The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-11-16

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 rS-or about 12 per cent or one eighth of the cost of the wal up to now, but taking this $39 bill lion for whatever it's worth, con- sider-while Congress debates ovel how much to raise taxes for nex' year-what stupendous job 1t is te collect that sum of only $39 billion
 The whole story of this collection job was revealed by Bureau of In ternal Revnue experts, headed by Assistant Commissioner Harold N Graves, when they appeared recent ly before the House Ways ano Means Committee to ask for more money to complete the years collec- ton. Originally the BIR had beer given $95 million, but when Con- gress passed the pay-as-you-go tax bill the cost of collection went ur so high that the BIR boys had tc come back and ask for $22 million more. Under pre-war conceptions of what constituted hay, $22 million might have been considered bale. Today 1t is mere straw needed to bed down the manager for the $3e billion war horse.
 BREAKDOWN OF TOTAL
 This $39 billion is made up of $32 billion income taxes, SIS billion alcohol taxes, $3.4 billion miscellan- eous taxes and $2.1 billion in Vic tory, payroll withholding or em- ployment taxes.
 In taking in this tax haul, the Bureau of Internal Revenue has to examine III million returns-pieces of paper filed by the taxpayers. The government printing bill for these forms alone runs over g million.
 All these pieces of paper have to be checked, and that's where the headaches come in. There will be 54 million income tax returns, 30 million declarations of estimated tax 10 million returns by employers re- porting on the 30 million receipts given to 5l million employees for taxes withheld from pay envelopes
 The major part of the extra $22 million which the federal tax collec- tors say they'll need will go for ad- ministering these ay-as-you-go taxes, which are requiring an extra 13,000 employees. These are addi- tions to the present BIR force of over 36,000 employees. Tn other words 1t will take the services of 49,000 people just to collect federal taxes this year.
 DOUBLE TROUBLE
 The III million returns which they will have to examine Is about double the number they had to check last year. For every taxpayer, the declaration made out last Sep tember IS must be associated with the final return to be filed next March 15, with he receipt which the taxpeyr gets rom his employer with payments made on account of l942 taxes last March IS and June IS, with the installment to be made this coming December IS, and so on
 Then come the refunds to be ap- piled for, examined, and approved or denied.
 Some 25,oo0 applications have al- ready been received for relief from excess profits taxes of $2.5 billion already levied.
 And about 16 million individuals will be entitled to refunds totaling $400 million, paid in advance on the pay -you-go plan.
 All this employment of 49,000 peo- pie at a cost of SIT million-just to collect taxeS--is only a beginning. The Bureau of Internal Revenue chiefs gave Congress warning they'd be back later with another supple mental request for another $l9 mil lion - for overtime pay. That would bring the total cost of tax collection this fiscal year to $l36 million. Even so, the Treasury thinks it's cheap for the cost of collecting $l00 of tax money is only 35 cents. which is one figure you can understand.