Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-12-01
Professionals Fai|inq
To Obtain Licenses
District Tx
DeudIine Will
End Today

Thousands of Washington doc
tors, lawyers and other profess
sional persons are delinquent
today in Sling for a new type
of license required by the Dis
trict next year.
The deadline for applying for
the so-called trade, business or
professional license, which costs
$25, is today. The Districts
income and franchise tax di-
vision Office is closed on Satur-
day, however.
The new provision, adopted by
the 84th Congress when the
city's income tax law was
amended, is directed at persons
not subject to the unincorporated
business regulations.
This means mainly those en-
gagged in trades or businesses
which by law, custom of ethics.
cannot be Incorporated, or in
which 80 per cent of the in
come Is from personal services
and capital is not an income
producing factor.
Nurses Are Exempt
Dentistry, podiatry and certi-
fled public accountancy are By
law prohibited from being in
corporated. Among the profess
Isions which by custom or ethics
cannot be incorporated are law,
medicine and surgery.
Registered and practical nurses
are exempt from the licensing
Requirement.
The new provision may raise
lat least a question of the re-
Iquirement to as many as 100, 900
persons in the District.
District tax officials reported
yesterday they had mailed "a 49
revenue license applications early
last month to potentially liable
persons. AS of yesterday, they
had issued only about 5000
licenses.
| In addition. the city had re-
ceived about $500 responses in
dicating the recipient wanted a
ruling. and about 1900 of the
$4,000 mailings were returned
by the Post Office.
i No Responses From Many
j Approximately two-thirds of
the mailing list. which was COM
piled primarily of persons whose
names appear on the registers Of
,Ithe department Of occupations
and professions and the insur-
lance department, have not re-
Isponded.
In addition, the tax Office be-
llieves there are many persons
Engaged In free-lance writing,
independent selling on a COM
mission basis and other unsala-
Iried work who are required to
have a license.
Tax officials indicated they
would deal leniently with those
who did not meet the filing dead
line, but urged that they write
to the Income and Franchise
Tax Office at 300 Indiana avenue
NV. for applications.
| After January 1, however,
Failure to have required license
Jean bring a penalty Of. up to
$300-a-day fine for each day of
operation without it.
Besides persons in the field of
personal service who receive fees.
lsalaried persons who engage in
sidelines may have to be COW
cred with respect to the side
lines, If the latter are found to
amount to a practice Of trade,
business or profession.
! This consideration has broad
ened the revenue expectation
from the new law, originally
aimed at such persons as doc
tors, lawyers, real estate men
and insurance statesmen among
Iothers, but 1t Is expected further
interpretations will be neces-
sary.
Early estimates Indicated a
revenue return Of about SITS 900
q year from about 1000 persona
Besides the regular individual
business and professional per-
sons subject to the licensing
requirement, others the tax office
believes liable include:
4 A salaried newspaperman who
engages in free-lance writing
with some degree Of 'regularity.
A newspaperman who appears
with some regularity on radio
and panel shows for which he
receives a fee.
Insurance Statesmen Included
I A Government employee who
. sells insurance on commission
after working hours. A salaried
Government attorney who prac-
tices law after hours.
A businessman who also is a
professional golfer.
! A university professor who re-
. ceives fees for private tutoring
services.
4 Clyde Taylor, assistant adj
ministrator Of the Income and
Franchise Tax Division. said,
however. that Were not trying
TO make big deal out OF this
He said cases would be judged as
10 whether the sideline did
amount 70 a regular occupation
or profession.