The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-02-05
HICRER WAGES
PUT PL UNDER
IN PIKER CLASS
Knights of Pipe Wrench No
Lcnger Aristccrats Of Labor
DISCLOSED BY INCOME TAX
Many Workers Find It Necessary to
File Returns with internal
Revenue Collector


pay income taxes are no longer the
"ar.stocrats Of labor" according to
W liam H. Edwards, United States In
te nal Revenae Collector for the Sec
oad and Third Districts of New York,
in whose 4 st-icts this year more than
81, SOC, 900, 900 will be gathered up for
Uncle Sam
High wages and profitable overtime,
says Mr.. Edwards, have raised to the
income tax paying list such workers
as longshoremen, garment makers. pa
Pc hangers, railroad brakemen, chau-
ffeurs, sailors, truck a4lVeIs and
piano movers. And don't forget the
chorus girls, the movie stars and the
hotel WATERS declared the collector,
adding that some of the latter e
max ng more than $4,000 year in
tips alone.
Street car conductors and motor
men in Brooklyn, for instance, he
said. have made as much as $50 a week
and, II their yearly income exceeds
$1,000 for 2 single man or $4,000 for
the head OF family, they VII be re-
CURED to contribute their sha toward
the cost of running the government.
Mr. Edwards cited few instances
VI thout, of course, mentioning any
names, of bootblacks, milkwagon driv-
ers and bellboys, who in 1919 earned
in excess of their exemption and who
VII be required TO file returns.
Payment OF the income tax began
Gu January / and win cont nue. unit
midnight of March 10 ut which time
all returns must be in TO escape the
possibility of a max mum of $1,000
fine 70 delinquency While Collector
Edwards was opening his mail the
ether day out fell check for S2,SS3.
SIS. SO, representing the payment OF a
corporal on tax W tn penalty and
terest The next letter he opened
was from Montclair, n. j. which is
also in his distr ct. 1t had been regis
tered to pay an income tax of $1.37
A recent caller at the Collectors Of.
flee was woman whose net income
was So cents. Her tax amounted 10
four cents. She wanted TO know IL
she would be permitted to make the
payments qua terly" When told she
could she smiled and said she guessed
she would pay ii all at once handed
over four shining pennies and took
her receipt.
1 Another patriotic citizen--foreign
born--f led a careful return showing
that he had no income VIII Oh was sub
ject to taxation. At the bottom OF
J mis- return was the following notation
NO tax due but would like to pay
some tax and enclose for $100.'
j Collector Edward said that under
( the law, lie was not permitted to &C
cept the check hut that he forwa ded
I t TO Commissioner Roper in Washing
/ ton TO dispose of as he saw fit. This
I year the income tax rate L. less than
last. Mr.. Edwards sa d. the norma
rate being 4 per cent on the frs
I $4,000 of net income above the exempt
/ iol and 8 per cent on the remaining
net income instead of and Il per
cent as in 1918
"Oif-hand'', said the collector, zone
would hardly think that a longshore
man came within the requirements OF
the income tax law. Certainly he die
not few yea ago when many OF
them found il hard to make a living
In the past year or two, however, man
| lougshoremen have been max ng from
/ $4,000 to $4,000 a year.
1.-THE income tax also hits some
members OF the theatrical profession
pretty hard Some of these actors, in
I Gliding motion picture stars, perhap
make as high as 5000 and $500 a weel
/ for six month in the year They live
we'll and by the tine their income tax
1 payment is due may be out of ar
engagement. They are conf onted
with a good.sized tax W thout any i'm
mediate means. 1t is then up to them
to get IT,
Last year my investigators found
many diamond merchants have been
/ doing business in this country four or
five years without paying taxes. We
got after them and Increased our re-
turns ty more than $l,000,000. Some
/ CT the actresses who were delinquent
/ last year said they not pay be-
cause they could not figure out Just
how much they were exempt because
of the cost of their gowns, tax,cabs
and othe ,luXuries. A so percent pen
atty was imposed because Of their fail.
I ure to pay when the taxes were due.
7 Income taxes" said the collector,
Should be figured as a liability just
as insurance, interest on a mortgage
! or your winters coal bill. Then when
the tine comes for payment. 1t will
not be a hardship. Nearly 10000 per
sons were fined last weak for failure to
/ file returns A certa n stockbroker made
100000, He filed his return showing
A tax Of $4,000 He defaulted in his
/ payment, however, and in a personal
interview with me. said he didn't hava
the money a percent penalty was
/ imposed and he hustled around and
got the money. lis ia lure o provide
for tine tax cost him Just $4,000"
Tho Second and Third New York
districts Mr.. Edwa Dis said raise more
than one-quarter of the total amount
o"fented throughout the entire United
States.