The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1917-12-13
INCOME TAX DRIVE SOON.
Bent Miss Seeing the Income Tax
Man When He Calls.


Man When He Calls.
Collector of Internal Revenue of
this district Louis Murphy has re-
turned from Washington where he
was summoned for conference with
Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Daniel G. Roper.
The internal revenue department,
according to the collector is under
going reorganization in staff and line.
Whereas a few years ago it was a
is one of the most important admin
istrative arms of the federal govern
ment. The task confronting it in the
collection of the billions of dollars
of taxes imposed by the war rev.
enue Act Of October 4, 1917, com
ofithe Treasury McAdoo called to the
task General Roper, who had put the
pOstOffice department on an efficien-
cy basis.
Commissioner Roper called me
to Washington to advise me that q
plan for nationwide drive for in
OF January and February which |
submitted had been adopted in full
The commissioner followed up his
announcement with the request that
! take complete charge of the execu-
ton ton Of the plan in the nation f This is
divide my time between Dubuque
and Washington. The assignment
given me is a complimen to the Iowa
organization---my associates in Of
flee and field without whose loyal
and unselfish thought and labor it
would have been impossible to work
out here on, a small scale the plan
now to-be adapted to the nation.
"The reduced exemptions provided
in the new income tax laW-$2 900
for married men and $500 for each
dependent child under Is years, and
millions to the number of income tax
payers in the nation. How to reach
these millions, acquainting them with
their duties, and secure their returns
OF income intelligently executed is
the problem of the bureau-my prob
lem by delegation.
The plan of solution is simple
enough. The entire present forces
of revenue agents and collectors, al
ready several thousand in number,
and presently to be augmented by
the addition of few thousand more.
will be assigned to the duty of taking
taxpayers returns during the months
when returns of income for the year
1917 must be made So many of
these field officers not now familiar
with the income tax will be summon
ed to collectors and revenue agents
officers for a period of intensive
on January End to help the perplexed
Probably one person in every
forty will have to make return Of in.
come next January or February for
the year, 1871 This means tina. APP
affected. 1t is safe to say that $4,000
of these don't know and won't know
the laws provisions, and left, to
themselves many of them wouldn't
make return, thus exposing them
selves to heavy penalties. One Off
turns in a day, so that Allowing for
time lost in moving from place to
place, 40 officers, working the fifty
one days from January 2 to March |,
both dates inclusive> will be required
to execute the returns of Iowa's
10000 taxpayers.
cut up into districts of one, two or
more counties. depending upon the
indicated number of taxpayerS,v-an
one officer assigned to each district.
1t will thus be possible to determine
far in ADVANCE the exact dates when
at the court house in the county seat.
and possibly in a second town in the
county. His coming. will be an
nounced in news articles sent out to
daily and weekly newspapers, and
advices to bankers and postmasters.
"All a person subject to the tax, or
in doubt about it; or any phase of the
law, need do, is inform himself when
the income tax man will be in his
town or vicinity, and call on him
when he arrives. He will make out
the taxpayers return, answer the tax .
payers questions. clear up lis
doubts, swear him to the return, take
his money, and remove the wrinkles
from his brow.
This is the next thing to rapping
or mans door, telling him you're
the income-tax man and that you've
come to help him make out his re-
turn and take his money, or look up
the taxpayer whose defense for fail
ure to make return is that he did not
receive form, or that he didn't
know how to fill out the form-ex-
cuses truthfully made as a general
rule. The government officer will
have forms enough and he will him
self fill out the form. 4.
Every married man whose in
come from wages, profession, bust
ness, farming, interest, or otherwise,
is-uver $4,000 for 1917,-would do
well to see the income tax man. This
applies with equal force to the un-
married person with an income over
$1,000"