Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-12-14
UNCLE SAM TAKES
IN LESS MONEY
DECREASE OF 80 PER CENT IN
INTERNAL REVENUE BUREAU
COLLECTIONS LAST YEAR.
TOTAL WAS s3,197,451 ,o83
Cost of Operation Ffas r.~--s>~a-. -
$3.50 for Each 500 colIected-oth-
err Interesting Facts in Commission
er BIar's Report.
BY EDWARD B. CLARK

ly figures coupled up with tax facts
are not undressing. The annual re
port of the commissioner of internal
revenue for the fiscal year which end
ed June 30 last has just been made
public.
Last year the operations of the in
ternal. revenue bureau resulted in the
collection of $3,197, 451 ,o83 as com
pared with $4,595, 357,o61 in the fiscal
year which ended June 80, 1921. The
decrease is about a billion and third
dollars. or roughly, 80 per cent.
It is probable that the average
American citizen would like to know
how much it costs to collect the taxes
in the United States. Here is what
Commissioner Blair has to say upon
the subject:
1.-THE cost of administering the in
ternal revenue laws for the fiscal year
1922. was $41, ST., 374.49. This does
not include expenditures from the ap-
preparations for refunding internal
revenue collections and for refunding
taxes legally collected, which are in no
sense administrative expenses, but are
properly deductions from the gross re
ceipts. The cost of operation for the
year on this basis was $1.30 for each
$500 collected, compared with 81 cents
for the preceding year. Included in
these expenditures, however, was 81
2O2, 72307 for the administration of the
prohibition and narcotic laws COT
which amount 1888, 728.77 was for the
enforcement Of the narcotic law and
$88OO0 for the enforcement of the
child-labor section of the revenue act
of 1918 Deducting these amounts
from the total, leaves $34.286, 651. AZ as
the expenditure for collecting the in
ternal revenue taxes for the fiscal
year 1922, which is equivalent to SLOT
for each 500 collected. The cost of
collection on a similar basis for the
fiscal year 1921, was Y cents for each
500 collected.
''The difference in the relative cost
of collection for the fiscal years 1921
and 1922 is due mainly to the large re-
duction in the revenues for 1922, in
cident to the shrinkage in business
and incomes, the repeal of certain mis-
ceIaneous war taxes and various pro-
visions of law, such as the amortiza-
ton Of wartime facilities and the in
crease in individual exemptions con-
tanned in the revenue act of 1921, with
the consequent reduction in the in
come tax liability of corporations and
individuals"
Use of Cigarettes Increasing.
1t is possible to get something of an
idea of the extent of the smoking,
chewing and snuffing habits of the peo-
pie of the country from glance at
the table Of taxes prepared by the
tobacco division Of the internal rev.
enue bureau. The total receipts from
all tobacco taxes during the fiscal
year were S270,759, 1884, an increase of
S15, 539,998 The taxes on tobacco in
creased something more than per
cent over the preceding year. 1t is
said that more cigarettes and fewer
cigars are being smoked year by year
by the American people. Apparently
the women are sticking to cigarettes,
and some men are dropping their ci-
CARS to take up the paper weights"
Prohibition has gradually increased
the work of the internal revenue bu-
reau. During the last fiscal year a
complete reorganization of the activi-
ties Of the prohibition unit was effect
ed. Commissioner Blair says this has
resulted in more efficient and expe-
ditious work. The nature of the la
bors of the prohibition agents seems
to be generally known throughout the
country. It might be said, however,
that during the year which the report
covers prohibition patrol service was
ORGANIZED consisting of six boats of
the submarine chaser type. These
boats patrol the Atlantic coast and the
internal revenue commissioner says
that they have proved effective in the
prevention of smuggling.
Patrol Boats on Great Lakes.
On the Great Lakes during the fiscal
wear five motor patrol boats, each one
of which can make 33 miles an hour,
we're put into service. 1t is said that
they have been extremely seryiceable
in preventing smuggling Of intoxicat-
inc LIQUOR into the United States from
Canada.
The internal revenue bureau dis
tributes each year an enormous num-
her of revenue stamps. These are
printed by the government and turned
over to the internal revenue commits
sfoner. who issues them for sale to the
public through the internal revenue
collectors and the Post Office depart
ment.
Last year 700 different kinds of
stamps of varying denominations were
issued. The average current stock
supply of stamps. is of a value of ST.
O0O00,O0O During the fiscal year
which the report covers a total of g.
1854. 697, 6O7 stamps of an aggregate
money value of SAB, 864,0 05, were is
sued for sale to the public through the