Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1918-04-05
Mr.. SIMPkINS PAYS
HIS INCOME TAX
BY ROBERT McBLAIR.

Mr.. Simpkins gazed at the portrait
on the wall till his eyes filed with
tears It was portrait Of his father,
Colonel Simpkins, who had four times
been promoted for valor during the
Civil War and had died bravely on the
field of action. Mr.. Simpkins throat
ached now for two reasons: First, he
reverenced and adored the memory of
his father; secondly, his age and his
eyes and his game leg wouldn't let him
go to war himself. And as he observed
the martial bearing and uncompromis-
ing gaze Of Colonel Simpkins he saw,
in Imagination, the KHAKI! clad lads OF
the new generation marching forth and
crossing three thousand miles Of sea to
fight maybe die, for liberty.
Mr.. Simpkins peered around to make
sure that neither Bess nor John (who
were at the teasing ages Of sixteen
and seventeen) were where they could
see him, then he Strengthened and
threw his right arm up for a salute.
But his equity shoulder twinged, and he
groaned. He couldn't even salute.
DdulA SdlO AIs ohU
with his other hand flercely twirled his
white mustachios.
He turned and limped into the IL
brary and sat down creakily before the
mahogany desk on which we're lying
the blanks for his income tax state
ment, blanks which he had rather
grumpily got from the Internal Reve-
nue. officer only that day after lunch
con on his way home from the club.
Mr.. Simpkins' income for 1917 had
amounted to just about $4,000, and he
had been rather snappy on the sub
ject of taxes ever since he had ldiscOv-
cred that the more income man has
the greater the percentage of it he
pays in taxes. He could think Of sew
eral men who, like himself, were mar
ried and had two children, and yet,
although their incomes were nearly
half of his, they would pay only
small fraction of the amount he paid.
He gloomily drew the blank nearer
and began filling in the information
that it asked for.
AS Mr.. Simpkins' income was SIS, 900
AC udu W AS uI0 Jul LuC duOuALO pay.
able on each Of the successive smaller
classes Of incomes in order to arrive
at the total due from himself. He
passed over the first class who must
pay taxes, that Is, single men making
over 1000. His calculation for mar
ried men then showed up as follows:
First, they pay per cent. (under
%hA In xryN oil fYNnn nxynv
$4,000, deducting 5000 for each Of their
children under eighteen years. In Mr..
Simpkins' case this was $212, which he
put down in the payable" column.
He saw next that, under the 1917
law, married men pay an additional 2
per cent. on all over $2,OOO-with the
same allowance for children. This
added 1852 to his payable" column.
He then observed that for every
$4,000 jump in his income over $1,000
he had to pay Surtax, the percentage
growing larger with each jump. This
was $3.50 more added to his burden.
And on top of all this came an Elk
cess Profits" tax Of s per cent. on all
Occupation" income over $4,000. max
ing $720 more
The total, then, he must pay was four
teen hundred and thirty-four dollars.
"Whewv' exclaimed Mr.. Simpkins
angrily There's young Henry Will
kins, who married Jake Johnson's girl,
he makes $4,000 and he doesn't pay a
cent. of taxes guess this Is his war
as we'll as miner
Thinking of young Henry Wilkins,
he remembered that Mrs Wilkins went
every afternoon to make bandages for
the Red Cross and that Henry, who