STATEMENT No. 5 Of the total number of 2,620 appeals decided to October 31, 1934, by the Circuit Courts of Appeals and the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, certiorari to the Supreme Court was applied for in 452 cases. court thereon is shown by the following table: Circuit Court of Appeals action on Board's decision: Affirmed... Modified.. Jurisdiction refused. Supreme Court's action on Board's decision: Affirmed by decision........... Affirmed by denial of certiorari_ Affirmed by dismissal. Modified by decision. Modified by denial of certiorari. Reversed by decision... Reversed by denial of certiorari... Pending Oct. 31, 1934: On application for certiorari_ On certiorari granted...... STATEMENT No. 6 The action of that 298 30 115 9 77 257 3 6 17 25 40 6 21 Total receipts and expenditures of the Board from its beginning to Oct. 31, 1934 A filing fee of $10 fixed pursuant to authority contained in sec. 904 of the Revenue Act of 1926. Board is authorized by sec. 1004 (b) of the Revenue Act of 1926 to fix a fee for preparing and conforming aranscript of the record on appeal. $300 transferred to printing and binding (sec. 317, act of June 30, 1932, as amended by acts Mar. 3, 25 and Mar. 20, 1933). Augmented by $756.34 (sec. 21 (e), title II, p. 15, Independent Office Appropriation Act, Mar. 28, 1934. Amented by $23,808 to restore 5 percent salary reductions. Augmented by approximately $2,000 to cover 40-hour week. (2) Transfer of $3,000 from "Salaries and Expenses" to "Printing and Binding" to cover cost of bound volume no. 31 is anticipated. (3) Savings, 1934: Salaries and expenses: Legislative salary reduction_. Lapses, leave without pay, and unfilled vacancies. Printing and binding.. Savings, 1935: Salaries and expenses, legislative salary reduction_ Savings, 1936: Salaries and expenses $61, 308 9, 931 None. $23, 947 None. None. (9) Personal services, limitation of appropriation for Salaries (90 percent)---- Increase due to 5-percent restoration (5 percent). STATEMENT No. 8 1 $505, 924 22,000 $436, 350 23, 808 Statement showing the administrative promotions made since June 30, 1934, under the authority of sec. 24, Independent Offices Act, 1935 Statement showing the administrative promotions made since June 30, 1984, under the authority of sec. 24, Independent Offices Act, 1935-Continued SALARIES, REDUCTION IN PERSONNEL Mr. WOODRUM. Judge Black, we would like to have you take up the items, one by one, and make such observations in reference to them as you care to make. Mr. BLACK. The first item is the item for salaries, and the amount is $478,500. The estimate includes the salaries of the 16 members of the Board and the 117 employees of the Board. The estimate is based on 100 percent of those salaries and that accounts for the increase over the appropriation last year. The estimate for last year was on the basis of 90 percent of salaries, as the committee will recall. I believe there is one additional employee that was added during the year at $1,260. I might say in this connection that the Board of Tax Appeals is a Comparatively small organization, and apparently all of the employees are kept reasonably busy at work, and I do not know of any reduction that could be made at this time in the force. Mr. WOODRUM. You still have some vacancies in your staff that ive not been filled? Mr. BLACK. We have only one vacancy. We abolished some positions on the 1st of July 1934 because of the request of the Bureau of Le Budget that we endeavor to absorb some of this restoration of jay by the working of economies. The positions abolished carried regate salaries of $16,520. Mr. WOODRUM. What were those positions? Mr. BLACK. One was the position of auditor, which had been filled by Capt. Thomas B. Dixcy, who resigned on account of ill health, and I am sorry to say has since died. His position was not filled, because the Board did not regard it as necessary to do so. Another position was that of attorney, filled by Mr. Joseph P. Crockett. He was promoted to a vacancy that existed in the grade above, and his former position was abolished. Then Mr. Ellis D. Beaver, an attorney for the Board, resigned to accept employment with the State of Kansas in its income-tax departent, and his position was abolished, because the Board did not feel it was necessary to fill it. Thomas J. Davis was a division clerk who resigned and we did not deem it necessary to fill his position. Then there was a stenographic position at $1,620 that we did not deem it necessary to fill. So those five positions were abolished in compliance with the request of the Bureau of the Budget that we cooperate in whatever way we could to help absorb the increase resulting from the restoration of pay. We have one vacant position in the attorneys' force that we have not filled, but we have not felt that we should abolish it as yet, because we might possibly find the need to fill it. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES The next item is for materials and supplies. The estimate is $2,950, as compared with $3,166 for the fiscal year 1935. That item covers the purchase of general office supplies such as paper, envelops, stencil sheets on which to cut the Board's stencils, pencils, typewriter ribbons, cardboard, and things of that kind. The Board will have some carry-over of supplies into the next year, and we feel that a small reduction can be made, and that is the reason for that. COMMUNICATIONS The next item is for communications, $3,000, which is the same amount as was appropriated for the fiscal year 1935. That item covers the cost of contract telephone service, which remains constant unless there should be some reduction in telephone rates. I have seen something in the newspapers about a reduction in telephone rates that is to come into effect, but I do not know whether that affects the Government or not, perhaps not. This item also covers the comparatively few long-distance calls and telegraph tolls that we have to pay. TRAVEL EXPENSE The next item is for travel, for which $9,000 is estimated for the fiscal year 1936, as compared with $10,000 appropriated for the fiscal year 1935. That covers the travel cost and per diem of the members of the Board and its division clerks who go to the larger cities to hold tax hearings for the Board on what we call "circuit hearings." We hold inany of those in the principal cities of the United States, and because of the very large number we have held during the fiscal year 1934 and are holding in the fiscal year 1935, we think $9,000 will cover the amount required for the fiscal year 1936. Our circuit calendars have been very materially reduced in the number of cases pending and we estimate there will be some reduction in these hearings for the fiscal year 1936, and that $9,000 will be sufficient to cover that item. STENOGRAPHIC REPORTING SERVICE The next item is for stenographic reporting service, and we estimate $17,000 will be required for that for 1936 as compared with $18,000 required for the fiscal year 1935. We make that estimate, based on the assumption that our contract price for reporting will be substantially the same as it is at present. These contracts for our reporting are let on a competitive basis, and we have no reason to believe that the cost of this work will be any more than during the present year, and on account of some reductions in our dockets perhaps there will not be as many pages of reporting in the year 1936, and we believe we can get along with $17,000. Mr. WOODRUM. Is that contract let annually, Judge Black? Mr. WOODRUM. Every year? Mr. BLACK. Yes, sir. Mr. WOODRUM. Has the same person been getting the contract every year? Mr. BLACK. For the last 2 years the same reporting firm has been awarded the contract, but there have been changes in past years. This last year the present contractor, or rather the contractor for 1934 was the low bidder for 1935 and was awarded the contract because the firm is a responsible bidder. Mr. WOODRUM. Is that contractor a Washington firm? Mr. BLACK. Smith & Hulse are Washington people; yes, sir. I understand they have been the reporters for the Interstate Commerce Commission for a good many years, and probably have some other contracts. REPAIRS AND ALTERATIONS The next item is for repairs and alterations, for which the estimate is $200 as compared with $400 appropriated for 1935. That item covers minor repairs of furniture and equipment, and things of that kind. We have that done generally through the superintendent of the Internal Revenue Building. He has carpenters and mechanics, and whenever we need small repairs that work has been done out of that appropriation. We think $200 will be sufficient to take care of that. SPECIAL AND MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES The next item is for special and miscellaneous expenses, for which the estimate is for $200, the same amount as was appropriated for 1935. That covers express charges and occasional freight charges, and other miscellaneous items that may not be covered in the general classification of items. It is the same as last year. FURNITURE AND FIXTURES The next item is for furniture and fixtures, for which the estimate is $3,150, as compared with an appropriation of $1,500 for the fiscal Year 1935. That represents an increase of $1,650 over the appropriation for the current year. Out of that item we purchase and exchange any typewriters that may be needed; also purchase law books and periodicals for our library, and the published tax services for the members and the attorneys of the Board, which are very essential to have. We have to keep in our library all the State statutes and all of the State reports. The State reports are usually carried in the publica |