The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-11-28
TAX RECEIPTS IF
 J. s. DECREASE A BILLION DOLLARS
Cost of Collection Increases Enforcement of Prohibit
 bition Costs Heavily. :F Collections Small
By Associated Press


 Washington, November 27-Tax receipts of the government during the fiscal year 1921 decreased nearly q billion dollars, as compared with the previous year, while the cost of collection increased 32 cents for each $100, according to the annual re- port of the bureau of internal rev. enue made public tonight by Com missioner Blair.
 Collection by the bureau during tho past fiscal year totalled $685. ,7e5 against s5,4o7,5So,251, for the fiscal year ended June 30. 1920, a decrease of ss1a.b7s,4s6 or Is per cent
 The cost of administering tho in ternal revenue laws for the year, the report said, was s4o,203.7ls or s7 pared with Bs cents for the preceding year.
 Included fin the expenditures, how eyer. was s6,sss.4o7. for the adminis- tration of the prohibition and mar cotic laws, and s130,ooo for the en- forcement of the child labor tax law, which. deducted from the total leaves s3s,174,s0s, or an equivalent of 72 cents for each $100 in taxes collected.
 Income Taxes
 Of the total taxes collected during the past year. income and profits taxes aggregated s3,22s,137,e73, com pared with $s.s56.s36,0o3 in 1920, and
 
 s66.S6s.osi against si.4be,e+4,24s in 1920.
 The principal decreases in these taxes were:
 On alcoholic liquors, s57,24T,T30; tobacco manufactures, s4o,5Ss.969; ex- cise- taxes. s3S,5SS.121; corporation capital stock. s11,4s4,7s7. and stamp taxes, s11,s79,s13.
 These decreases, the report said. were materially offset by increases on estate tax $50, o,407,6 ,6s7, transporta- tion, and telegraph s12,is4,8as, and admission and dues. s13,972,093,
 Collections under the penalty pro- visions of the national prohibition act during the year totalled $2.152,3S7. Receipts from distilled spirits inelud- ing wines during 1921 aggregated ss2,59S,o65, compared with $97,so5,aTb in 1920, while fermented liquors pro- QQeea SSosoOd ASdllSt Stlr5o9,of3.
 During the fiscal year, 1921, there was produced from materials other than fruit S6.as5,65s taxable gallons of distilled spirits, & decrease of 1325O,133 gallons from 1890. while 34,S93,1b4 gallons were removed from bond an increase of e.772,245 gallons over 1920.
 Liquids containing more than one half of one per cent of alcohol pro- <l nI,1 .1li ing plants during the year, aggre- gated 1s3,446,763 gallons, compared with 2s6,169,6s0 during the previous year, while the quantity of cereal beverages containing less than one half of one per cent of alcohol pro- duced during the year aggregated 2s5,s25,s3o gallons.
 Wine and Cordials
 Productions of wine and cordials amounted to 19.551,959 gallons, and at the end of the year there were 27604,S96 gallons in bond as com pared with 17,6T7,370 gallons on June 30, 1920.
 Increase in the number of tax coll lection districts from 64 to "A was recommended by Commissioner Blair as means of increasing the eff cheney of the internal revenue serv- ice. During the past 10 years. he 
 bureau has heen entirely transformed and the number of taxpayers filing returns has increased from approxi- mately 100000 to total of 9,000,000 annually.
 ,"Practically all of the 500, 900 tax payers" he said, dealt with collec- tors of internal revenue but once each year. while under present laws, the monthly returns required of sales taxpayers, together with the quar- terly payment feature provided for income taxpayers, necessitate 1b,000,- GOO separate transactions annually" MT. Blair also called attention to the danger of loss by fire of several hundred thousand income tax re- turns and other irreplacable papers representing hundreds of millions of dollars in increased assessments be- cause of the flimsy character of the buildings in which upits of the .bu- reau are located.