Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-05-04
Government to Go to People
Instead of People Goingto
Government, Says Elmer
Dover
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
GIeased Wire Service to The Journal.)
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WASHINGTON, May 1--WE will
send the government to the people
instead of making the people come
to the government" said Elmer Do
yer. assistant secretary of the treas
ury today, in outlining to this cor
respondent the plan he has in mind
whereby, every taxpayer in the
United States will be able to ascer-
tain Immediately the exast status OF
his income tax return.
Under the present system, a trip
to Washington is necessary in order
to learn how far the income tax
bureau has progressed in auditing
back returns. American business
concerns have been kept on the anX-
ious seat over long periods because
Of uncertainty whether they have
calculated their taxes correctly. The
new plan would speed up the audit
ing, and especially would make
available in day information which
takes months now to ferret out.
Mr.. Dover estimates that 95 per
cent of the income tax returns OF
the country can be audited, and han
died at regional headquarters with
out being sent to Washington. A
test is to be made on the Pacific
coast. Mr.. Dover halls from that
section and knows the viewpoint of
the taxpayers Of that region many
OF whom have had to pay expenses
to and from Washington several
times to transact business which the
government could just as well han
die by a branch office on the coast.
Because it will take time to find
out how a branch Of the revenue
bureau shall be equipped and what
the problems of administration will
be, it has been thought best to use
the Pacific coast as laboratory
and when the system has been: per-
fected the same plan will be applied
to the whole country so that be-
fore March 1 next year the incoms
tax returns will be audited and set
tied without reference to Washing
ton in nine-tenths Of the cases.
Mr.. Dover said he would let the
Pacific coast bureau handle all
claims for refunds or tax controver-
sizes involving $4,000 or less. This,
he said, included at least 95 per
cent of the returns. AS for those
in excess of that sum, the national
bureau at Washington would con-
tinue to handle them except that by
relieving the Washington office of
most Of the returns, persons with
claims above $4,000 will get much
more rapid action and will be saw
ed time and money.
It will be the policy of the treas
ury department to establish corps
of trained men from the national
capital in the offices of the four
collections districts, namely at Ia
coma, Portland, San Francisco and
Los Angeles. All these districts
will be under the direction of the
revenue department. An officer al
ready is provided for in the income
tax administration. He scrutinizes
tax incomes and acts more or less
on the checks of the collectors. If
in doubt he will refer the return to
the main office of the internal rev.
enue in the national capital.
There are sixty-four collection dis
tricts in the United States and it
is not known yet how many region
al bureaus OF internal revenue will
be required to make the system eff
fective. The experince on the Pa
cific coast will teach the treasury
department how many branch Of
fees will be necessary. There are
other advantages of decentralization
besides convenience to taxpayers. 1t
is felt that the government will be
able to maintain it's personnel bet
ter in branch offices than in, Wash
ington where the constant changes
and shifting have impeded the work.
Assistant Secretary Dover has made
up his mind that his job in the
scheme of things here is to simpli-
| fly the income tax auditing. He
| will go to the Pacific coast soon
to supervise in person the new re-
| gional operation of the internal reve-