PREFACE TO ELEVENTH EDITION The Second Edition, correlating the Income and Estate Tax Provisions of the Revenue Acts of 1913 to 1924, was published in January, 1925; the Eighth Edition, correlating the Income Tax Provisions of the Revenue Acts of 1926 to 1938 and the Estate Tax Provisions of the Revenue Acts of 1916 to 1926, as amended between 1926 and 1938, was published in November, 1938; the Ninth Edition. correlating the Income, Estate, and Gift Tax Provisions of the Internal Revenue Code in effect during 1939 to 1943, was published in January, 1944; and the Tenth Edition, correlating such Provisions of the Code in effect during 1944 to 1949, was published in 1950. Between 1913 and 1938, the period covered by the Second and Eighth Editions, there were fourteen different Revenue Acts-a new law for approximately each two years. During that period, Congress re-enacted the entire Income Tax Provisions in each Revenue Act, with the exception of the Revenue Acts of 1935 and 1937, which were merely amendatory. Likewise, the Estate Tax Provisions were re-enacted in their entirety in the Revenue Acts of 1916 to 1926. There were approximately 305 amendments of the Income and Estate Tax Provisions during this 26-year period. The re-enactment of the entire law about every two years rendered it comparatively easy for taxpayers to ascertain exactly what the law was during any given year. Since the enactment of the Internal Revenue Code on February 10, 1939, however, Congress has pursued an entirely different policy. From 1939 to 1943, the five-year period covered by the Ninth Edition, there were 737 different amendments, an average of 147 each year, 577 being retroactive for periods ranging up to approximately four years. During the years 1944 to 1949, the six-year period covered by the Tenth Edition, there were 380 amendments, a large number of which were retroactive for several years. During the three-year period from 1950 to 1952, which is covered by the new Eleventh Edition, there have been 750 amendments, many of which were made retroactive. Only a small number of the amendments since February 10, 1939 have been made by re-enacting the amended sections in their entirety. Most of them have been made by striking out language and inserting other language, the consequence of which has been that taxpayers and their representatives have been required to make the necessary eliminations and substitutions. The result of so many amendments of the Code in such patchwork fashion has been to cause unnecessary confusion. This has been accentuated by the method employed by Congress in scattering the various amendments of a particular section of the Code throughout the III entire amending act, instead of including all of them in one place. For instance, Section 22 was amended 22 times between February 10, 1939 and December 31, 1943. Eighteen of these amendments were made by the Revenue Act of 1942 and distributed throughout that Act in 18 different places, instead of being grouped together in one place. In the new Eleventh Edition, the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code pertaining to Income, Estate, and Gift Taxes are correlated. At the end of each amended section, there is a note explaining the amendment, when it became effective, etc. The reader thus is able to determine exactly what the law was before and after each amendment and to make immediate comparison of the laws which were in effect during the years 1950 to 1952, inclusive. In the new Eleventh Edition the Income Tax provisions are printed in full in the 1950 column. In the other columns, only the amended sections are reprinted. In the case of a section which was not amended, there is a note merely stating, "Same As 1950," or whatever the year may be. This will indicate immediately whether a particular section was the same, or amended, and if so, how. The Estate and Gift Tax provisions are not printed in separate columns for each year, inasmuch as there have been only a few amendments of these provisions. The years to which these amendments are applicable, however, are clearly indicated. In the front of the book there is a Table showing the year of origin of each Section of the Code, the Section and Act where it originated, and Cross References to the pages of the Second, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Editions, where corresponding Sections from 1913 to 1949 will be found. Owners of the Second, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Editions and the new Eleventh Edition, therefore, will be able to trace the history of any current Code provision from 1913 to the present time, a period of 40 years. * There is also a detailed Subject Index at the back of the book. The author desires to renew his thanks to the many users of the previous editions for their encouragement and their suggestions for improvements since the First Edition was published in January, 1922. WALTER E. BARTON Attorney and Counsellor at Law Washington, D. C. Washington, D. C. *The Second, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Editions cover the entire period from 1913 to 1949. The First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Editions overlap, and may be discarded. |