The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1922-04-21
Cost of Collecting
Income Taxes
By Congressman Guy U. Hardy

Washington.-Wha does 1t cost 10
collect the federal income and inter
nal revenue taxes?
What proportion Of your tax dollar
paid i'm goes out for cost OF collec-
tiOn?
These are interesting questions Of
ten discussed. GuesSes are freely
made and usually. run high. In Colo
RADIO, on the trains. and in Washing
ton | have heard many people make
guesses.
l can now tell you nearly exactly
what il costs TO collect a dollar of
taxes because | have looked the mat
ter up.
But most people who think they
know much about ii, know nothing at
ALL
| have amused myself often by pin
ming folks. who make wild assertions
about the cost, down TO actual figures.
out home many guessed that ii costs
from 10 To 30 per cent 10 collect the
taxes. The other day at luncheon
with a half dozen congressman I'm the
House restaurant the subject came
up. When pinned down FOR "A definite
estimate the guesSes ran from 10 TO
- per cent. one gentleman said the
cost would be about per cent and he
was laughed at heartily.
SO much to indicate the general i'm
preston and popular fancy.
Facts in the Case.
Well, here are the facts i'm the case:
In 1921 ii cost 81 cents TO collect
cents for each 500 collected. In 1920
only about one half of one per cent
and in 1921 less than one per cent.
AS matter Of fact Ii did not cost
that much because much Of the eX-
penSe charged as collection expense
was really for enforcing the child
labor, narcotic and prohibition laws.
These items are included in the ap-
preparation for running the internal
revenue department aud cannot be
easily separated without going into
greater amount Of mathematical cal
cslation than | care 10 tackle at this
time Any way, the figures show that
the cost OF collecting the tax Is not
anywhere nearly as great as most
folks think IL iS-and when you re
member that we dump the whole cost
Of enforcing national prohibition into
the expense it makes II sound quite
inconsequential indeed.
/ t.. 81 nrrfx~n of hn
| figures The Internal revenue depart
ment collected for the fiscal year 1920
total of 81, 4O7, $50, ,251.S1. The total
cost of the internal revenue depart
ment, including the enforcement OF
the laws named for that year, was
little problem in percentage and you
will find that % hundredths OF one
per cent is about right-or 50 cents
for each 500 collected.
Eohty-seven Cents for Each 500.
For the fiscal year 1921 the total
collections through this department
was 81. .595, 600, ,765.74 and the expendi-
lures for all purposes mentioned
$40, 2O3. .716.74. which Is 81 hundredths
OF one per cent or 81 cents for each
| 500 collected.
1t would be practically impossible
10 figure out exactly what the col
lections process alone costs The men
who work at the job have a variety
of duties to perform and II all goes
/ in on the days work. But consider
/ ing the vast amount OF work and the
variety of duties performed by these
men which have nothing to do with
collecting OF the taxes yet is included
in the expenditures quoted above IL
can be seen that the estimate Of from
- cents TO 81 cents per 800 is very
liberal indeed