Evening star., 1922-05-02
INCOME TAX PLAN
|. S|MPuF|ESPAY|NG
Treasury Official Would
''Send Government to Peo-
pIe,' Says Lawrence.
BY DAVID LAwRENCE.

I'VE will send the government to
the people Instead Of making the
people come to the government" said
Elmer Dover. assistant secretary Of
the Treasury, in outlining to this cor
respondent today the plan he has in
mind whereby every taxpayer in the
United States will be able to ascsr-
tain Immediately the exact 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 anxiousN seat over
long periods Of time because Of un-
lated their taxes correctly. The new
plan would speed up the auditing and
especially would make available in a
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 handled
at regional headquarters without
even 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
Pacific Coast Test.
Because it will take time to find
reau shall be equipped and what the
problems Of administration will be, 1t
has been thought best to use the Pa
Clfic coast as laboratory, and when
the system has been perfected the
same plan will. he applied to the
whole country so that before March
next year the income tax returns will
be audited and settled without refer
ence to Washington in .nine-tenths of
the cases.
Mr.. Dover said he would let the
Pacific coast bureau handle all claims
for refunds or tax controversies In
volvfng $4,000 or less. This, he said
included at least sb per cent Of the
returns. AS for those in excess Of
that sum, the national bureau at
Washington would. continue to handle
them, except that by relieving the
Washington Office OF most Of the re-
turns persons with claims above $2b.-
900 will get much more rapid action
and will be saysA fiassand money. !.
Four Corps.
twill be the pSifsSa bthe Treasury
Department to testal Ssh a corps Of
trained men fronr thH National Capt.
tai in the offices tofs the four collec-
ton districts, :snAmefyaSat Tacoma,
Portland. San Francesca, and Los
Angeles. These Districts will be
under the direction not of the local
collectors of internal rsEenue. but
under what is known as revenue
agent in charge. This officer already
is provided for in the income tax ad-
ministration. He scrutinizes feturr1s
and acts more or less as q check on
the work OF the collectors. II he is
in doubt he will refersthe return to
the main office Of the internal revenue
in the National Capital.
)" There are sixty-four collection dis
tricts in the United States and it is
not known yet how many regional
bureaus OF internal revenue will be
required to make the system effective.
will teach the Treasury Department
necessary. There are other advan-
tages OF decentralization besides con-
venience to the taxpayers. It ts felt
that the government viii be able TO
maintain it's personnel better In
branch Offices than In Washington.
where the constant changes and
shifting have impeded the work. AS
sistant Secretary Dover has made up
his mind that his job In the scheme
Of things here is to simplify the In
come tax auditing. He will go to
the Pacific coast soon to supervise in
person the new regional operations
of, the internal revenue bureau.
y Copyright, 1s22.l