The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-08-21
PLAN BILLION DOLLAR
DRIVE AFTER DODGERS
Internal Revenue Collector
Would Check Up Everybody.
Wants s1O,ooo,ooO To scour
Whole Country.
INTO THE TWILIGHT ZONE
Believes Thousands Are Eyad-
INTO THE TWILIGHT ZONE
Believes Thousands Are Eyad-
ing Tax Payment
They Grant Themselves Ex-
emption From Burden.

Washington, Aug. 2i.-A 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
ternaI Revenue Collector Roper be-
fore the house ways and means COM
.mittee.
Billion for 10 Million.
Roper assured the committee that
if he was given $10,000.000 to hire the
necessary force of accountants, he
could collect $1,000,000,000, 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 un-
der suspicion because of the fact that
only 1900 in the entire nation SUBJ
mitted tax reports last year, Roper:
report shows.
Saloon Keepers Tax Dodgers.
Only about 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. Roper
told the committee he plans to or
ganize twenty auditing units of ex-
pert accountants, each unit to go into
h. -
tain lines of business to get every dol
lar due the government.
The plan to- force every person to
submit tax returns, would, according
to Roper, apply to the revenue bill
the same principles now applied in
Go Into Twilight Zone"
This is aimed at income tax payers
who are in the twilight zone" III
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-
err of additional tax payers and a
large amount of revenue" Roper told
the committee u
Thousands of persons of small in
comes who are just on the tax border
line, have been escaping because the
department at present mas no way Oh
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. -s'-is1
Roper also plans to send thruou1
the country, thousands of workers to
| explain the new revenue bill to the
| people in an effort to ''sell the taz
| 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 farmer
! to keep closer tabs on his actual in
| come.
! Adopt so Per Cent Tax.
| The house ways and means com.
| mittee today tentatively adopted ar
! 80 per cent war tax and fixed excess
profits. tax rates for the new revenue
| bill. 's-
| Thew profit tax takes 80 per cen
of all earnings of corporations in .ex.
cess of their profits for the year:
/ 1911, 1912, 1913 a.sa