Evening star., 1939-02-12
Your Income Tax
How to Keep 1t Down
By J. X. LASER. NeU York

By J. X. LASER. Ne1D York:
Simon & Schuster.
AS far as the reviewer is con-
cerned, this is the book of the year,
to date A masterpiece in short.
A jewel among books. A treasure.
A thing of beauty and joy forever.
And anything else which may occur
to you along lines similar. Oh, it
is a noble work! To Mr.. J. K. LASER
many salaams and fluctuations.
May he live long and continue to
tell us about the deductions to which
we are entitled.
For that Is what he does here.
In simple language, which no gov
ernment official could ever master
of course, he puts down the ways
in which you may reduce your tax
to its minimum and still not fall
afoul of the law. You have no idea
how many ways there are too! Oh
really, you have not. Did you
know, for example, that, if you are
an actor, artist, musician, writer
or one engaged in a similar occu-
patton, you can claim deduction
for cost of dental work to replace
teeth knocked out in making
prize fight picture?" Would you
even have suspected that? Well,
you can claim it. 1t is under Sch.
D-16-if you are able to find Sch,
D-16 and decipher it. once you have
run it down. What a different face
that puts on life, to be sure.
And more-if you are a profess
sional man. you can deduct the cost
of your licence plates. What pity
that the State allows us to buy
only one set for single car! The
reviewer, now, would, if it we're pos
sible, plaster her modest go-cart
with plates from headlights to tail
yellow plates, orange plates, red
plates, blue plates, green, pink and
orchid plates-all colors. And she
would go seriously into the business
of keeping manufacturers advised
concerning tariff legislation" for,
If she did that, she could deduct
the cost of 1t. The ways and means
by which you can save money from
the hands of the Government, simply
by giving it to some one else, seem
indeed, by Mr.. Lassers little yellow
book, to be ingenious and infinite.
They make absolutely fascinating
reading. The citizens are strongly
urged to procure copy immedi-
ately.
Well, joking aside, there would
seem to be much merit in such
work as this. Not long ago an ar
ticle in the Commentator declared
that at present the invisible taxes
levied by the Government take %
dollars out of every hundred that a
person earns. This, of course, is no
taxation of the rich, for those in
visible taxes are on the commodities
of the poor-on cigarettes, and
clothes and gasoline and candy and
even on bread. Twenty-Five dollars
out of every hundred! Think, only,
what that means to the man who
earns no more than 500 a month.
Think what it means also to his
family.
Income taxes, needless to say, are
in addition to this constant nibbling
by the Government at the private
pocketbook. They are bold bites,
frankly taken. If Mr.. LASER, or
anybody else, can inform the peo-
ple-in ineligible terms-of the
ways by which these bites may be
reduced, he has done something,
certainly, which is public benefit.
For the tax blanks themselves are
not much help. One needs to be a
Government official oneself to take
any comfort from them.
Messrs. Simon and Schuster, who
are bringing Mr. Lasser's master
piece out, deserve thanks and &C
claim for their public spirited
achievement. They make the hand
some offer to purchasers that, if the
tax law is changed this season they
will send information to cover the
alterations. They will do 50 free OF
additional charge. they even prom
ise. AL you have to do Is mail