The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-08-22

PLAN BILLION DOLLAR
DRIVE AFTER DODGERS
Internal Revenue Collector
Would Check Up Everybody.
Wants s1O,OOO,O00 To Scour
Whole Country.
INTO THE TWILIGHT ZONE
Believes Thousands Are Evad-
ing Tax Payment.
They Grant Themselves Ex-
emption From Burden.
ITO THE TWILIGHT ZONE

Washington, Aug. PA billion
dollar drive on income and excess
profit tax slackers will be authorized
in the new revenue bill.
To prevent future tax lodging. Sec
rotary of the Treasury McAdoo has
asked congress for authority to force
every person in the country to make
an income tax return whether or not
he is liable to the tax.
These two moves to get every pos
sible dollar to carry on the war. were
revealed today in statements of In
ternal Revenue Collector Roper be-
fore the house ways and means COM
mittee
Billion for 10 Million.
Roper assured the committee that
IL he was given s10,000,00O to hire the
could collect s1.00O.000,000, the sum
he estimates the government has been
cheated out of in 1916 and 1917 alone.
The committee authorized the ap-
preparations Immediately following
Roper's statements.
Coal companies are among the prin-
cipal tax dodgers. Roper showed.
Auditing has been done by a force
of thirty-five men working from June
1 to August 10. Farmers are also I'M
der suspicion because of the fact that
only $4,000 in the entire nation sub
report shows.
Saloon Keepers Tax Dodgers.
Only about 2 per cent of the ma
tons saloon keepers made returns.
Movie stars and actors are also GO
ing to be asked to verify press agents
reports of fabulous salaries. Rope.
told the committee he plans to or
ganize twenty auditing units of ex-
pert accountants, each unit to go into
the returns of all companies in GER
tain lines of business to get every dol
lar due the government.
The plan to force every person to
submit tax returns, would, according
the same principles now applied in
the draft.
Go Into Twilight Zone"
This is aimed at income tax payers
who are in the twilight zone IF
you will enable us to go more care
fully into that zone where the man
passes upon his own exemption and
determines himself whether he should
or should not make a tax return, 1t
gets, to my mind, a very large num-
er of additional tax payers and a
large amount of revenue" Roper told
the committee.
Thousands of persons of small in
comes who are just on the tax border
line, have been escaping because the
checking on them, Roper said.
10000 Slackers in One District.
In one district there are ten thou
sand persons liable to taxes who have
made no returns at all.
Roper also plans to send thruout
the country, thousands of workers to
explain the new revenue bill to the
people in an effort to "sell the tax
service" to the nations taxpayers.
An important part of the campaign
Is the preparation of a farmers ac-
count book prepared by the depart
ment of agriculture to enable a farmer
to keep closer tabs on his actual in
come.
Adopt 80 Per Cent Tax.
The house ways and means COM
mittee today tentatively adopted an
80 per cent war tax and fixed excess
profits tax rates for the new revenue
bill.
The war profit tax takes 80 per cent
Of all earnings of corporations in ex-
cess of their profits for the years
1911, 1912, 1918.