Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1918-01-16
Income Tax Returns Show total of
30, 006 Now in America.
WHOLE REGIMENT IN
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES CLASS
Many Annual Incomes of $50, 900 to
$4,000 per Year-British Mil
Iionaiges Total 5,154, but
Their Greater Fortunes
Many Times Outnum-
Der Ours.

|
reau. which became available recently
and will be published as an appen-
dix to the report of Daniel C. Roper,
comm :ssioner of internal revenue,
show that in the last income tax year
1916 the number of American mil
lionaires increased 1926 over the
previous year.
The income tax returns for the
year ending December, 1915, show
ed a grand total of 14,771 million
aires. The returns for the year 1916,
show that there are %, SOS American
milliolaires.
These figures are not the result of
a census, but are the returns that
have yielded the government very
! large revenue during the past year
and they may, therefore, be accepted
as authentic. 1t is possible that they
are rather under than over the actual
number. The experts of the Internal
| Revenue Bureau, in making the es-
| innate of millionaires, employ the
simple rule of capitalizing the for
tunes of men who pay the tax by as
Stunning that the average rate OF in
come is around per cent, and, be-
ginning with the class of incomes that
range from $4,000 to $4,000 and
going on up to the last class under
the law, which is the income ranging
from $5,000,000 up, it is an easy
matter to calculate the number of
millionaireS. But there is a class of
incomes ranging from 100000 to
! 100000 a year, and no doubt there
are many millionaires within this
class who only get per cent
on their investments, or who have
periodical reverses, and 50 claim eX-
emptions that for the time being set
them back of the million mark.
Regiment of Multi-NIiIlionaires.
The class of multi-millionaires is
not so easily estimated. There are ten
persons in the country who have an
annual income of over $4,000, 900
each Reckoned on the rule of per
cent rate of income, they are worth
| $l25, 100000 each. There are nine
persons who were taxed last year for
an income of $4,000 900 to 5000
000. These may be regarded as
| having fortunes of about 100000
! 600 each. There are fourteen who re-
! ported having an income Of from 3d.
O00,00 to $4,0O0,00O; thirty-four
who enjoyed incomes ranging from
100000 to $3,000,000. If all per-
sons who in the various classes made
/ by The income tax law received in.
comes ranging from $4,000 up to
the highest class are to be described
as multi-miilionairas we have in the
United States 3,733 of them, which is
almost exactly the strength Of a regi-
ment OF infantry under the new Unit
ed States army organization.
The annual blue book Of the com
miesioners of his majesty's Inland
| Revenue for the year ending March
81, 1916, shows, following the sys-
tenn OF estimating employed here,
that there are in the United King
dom 5154 millionaires. There is,
! however, very significant difference
apparent in the higher classes. Where
the United States has ten multi-mil-
lionaires with $125, 100000 each to
their credit. the United Kingdom has
seyenty-nine. Where we have nine
with SlO0,OO0,O00 Great Britain has
sixty-eight. Where we have fourteen
| with $4,000, 900 to 100000
900, Great Britain has forty-five, and
where we have thirty-four who po-
soss from $5O,0O0.0OO to $75,OUv,-
900, Great Britain has seventy-three
/ To our forty-two who have from
$3750000O, to $5O,OO0,OO0 Great
Britain has siXty-one.
Where the Line is Crossed.
In the next lower class we begin
to show an average with ninety-sey-
en- TO Great Britains eighty-three,
the limits of fortunes being from
! $4,000, 900 to $32,5O0,OOO. A strik-
ing showing is that the Income tax
revenues derived from millionaires is
less than / per cent of the total rev
enues derived from taxing individual
incomes.
The fact that collections of income
were $1SG,1O8,0O0 in 1916, as com
pared with $67,943,OO0 in the pre-,
ceding year, is held to show the
great Importance to the country OF
this source of receipts. The Internal
revenue Bureau viii publish early in
January a supplement to the com
missioner's annual report in which
some very significant percentages
will be worked out, and the great