Evening star., 1935-03-15
NEW PINK SLIP"
FORM DISCLOSED
Crime Menace Possible
Through Yellow File of
Corporations.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

When is a pink slip not pink slip?
The answer is: When it's yellow
slip
After all the fuss in the House OF
Representatives which adopted bill
to repeal the pink slip" revealing
income tax returns. it turns out now
that the kidnapers and the black
mailers and the snoopers will not be
disappointed Another list almost as
good for their purposes is to be fur
f1ished by the Secretary of the Treas
ury in an annual report required by a
different section of the revenue act
of 1884 than that which provided for
the pink slip"
The repeal voted by the House and
now pending in the Senate in practical
effect merely exempts from publicity
the persons with incomes below SIS 900
and those above $4,000 who happen
to get their income by clipping
coupons or receiving dividends.
Anybody who works for corpora
. tion. either as an officer or as an
employe and renders personal services
will have his name and the amount
5, that amount is above $4,000.
On Corporation Slip.
- Almost all of the persons with high
incomes, apart. of course. from the
= persons in the millionaire income
classification. will be found in the
a salaried group which must be reported
to Congress. Persons with salaries
rranging from SIS, 900 year to sl5O.OOo
sor thereabouts will discover their
names on the yellow slip" which
= every corporation has to file with the
. income tax returns. The provision of
y law untouched by the pink Slip
repeal agitation is as follows:
Under regulations prescribed by
rnthe commissioner with the approval of
athe Secretary. every corporation subject
. to taxation under this title shall. in
its return, submit list of the names
sof all officers and employees of such
corporation and the respective amounts
paid to them during the taxable year
sof the corporation by the corporation
as salary. commission. bonus or other
q compensation for personal services
stendered if the aggregate amount so
spaid to the individual is in excess of
ISIS 900,
The Secretary of the Treasury shall
submit an annual report 10 Congress
compiled from the returns made con-
tanning The names of. and amounts
paid to, each such officer and employe
and name of the paying corporation.
Gross Income Publicized.
The unfairnes of the above provision
printed on yellow slips, as contrasted
with the pink Slip is that the latter
at least permitted a statement of de-
ductionS from gross income.
The yellow slip merely states that a
man with a salary. for instance. of
sl00 900 received such an amount. 1t
doesn't point out that probably about
100000 of that sum went for Federal
: income taxes 1t doesn't take into ac-
4 count the fact that some of that
money went to pay State income taxes.
1t doesn't make note of the legitimate
deductions for any purpose, The in
ference left is that a man with a
100000 income actually had that
amount to spend on himself or his
D family.
4 1t is true that the Secretary's re-
: port will be filed with Congress and
;. the House or Senate can make it pub
/, lie. There is nothing requiring pub
|, licity, but nobody can ever remember
!, document of this kind which con-
!. tanned salaries of corporation officers
!. that didn't get plenty of publicity.
!. The law doesn't require names and
! addresses on the list, so maybe the
: kidnapers will not recognize the names
!. or find the home locality of the in
; dividuals. But the opportunity for
!. abuse is just as much present with
I the yellow slip as with the pink slip.
Public sentiment. which has been
I. rising up lately against the pink slip.
would have expressed itself similarly
], on the yellow slip if its meaning had
! been understood.
a (Copvripht IQ25l