Evening star., 1926-03-09
BEATING THE INCOME TAX
Uncle Sam Says 1t Can't Be Done.
BY WALTER Fl. ATKINS

ing in the social register OF that par
ocular state, grew very loquaclous
about her husbands financial success
and especially about several big deals
he had put over. netting a cleanup IN
profits of nearly 100000. Some
friends of the wife chided her with
suggestions that her husband couldn't
pocket all Of the velvet" in those
large deals. She rather resented that
suggestion and confided to them that
her husband knew how" to beat the
Government, for he had been doing
that identical thing for years. she
boasted. Some woman, an interested
listener to this conversation. evidently
jealous of the social and financial
standing OF the all-too-conhdent nara
tor of the story. tipped off the Inter
nal Revenue Bureau.
Pays S1O0,OO0 Back Taxes.
What followed when intelligence
agents got on the trail "A hours later
provided one OF the spiciest chapters
for gossip that particular town had
had for many years. Social scepters
changed hands and great bitterness
was engendered in the aftermath and
hubbub of scandal. The man in
volved. confronted with evidence col
lected by intelligence agents. had to
admit shamefacedly that he had
cheated the Government. He paid
800 900 in back taxes and penalties.
A society woman in the role OF In
former" upset the normal placidity OF
a fashionable New England resort q
short while ago. This place ia the
mecca for people of wealth and dis
tinction from all parts Of the country.
In the home of one of the colonists q
ball was given one night that drew
the elite of the town. Wine flowed
freely. Chatter among the merry
makers was free and unrestrained. A
certain woman. bearing the name OF
A family known all over the country,
INDUCED as freely as the rest at the
bowl of a thousand kicks. She re-
lated somewhat in a confidential tone
to a small group of women standing
near that her husband had reaped a
profit of more than $1,000 900 in a
real estate deal. Here jealousy bobbed
up again with fatal result for the
talkative woman. Her husband was
suspected of tax evasion because of
his relatively low tax payments to
the Government as shown by pub
lished returns year ago. 1t was fine
fuel for the society woman. She
dropped a neatly placed tip with the
Treasury Department. Her tip was
intended to be anonymous. but in
some way tax authorities traced tho
sender of the message and thereby got
the groundwork for case that uu.
earthed deliberate and willful tax
dodging.1hy the prominent man in.
volved and brought several hundred
thousand dollars in hack taxes into
the Treasury. The stunt Of the SO.
ciety woman who provided the essen.
tial tip has been duplicated in other
rx,;t1 A~s,E Sci
the United States Treasury.
Marked by Government.
A money.mad. capitalist wears the
tax.dodeer label in the Trea sury rec
ords today because of an Unsuitable
ambition to become richer by the
method OF "double-crossing'' his eli
efits and defrauding the Government.
This man, now facing criminal pros
ecution In the. criminal branch of q
Federal court In one Of the largest
Eastern cities, had, up to the time
of his apprehensi q national repu-
tatiOn as a negotiator In city property
deals, involving millions Of dollars.
Large firms considered as final his
judgment in the appraisal Of property
values. His scheme was to overap-
praise property. take the owner into
through excessive valuation, which he
would divide with the owner. Giving
a certain piece of real estate an &C.
tual valuation of 81, ,000, ,000, acting In
cOnnivance with the owner, he would
report to his client. a large buying
corpora ton, a valuation OF $4,000, 900.
He and the bwner would divide $780,.
900 each. The Government caught
the man at the trick and levied an
assessment Of $4,000 additional tax
and penalties.
These are a few samples Of tax
frauds that are engaging the daily
attention of the corps Of men di.
rected by Chief Elmer L. Trey. Intel
ligence Unit, Bureau Of Internal Rev
enue. They are typical OF hundreds
that intelligence naen have encoun-
tered. both al to the scope of opera
tions of the fra udulently inclined and
the ingenuity employed to beat the
Government They stand out con-
spictiously, the intelligence chief as
serts, because they reveal how some
men, noted for business acumen and.
sasacity, crumple up piteously in
efforts to cover up crooked
trails that are so plainlyt marked by
deception, perjury and
eraaid toward the Government.
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