The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-12-12
GOVERNMENT TO help
FIGURE INCOME TAX
Will Send Men to Every County Seat
To Assist Those Affected by In
come Law in Calculating Net In
come.

Baltimore Md, Dec. 11.-Gou
won't have to figure out your own
income tax all by yourself hereafter.
The government is going to send ont
men to help you. 1t will be up to
you to hunt up these men, who will
be sent into every county seat town,
and some other towns besides, to
meet the people. Postmasters, bank
ers and newspapers will be able to
tell you when the governments in
come tax man will be around, and
where to find him. He will answer
your questions, swear you to the re-
turn, and accept payment of tax. Re-
turns of income for 1917 must be
made between January 1 and March
l, 1918.
THE Government recognizes, Col
lector of Internal Revenue Joshua
w. Miles said today, that many
persons experience a good deal of
difficulty in filling out income tax
forms. 1t recognizes too, that tax
payers resident at points where col
lectors' offices are not easily accessi
BILE, find it hard to get proper in
structionS in the law. Next year,
when every married person living
with wife or husband and having a
net income of $4,000, and every I'M
married person not the head of a
family and having net income of
$1,000 for the year 1917, must make
return of income on the form pre-
serioed, there will be hundreds in ev
cry community seeking light on the
law, and help in executing their re
turns. My own and every other col
lection district IN the nation will be
divided into districts, with the coun-
ty as the unit, and a government Of
ficer informed in the income tax as
signed to each district. He will
spend hardly less than a week in
each county, and in some counties a
longe rhine, very likely in the court
house at the county seat town. In
cities where there are collectors
branch offices, he will be there, and
in other cities. possibly at the city
hall. My office will in due time ad-
wise postmasterS and bankers and
send out notices to the newspapers,
stating when the officer will be in
each county. 1t will be unnecessary
for prospective taxpayers to ask my
office for forms on which to make re-
turns. The officer who visits their
county will have them.
1T may be stated as a matter OF
general information that net in
come is the remainder after sub
tracing expenses from gross income.
Personal, family, Or living expense
is not expense il the meaning of the
law, the exemption being allowed to
cover such expenses.
THE new exemptions of $1,000
and $4,000 will add tens of thou
sands to the number of income tax
payers in this district, inasmuch as
practically every farmer, merchant,
tradesman, professional man and
salary worker and a great many
wage workers will be required to
make return and pay tax.
The law makes it the duty of
the taxpayer to seek out the collec-
tor. Many people assume that il
an income tax form is not sent, or a
government officer does not call, they
are relieved from making report.
This is decidedly in error. 1t is the
other way round. The taxpayer has
to go to the government and if he
doesn't within the time prescribed,
he is a yiolator of the law, and the
government will go to him with its
penalties