Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1922-12-14
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| ~ figures coupled up with tax facts
are not unintereSting. The annual re
port of the commissioner OF internal
revenue for Che fiscal year which end
ed June 80 last has just been made
public.
Last year the operations of the in.
ternal revenue bureau resulted in the
collection of $3.I97, Adj ,OSS as com
pared with S4.595. 357 .061 in the fiscal
year which ended June 80, 1921 The
decrease is about billion and a third
dollars. or roughly, 80 per cent.
1t is probable that the average
American citizen would like to know
how much il costs to collect the taxes
In the United States. Here lis what
Commissioner Blair has to say upon
the subject:
''The cost OF administering the in
ternal revenue laws for the fiscal year
1922 was S41 .5T7.374.4o. This does
not include expenditures from the APP
preparations for refundlng internal
revenue collections and for refundlng
taxes legally collected, which are in no
sense administrative expenses, but are
properly deductions from the gross re-
/ ceipts. Tie cost Of operation for the
/ year on this basis was $3.50 for each
500 collected, compared with 81 cents
tor the preceding year. Included In
these expenditures, however, was ST..
/ POP, 723.0T for the administration Of the
prohibition and narcotic laws (of
which amount S65S.T2S.77 was for the
enforcement of the narcotic law and
$4,000 for the enforcement Of the
child-labor section OF the revenue act
of 1918. Deducting these amounts
from the sal, leaves $34. 2S6651 AZ as
the expenditure for collecting the in
ternal revenue taxes for the fiscal
year 1922, which is equivalent to $t07
FOR each 500 collected. The cost of
collection on similar basis for the
fiscal year 1921, was 70 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-
eellaneous war taxes and various pro-
visions of law, such as the amortiza-
ton of wartime facilities and the i'm
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 shutting 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
aIl tobacco taxes during the fiscal
year were $2T0, 7593S4, an increase OF
sic, 539,99S 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 20 cigarettes.
and some men are dropping their CT
CARS to take up the paper weights"
Prohibition has gradually increased
the work of the internal revenue bu-
reau. During the last fiscal year
complete reorganization Of the activi-
ties of the prohibition unit was effect
ed. Commissioner Blair says this has
resulted In more efficient and expe-
dltious work The nature Of the la
bors of the prohibition agents seems
TO be generally known throughout the
country. 1t might be said, however.
that during the year which the report
covers a 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
year i've motor patrol boats, each one
Of which can make 33 miles an hour
were put into service. II is said that
they have been extremely serviceable
fin preventing smuggling Of intoxicat-
Ing liquor into the United States from
Canada.
The internal revenue bureau dis
tributes each year an enormous mum.
Der OF revenue stamps. These are
..t,4.od ~, tha ssovarnrnent ana tytrnad