for by
the law seem to be great trouble MAX
ers and even attorneys have had trou-
BILE figuring out some of the exemptions.
The largest sum affected by petitions
for corrections is a little less than
$500 and the correction Of the state
ment, if it has the sanction Of the
commission, will wipe off a large
amount of the tax.
The fact that assessments may be
corrected even after the tax has been
assessed and after the time for the
collection of it is just becoming gen
orally known to the people of the state
and it is expected that from year to
year the number of demands for cor
reetion of assessments will be greater.
Last year there were but fifteen petit
tions for correction of assessments and
this year the number has been doubled.
1t is expected that the number will be
even larger in other years.
eve make an effort to be perfectly
fair with the people in the collection
of the income tax" said Treasurer
Phmili Hartman, Jr., this morning.
: We feel that if people have been
wrongfully assessed that the state,
county and city does not want to take
their money and these petitions are
acted on with all fairness. It should
not be taken that I'll petitions are act
ed on favorably. People seeking to
evade the payment of a just tax I'M
der the income law have no chance to
get way with it: The law gives the
county treasurer, county clerk and the
district attorney the authority to set
tie these claims, but the decision of
the commission named by the law is
subject to the review and confirmation
of the state tax commission. Of course
the commission takes these matters up
with the assessor of incomes and thew
are largely guided by his rulings in
the matter. The settlement of these
claims will result in the payment of a
large amount of the income tax now
on the rolls as delinquent. It is the
plan of the commission to settle these
claims just as soon as possible in or
der that all matters in connection
with the collection of the income tax
may be cleaned up at the earliest
possible minute.p