FORMS AND REGULATIONS ESTABLISHED BY THE COMMIS- THE DECISIONS AND RULINGS OF THE COMMISSIONER, TOGETHER WITH EXTRACTS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE OFFICE. BY GEORGE S. BOUTWELL. LATE COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE. FOURTH EDITION. BOSTON: 1 LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY. NEW YORK: FITCH, ESTEE AND COMPANY. 1864. 34757 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by GEORGE S. BOUTWELL, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. درر It has been my design in the preparation of this, Manual, to furnish to the offi cers of the revenue, to business men, and to members of the legal profession, such authority and information for the transection of business, as can be derived from the proceedings, experience, and decisions of the Office of Internal Revenue. In the execution of this design. I have received, the aid and counsel of Commissioner Lewis, Deputy Commissioner McPherson, and of the clerks of the largest experience in the administration of the excise system. Among these I mention Messrs. George Parnell, William Richards, W. F. Downs, A. B. Johnson, and W. J. Gilbert. I am also indebted to Mr. George G. W. Morgan for constant, intelligent, and faithful aid in the labor of compilation. I do not claim that the treatise is either accurate or complete; but it is the best which, under the circumstances, it was practicable for me to prepare. The following correspondence with the Hon. the Secretary of the Treasury indicates the plan of the work, and is the authority for the undertaking: "TREASURY DEPARTMENT, "Office of Internal Revenue, Washington, March 30, 1863. "SIR: Authority was given by Congress at the recent session for the publication of an edition of the Excise Laws, with such an index as might be prepared by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The index is now so far advanced that the printing may be commenced without delay. 66 'Many of the decisions which have been made from time to time have been printed by the office, in the newspapers, and by various persons who have prepared works upon the excise system; but these decisions have never been revised, and several of them are changed by the act of the third of March instant. There are also in the office many letters that were prepared by the Commissioner, relating to the application of the law to the pursuits and business of the people. It would be agreeable to me to prepare a hand-book, which shall contain the law, including sections from acts which do not relate exclusively to the internal revenue system, the decisions of the office, extracts from correspondence concerning the assessment and collection of taxes, together with the forms and regulations which have been established. 66 “I should undertake the labor without compensation, and with the understanding that the government might freely print the work for the use of its officers or for gratuitous distribution. "It is my desire, however, to enter the work for copyright in my own name, with the privilege of publication, if there shall appear to be a demand therefor. "With great respect, your obedient servant, "Hon. S. P. CHASE, "Secretary of the Treasury." "GEORGE S. BOUTWELL." |