The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1921-12-09
u. s. TAX RECEIPTS
OFF15P.C.|N YEAR .
Incomes and Profits Pay $780,.
100000 Less Before
June 30 Last.
COLLECTION COST GOES UP
Administration Now Takes 81 Cents
on Each 500 Instead of 55-Total Is
$4,5o5,00o, 765-Liquor and Tobac-
CO Excuses Decline.

Washington.--Tax receipts of the
Government during the fiscal year
1921 decreased nearly a billion dollars
as compared with the previous year,
and the cost of collection increased 80
cents for each 500, says the annual
report of the Bureau of Internal Rev
enue made public by Commissioner
Blair.
Collection by the bureau in the last
fiscal year totalled $4,595, 900, 765,
against $5,4O7, 5SO,251 for the fiscal
year ended June 30, 1920, decrease
of $S12,579,4S0, or Is per cent.
The cost of administering the inter-
nal revenue laws for the year, the
report said, was $4O,2O3,716, or 81
cents for each 500 collected, COM
pared with 90 cents for the preceding
year. Included in the expenditures
was $780, O7 for the administration
of the prohibition and narcotic laws
and 100000 for the enforcement of
the child labor tax law, which, de-
Quoted from the total, leaves $33, ia
800, or an equivalent Of u cents for
each $500 in taxes collected.
Of the total taxes collected in the
last year income and profits taxes ag
gregated $3,22S, 1877 ,673, compared with
1885, 36,0O3 in 1920. Miscellaneous
collections totalled $1,366, S63 ,091,
against $1,450,644,24S in 1920.
The principal decreases in these
taxes were: On alcoholic liquors,
$57,247, 720; tobacco manufactures,
$40,5S9,969; excise taxes, $3S,53s,121
corporation capital stocks, $11, 494, 767,
and stamp taxes, 81, S79,S13.
These decreases were materially off
set by increases on estate tax, $50, 407,-
697; transportation and telegraph,
$12, 1926, and admission and dues,
$13,S72,O9S.
Collections under the penalty pro-
visions of the national prohibition act
in the year totalled $2,152,3S7. Re-
ceipts from distilled spirits, including
wines, aggregated $S2,59S,O65 in 1921,
compared with $97,9O5,275 in 1920.
Fermented liquors produced $25,363,
against s41,965.S7.
In the fiscal year 1921 there were
produced from materials other than
fruit 36,365,658 taxable gallons of dis
titled spirits, decrease Of 1920, 1873
gallons from 1920, while 34,993, 154
gallons were removed from bond, an
increase Of 6,772,245 gallons over 1920.
Liquids containing more than one
half of one per cent of alcohol pro-
duced at breWeries and dealcoholizing
plants in the year aggregated 1919, 49,
1853 gallons, compared with 2S6, 1884,
$50 in the previous year. The guam
tity of cereal beverages containing
less than one-half of one per cent of
alcohol produced during the year az
gregated 2S5,S25,S3O gallons. Pro-
ductfon of wine and cordials for the |
year amounted to 1851 ,595 gallons |
and at the end of the year there
were 27,604, 1896 gallons in bond, as
compared with 17,677,37O gallons on
June so, 1920.
Increase in the number Of tax col
lection districts from GA to. "A WAS |
by Commissioner Blair
as a means of increasing the efficiency
of the Internal Revenue service. Dur
ing the past ten years, he declared,
the work of the Revenue Bureau has
been entirely transformed and the
number of taxpayers filing returns has
increased from approximately 100000
to total of 100000 annually.
practically all of the 100000 tax
payers" he said, dealt with collec-
tors of internal revenue but once each
year, while under present laws the
returns required of sales tax
payers, together with the quarterly
payment feature provided for income
taxpayers, necessitate 100000 sep
lrate transactions annually"
Mr.. Blair also called attention to the
danger of loss by fire of several hum
lred thousand income tax returns and
other irrepIaceable papers represent
ng hundreds Of millions of dollars in
increased assessments.