Evening star., 1937-02-01

Federal Govern David Lawrence.
ment.
The first move was to select as Un-
dersecretary of the Treasury with
special assignment to supervise the
Internal Revenue Bureau, man with
a broad BACKGROUND Of knowledge on
the whole subject Of taxation, Such
an individual, taken not out OF the
precincs of politics but out OF Co
]umbia University-Prof. Roswell Ma
eill-has now been confirmed by the
Senate in the position of Undersecre-
tary.
Heretofore the Undersecretaries OF
the Treasury have been men who spe-
cialized in Government reflnancing or
in conducting the Treasurys relations
with Congress. The selection OF Prof.
Magill means that taxes today stand
at the top of the list of tasks which
Secretary Morgenthau feels are essen
tial to the successful conduct of the
Treasury Department.
No Stranger to Work.
Prof. Magill is no stranger to the
VI W SdpllOl isN AAeho
been a special assistant off and on
for the last three years under Mr.. Nor
genthau, and IS just about the best
type that could be chosen for this par
ticular purpose.
1t is important to note that an
nouncement of Magills appointment
came about the same time that pub
lished reports revealed a plan whereby
Senator McGill of Kansas is to re-
sign to go on the Federal bench,
while Guy Helvering. the present COM
missioner OF internal revenue. is to
be appointed United States Senator
by the Democratic Governor of Kan
saS.
What this means is that when va
cancy occurs in the commissionership
Of internal revenue some man like
Deputy Commissioner Eldon P. King,
who is familiar with the administra-
tive side of our tax system, will be ele-
waited, and the whole job of tax COL
lection will be approached from per-
haps new standpoint.
Recalls British Study.
Especial interest in this connection
attaches to the report made TO Con-
gress by Prof. Magill. Deputy Com
missioner King and L. H. Parker of
the Joint Congressional Committee
on Internal Revenue Taxation about
two years ago after these three ex-
perts had made an intensive study
of the British tax system.
Already, in an unostentatious way,
Secretary Morgenthau has put into
laboratory test some of the recon-
mendations of the Magill report and
it would not be surprising if the ap-
appointment of Prof. Magill led to
the application of other principles of
British experience.
Decentralized administration is the
principal feature of the British plan
which MI Magill and his associates
found. The report says in part:
The assessment and collection Of
taxes in Great Britain has been kept
practically current. Appeals are COM
paratively few and taxpayers are we'll
satisfied with the fairness and eff
cheney of the revenue service. These
results appear to be mainly due to
the British system OF decentralization
and to the excellent personnel which
has been developed.
Broad Powers for Inspectors.
Broad powers are conferred on the
tax inspector in the field, and his
work is not subject to repeated and
time-consuming reviews by the high
er revenue officials as is the case in
the United States. The local in
spector is encouraged in every way to
reach a final settlement with the tax
payer, particularly upon questions OF
fact; and only in rare cases is this
settlement subsequently reopened.
The good results secured under
the British system of administration
suggest a more decentralized admin
istration of the federal income tax
and the employment of sufficient
field force to make more thorough |
and accurate determination at the |
first point of contact with the tax
payer. Because of the present prac-
tical considerations, it is probable |
that this plan should be tried out in !
one area"
For the past 10 months in the
Cleveland area the Treasury has been
carrying on such decentralization
experiment, internal revenue agents
on the ground being empowered to
settle cases. Appeals, of course. can
60 automatically to the Board OF Tax
Appeals and are set on the Cleveland
Calendar of the boards regular ses-
sions.
Other Points Raised.
There are many other interesting |
things in the Magill report which have
not yet been taken up. though they |
have been carefully studied. Thus
the report asks, among other points,
the following questions:
Should we eliminate the taxation
of capital gains and the deduction of
capital losses in order to secure a
more stable revenue and to avoid |
many complex questions in connec-
ton with valuations and reorganiza-
tions? Should we limit the deduc-
tions for depreciation and depletion as
has been done in England
Plainly America is on the way to
real reform in tax methods and the |
opportunity before Secretary Nor
genthau and Undersecretary Magill
to put the income tax on more pro-
ductive as well as more satisfac- |
tory administrative basis would seem |
to be one that could very well re-
fleet great credit upon the second |
Roosevelt administration
(Copyright, 1879