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localId
178295279
label
Press Release, Statement by the President
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doc
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document
citationUrl
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1
Source metadata
id
178295279
contentType
document
title
Press Release, Statement by the President
citationUrl
collections
White House Press Release Files (Truman Administration)
White House Press Releases
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1
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178295279
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item
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1
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1947-07-01
month
7
year
1947
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nara-archive
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1
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photo
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e41f2e90b29206d7
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256
#1204
REDEASE
JULY 1, 1947
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
I have today approved H.R. 2436, providing appropriations for
the Treasury and Post Office Departments for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1948, because it provides for continuing in part the essontial
activities of these Departments. However, I would be remiss in my duty
if I failed to bring to the attention of the Congress and the peoplo
the gross inadequacy of the funds mado available for the collection of
our revenuo.
The administration of the taxing statutes should nover be
influonced by political considerations. People of all political faiths
are callod upon to support thoir Government through the payment of taxos
and are ontitled to adequate administrative controls to insure that the
dishonost do not shift their share to the honost.
The employees who have boen trained in the technical work of
tax administration and who have done and are now doing an excellent job
are Civil Service employees. The training of this personnol has been
paid for by the Government at great cost and this investment should not
now bo dissipated. Once these people are released it is not roasonablo to
suppose that they will be available for reemployment should additional
funds bo provided later. It will take years to restore the damago done
by the failure of the Congress to support the current efforts of our tax
collocting agency.
I am advisod by the Secrotary of the Treasury and the
Commissionor of Internal Revenue that the reduction of $20,000,000
NARA
in the appropriation for the Buroau of Internal Rovenue will mean
a reduction in personnol of 4,000 to 5,000 employees and will
rosult in a direct loss of revenue of not less than $400, 000, 000
in the fiscal year 1948. There is at the present time, with prosent
porsonnel, a backlog of 30,000 "leads" on tax evasions awaiting investigation.
The vast majority of our taxpayers are scrupulously honest in
tax mattors. Taxpayor moral is now gonerally high, but it will romain
so only if the odds remain strong that the would-be tax ovador will bo
detected and punished.
It is a fallacy to assumo that the roduction can bo absorbed
without woakoning the enforcoment activities of the Bureau, because it
is not possible to decrease materially the now inadequate number of
employoes necessary for tho routino tasks of tax collection. Tax
roturns must be recorded and funds deposited oven though the roturns
aro nevor invostigated.
It is another fallacy that the workload of the Bureau of
intornal Revenue has decreased since the close of hostilities. From
a tax colloction standpoint the prosont period resombles in many rospocts
the period immediatoly following World War I. At that time the Congross
approciated the neods of the Bureau in the matter of meeting its
accumulated load of wartime tax cases and provided increased funds
commonsurate with such burden. This policy was followed for almost six
years after that War in order that the Bureau might be able to dispose
adoquatoly of such cases.
The action which the Congross has just takon fails to recognize
the nuch greator task of tax collection resulting from World War II.