The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-12-28

| throw in few problems OF multi
plication and decimals to make sure
you're ready for the task, because
this year you have to figure per-
centages. And you can bet your last
funny steel penny that the lines
4, forming around the income tax col
lectorS' desks next March Is will be
longer and madden and more mud
died than they have ever been.
To begin with, this year you'll
have to fill out two (2) different
forms covering your income for
three CD different years. 1t is not
nice to ruin your holiday season
with this bad news, but you might
as well know what's ahead SO you
can prepare accordingly by (a)
drowning your cares in fiagon of
wartime woe or (b) staying cold
sober so as to face with clear
head the ordeal ahead
BALANCING YOUR
TAX BOOKS
The first of these forms, covering
your anticipated income and Vic
tory tax payments for 1914, is SIM
liar to the form you wreStled with
last September Is, estimating your
income and your Victory and with
holding taxes for 1913. From this
estimate of income and taxes for
1914, you may find that the taxes
to be withheld from your pay enve-
lope in 1914 will be sufficient to
meet your federal taxes for the
year, in which case you will have
to make no March Is payment on
your 1914 income. On the other
hand, you may find you will have
to pay something extra on March
Is. Either way, you will have to
bring this calculation into balance
with what you owe the government
or what the government will owe
you on your 1912 and 1943 income
taxes, which are calculated on the
second form.
On this second form you must
figure accurately the things you
made estimates on last September
l5.-income taxes, expenses and de-
auctions authorized by lava regu-
ton, but covering the two years
1912 and 1943. It's necessary to fig
ure it on a two-year basis because
this is the first year in which the
pay-as-you-go plan has been in
effect and also because a part of
your 1912 taxes were forgiven.
Before January 81, your employer
is supposed to furnish you with
statement on your exact earnings
for 1913 and the amount of taxes
he has withheld from your pay. AS
soon as you get these figures, you
can get on with your chore, for
which there viii! be the customary
long form and 81 ort form. The long
form is for use if your income is
less than $4,000 year.
"SIMPLIFICATION> is
VEXATION
The trouble is all with the tax
law itself. In interests of simplifl-
cation, the Treasury this year pro-
posed migrating income and Vic
tory taxes by dropping some nine
million potential taxpayers from the
rolls-almost entirely married peo-
pie of the lowest income groups.
The combined yield to the govern
ment from these nine million was
estimated at 100000, 900. Treasury
would have made up this sum by
dropping 10 per cent earned income
credit.
The House Ways and Means
Committee, not liking this idea,
brought forward new minimum
tax" proposal which would have
re-educating all the low in
come group of taxpayers and would
have collected a mere $751; 900, 900
from the nine million taxpayers in
the lowest income group.
Then the Senate Finance Com
mittee, unwilling to achieve real
defeated the minimum
tax and retained the Victory tax
in it's present form. There matters
stood as Congress went home for
the Christmas holidays.
The whole tax bill, in its present
unpassed form, is one glorious mess.
yielding only $4,000, 100000 added
taxes, reducing other tax rates now
in effect, freezing social security
taxes and refunding certain sums
recovered by war contract renego-
tiation, this 1914 tax bill, is passed
in its present form, would actually
lose the government money. The
President could veto such a tax bill.
and the Treasury would be ahead.
Thus does Congress labor toward