The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-12-10
The Liberty Tax
BY Daniel c. Roper, Commissioners
OF Internal Revenue.

Shall We pay to our own Govern
ment a Liberty Tax of 0,000,-
900 or to Germany a war indemnity
of many times that amount?"
This is the real issue presented to
the American people by the passage
of the war revenue act. 1t is for the
people, who through their represen-
tatives in Congress have levied this
tax upon themselves, to decide.
Can there be doubt that in the
event of Germany's success in the
war the indemnity demanded of the
United States by the Kaiser would
be so great as to cause to pale into
insigniticance the sum total of the
revenues called or by the war reve-
nue. act? Remembering Germany's
threats, there is but one answer.
The designation Liberty Tax" is
as applicable to the revenues to be
raised by the war revenue act as the
term Liberty Bond" to the two
bond issues to which the people
have subscribed 200.
Both are for the same purpose, the
financing of the war. The Liberty
Tax represents that portion of the
which we assume for ourselves, while
the Liberty Loan represents that por-
| ton which it is only fair for us to
remit to those who come after us.
Communities throughout the leng-
tn and breadth OF the land We'd with
one another in tie purchase of Lib,
erty Bonds, displaying a just pride
when they exceeded their quota. The
man who promptly pays his Liberty
Tax may also feel pride in the full.
fillment of patriotic duty.
The task of collecting this tax,the
greatest levy ever undertaken by the
| United States Government, devolves
upon the Bureau of Internal Reve,
nue.. The Bureau is ready to do its
part, and to every one of the taXpay-
ers, 100000 of whom never before
| have paid an income tax, is given the
opportunity to cooperate.
There is being organized in the
Treasury Department a vast machine
for the collection of every penny call
ed for by the law. The Government
is not required to seek the taxpayer,
the law providing that returns shall
be filed between January l and
March ] with the Collector of Inter
nal Revenue in the district where
the taxpayer lives. The Bureau OF
Internal Revenue, however, has in
the field a large force of agents to
check returns and to see that the
law is not evaded.
The information at source" pro-
vision of the law will give the Treas
ury Department many complete rec
ords.
In accordance with this all individ-
uals, trustees, guardians and other
fiduciaries, partnerships, corpora
tons or associations must file with
the Commissioner of Internal Reve-
nue. true report of the income paid
in rents, interest, salaries, wages or
other fixed and determinable gains of
$500 or more in any taxable year,
together with TIE names and adj
dresses of persons to whom such
payments are made. For the infor-
nation of employees, employers ev-
erywhere throughout the country
will be asked to post in their fac
tories, offices and business houses
notices that these reports have been
filed. In this way the attention of
employees will be called to the fact
that, in addition to the returns made
by themselves, the Treasury Depart
ment has received an accurate state
ment of the taxable salaries paid to
each
The largest single item in the Lib
erty Tax total is the return from
the excess profits tax, estimated at
$1,000,000,000. In the construction
and Interpretation of the excess prof