The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-04-17
Cost of Collecting
Income Taxes
BY Congressman Guy U. Hardy

- - =
Washington.-What does it cost to
collect the federal income and inter-
nal revenue taxes?
What proportion of your tax dollar
paid in goes out for cost of collec-
ton?
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 l have heard many people make
guesses
l can now tell you nearly exactly
what it costs to collect dollar of
taxes because l have looked the mat.
ter up.
But most people who think they
know much about it, know nothing at
ALL
l have amused myself often by pin
ming folks, who make wild assertions
about the cost, down to actual figures.
Out home many guessed that it costs
from IS to 80 per cent to collect the
taxes. The other day at luncheon
with a half dozen congressman in the
House restaurant the subject came
up. When pinned down for a definite
estimate the guesses ran from 10 to
25 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 in the case:
In 1921 it cost 81 cents to collect
each 500 and in 1920 it cost only 80
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 it 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 APP |
for running the internal
revenue department and cannot be |
easily separated without going into a
greater amount of mathematical cal
c1lstioQ than I care to 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 it is-and when you re-
member that we dump the whole cost
Of enforcing national prohibition into
The expense it makes 1t sound quite
nconsequential indeed.
Here is the way we arrive at the
1gures. The internal revenue depart
nent collected for the fiscal year 1920
, total Of OK fn- SCn DS1 OF Tho totoI
'ost of the internal revenue depart
nent, including the enforcement of
he laws named for that year, was
30, 647 ,43971. You can work out a ;
title problem in percentage and you
will find that 50 hundredths of one !;
'er cent is about right-or 55 cents
or each 500 collected.
Eghty-seven Cents for Each 500.
For the fiscal year 1921 the total !
objections through this department J,
'as 1885, 900, 1854 and the expendi- :
ures for all purposes mentioned +
&c, BOB, 1854, which is 81 hundredths l
f one per cent or 81 cents for each
100 collected. t
1t would be practically impossible a
D figure out exactly what the col
'ctions process alone costs. The men !.
no work at the job have variety =
duties to perform and it all goes .
on the days work. But consider 4
lg the vast amount of work and the O
ariety of duties performed by these Ii
len which have nothing to do with
Dllecting of the taxes yet is included a
| the expenditures quoted above 1t II
IN be seen that the estimate of from d
cents to 81 cents per 500 is very -
beral Indeed. -