El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-03-09


income tax sheets which have been
filed in the last two years or VIII be
filed in the future Who does the
checking un7 And how carefully is
Il done2 What happens II you make
an honest mistaken What happens
II the government catches a tax
evader?
These questions are no doubt be-
ing asked everywhere as the people
Of the United States prepared their
income tax returns which must be
in the hands Of collectors OF internal
revenue by March Is Inasmuch as
every unmarried man IN the United
States who earns $50 a week and
every married man or woman OF in
dividual who is the head OF a family
earning $40 a week must file a state
ment OF income regardless OF wheth-
er there IS any tax due. plenty OF
trouble and embarrassment can be
avoided by Wage-earners, merchants.
farmers. professional men, landlords.
business partners and corporations
BY knowing in advance just what
Uncle sam has on you"
How You Are Checked.
In the first place, every factory,
store wholesale or retail business. in
fact, every employer must make out
a LIST Of his employees and the wages
or Salaries they get provided the
sum in each case is above SIS a week
That means the United states gov
eminent gathers together separate
sheets Of paper on which Information
is given concerning everybOdy's in
come above SIS. These statements
are carefully filed and thousands OF
government employees are at work
daily looking TO see whether John
smith. whose employer sent In
ceiTed more than SIS a week through
out the preceding year, actually filed
a return OF his own to the govern
meut and paid the taxes due
But, you VIII say, the employer
need not file a return for his en-
pIoyes. II he doesn't, he wiz have TO
pay taxes himself for that sum OF
money because when the income tax
experts look over his books - and
they can Go so at any time-they viii
regard the amount OF money elm
mated by him as so much profits
And employers wouldn't like that So
the employer Is a check on the em-
ploye SO far as the government is
concerned
How They Catch You
But it goes further than that. II
you received more than SIS a week,
transaction, whether from the sale OF
land or securities or property Of any
kind or any class OF services. from
teaching nights 70 working on the
who paid you more than $500 must
tell the government about t. And a
staff OF experts works all the time
making a list OF persons who didn't
file returns And some day a repre-
sentative OF the government will call
on a few hundred thousands OF our
people and hand them a tax return
already made out, which they neglect
ed 10 do themselves. only the taxes
viii be- much larger. because there
viii be a penalty for non-payment Of
taxes long overdue
There is a special division OF the
income tax bureau which does moth
ing else but think " penalties on
persons who don't file the correct
kind OF return OF course, allowance
excuses In case Of delayed returns
People who are sick or absent from
the country and can make sworn
statement TO that effect which is con-
vincing 70 the collector o. internal
revenue in their respective districts.
can be exempted from penalty. But
the government has a staff OF eI-
perts who can sometimes tell at
glance whether a case looks suspi-
cious and the return sheet is turned
over 10 special invest gators, who
make careful examination OF the
case in question
Sometimes Return Cash
The government aim is 10 get cor
rect tax returns If you have paid
more than you should. the govern
ment viii call your attention to IL,
jusr as quickly as II you have paid
too little The secretary Of the
treasury and the commissioner OF in
terual revenue are authorized 70 ac-
cept compromise settlements Where
there is plainly no intention 10 de-
fraud the government, and where the
mistake is simply one OF computa-
ton. compromises are daily being ac-
copied
Hundreds OF millions OF dollars are
collected that way. And the import
ance OF Il is this. so long as the
il has estimated would be given &c IL
by the taxpayers, just so long must
taxes be kept at high levels in order
TO pay national debts Anyone who
eFades his taxes. therefore. imposes
burden on his neiEhbor- II prolongs
both the period OF taxation as well as
the era OF high cost Of living.
Fully 5000 people are en-
ployed By the United States gov
erament 70 cheek ~ income tax
returns Three thousand are in
WHshlnEton and GOO in the field.
OF the 1900 Others, the majority
are engaged thruuEhout the year
in the task OF getting fnfOrm1-
ton about taxpayers.
Income tax inspectors have access
business transactions or transfers Of
all kinds are filed They have avail
able IL they wish. all brokerage &C
counts. They can tell by investiga-
ton. and they are doing IL all the
time, just how much money a man
made on the stock market and
he gave the government the
proper share.
How 1t Is Done
The process Is not merely TO in
vestigate each man That would take
for instance, must show how much it Z
has paid to individuals in excess Of
$500. II must show how much indi- I
yiduals have paid TO the brokerage I
firm The government tahularors I
simply collect all the information ]
about John smith which comes from
business firms or individuals in all /
parts Of the country Information I
about taxpayer might come one day /
from Seattle and the next from Bos- !
ton Eventually Il is all put together I
In the file OF John smith. with the I
exact address OF the said John smith. :
the building in Which he lives, IN the
event there are two persons OF the 4
same name in the dwelling
OF course. deputy collectors are ]
possessed Of local knowledge" which .
enables them 10 assist Investigators. Z
A man who had enough money 10 buy /
3 house and lot and automobile and i
didn't file an income tax return I
might find the deputy collector look ]
nE up the reason why.
The staff Of the Income tax
bureau throughout the Ihlted
States T. always looking for de-
TfmmmemFm- II NAM mora rrrnwa-u