Every one of the ninety-six national banks that have, during the fiscal year, ceased to be depositaries of the public moneys of the United States and fiscal agents of the government, have paid over their balances promptly, without a single exception. There are yet unsettled claims for public moneys standing against the Venango National Bank of Franklin, Pennsylvania, and the First National Bank of Selma, Alabama. CLASSIFICATION OF SECURITIES HELD IN TRUST. Pledged for the redemption of circulating notes: Registered coin-interest six per cents...... 8236, 647, 150 Coupon coin-interest six per cents... Registered coin-interest five per cents. 20, 200 87,651, 250 Coupon coin-interest five per cents.. 10,000 Registered currency-interest six per cents.. 18, 523, 000 Total to secure circulating notes... $342, 851, 600 Coupon coin-interest six per cents.. Registered coin-interest five per cents. Coupon coin-interest five per cents... Pledged for the prompt payment of public moneys: Registered coin-interest six per cents.... $16,877,350 1,918, 300 3, 880, 950 1,442, 750 Registered currency-interest six per cents.. One personal bond.. 1, 304, 000 Total to secure public moneys... 25, 453, 350 Total securities held in trust for national banks........ 368, 304, 950 SECURITIES HELD IN TRUST FOR NATIONAL BANKS. To assure the redemption of their circulating notes: United States stocks at date of last report, June 30, 1868. $341, 495, 900 Deposited in fiscal year....... $16, 596, 250 Withdrawn in fiscal year... INTEREST PAID TO NATIONAL BANKS ON STOCKS HELD FOR THEM IN TRUST. Interest on coupon bonds has been paid to national banks, during the year, by three hundred and ninetysix drafts for coin, amounting to.. Interest on registered stocks has been drawn, on such stocks held by the Treasurer in trust for national banks, by the various banks entitled to receive the same, at the various offices at which it was, at their own request, made payable, during the fiscal year, amounting in the aggregate to.. Total amount paid.... $255,741 00 21, 419, 114 67 21, 674, 855 67 NATIONAL BANK DEPOSITARIES. The business transactions between the treasury of the United States and the several national banks that have been designated as depositaries of the public moneys and financial agents of the government have been, during the fiscal year, as follows: Balance brought from last year's account. Total balance and receipts... Payments during the fiscal year. Total payments and balance to new account. $23,057, 167 07 115, 371, 786 80 138, 428, 953 87 .$129, 553, 812 14 8,875, 141 73 138, 428, 953 87 All these collections have been promptly paid as required, in the ways, in the manner, and at the points, as directed by this office; and in most cases without any expense to the government, as appears by the following statement: Through expresses at government expense. Total payments during the year........ $15, 371, 266 61 114, 182, 545 53 129, 553, 812 14 The foregoing statements show that while these banks had deposited in the treasury of the United States, to insure the prompt payment of the moneys belonging to the government, stocks of the United States, of the par value of $25,423,350, the government deposits were only $8,875,141 73. The securities at their market value being more than three to one of the amount of deposits. DUTY COLLECTED FROM NATIONAL BANKS. The semi-annual duty paid to the Treasurer by national banks, during the year preceding January 1, 1869, is as follows: For the term of six months preceding July 1, 1868: For the term of six months preceding January, 1869: the year was. The unpaid duty of banks in liquidation at the beginning of There was collected of this, during the year.. $10, 767 20 7,432 72 Amount of duty due and remaining unpaid.. 3, 334 48 EXCESS OF DUTIES PAID, REFUNDED. Claims of excess of duties paid by banks have been audited and paid, in the last fiscal year, under a resolution in relation to national banking associations, approved March 2, 1867, as follows, to wit: $5, 911, 280 64 688 71 The total receipts for duty in the year preceding January Increase of duty this year over last year.... Increase of duty for the year preceding the last............. Increase for the last two years.. $5,910, 591 93 5,766, 082 12 144, 509 81 167,651 59 312, 161 40 ENFORCEMENT OF THE PAYMENT OF DUTIES FROM DELINQUENT NATIONAL BANKS. The act entitled "An act to provide a national currency secured by a pledge of United States bonds, and to provide for the circulation and redemption thereof," passed June 3, 1864, declares, in section 41, that in lieu of all existing taxes, every association shall pay to the Treas urer of the United States, in the months of January and July, a duty of one-half of one per centum each half year, from and after the first day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, upon the average amount of its notes in circulation, and a duty of one-quarter of one per centum each half year upon the average amount of its deposits, and a duty of one-quarter of one per centum each half year, as aforesaid, on the average amount of its capital stock beyond the amount invested in United States bonds; and in case of default in the payment thereof by any association, the duties aforesaid may be collected in the manner. provided for the collection of United States duties of other corporations, or the Treasurer may reserve the amount of said duties out of the interest, as it may become due on the bonds deposited with him by such de faulting associations. And it shall be the duty of each association, within ten days from the first days of January and July in each year, to make a return, under the oath of its president or cashier, to the Treasurer of the United States, in such form as he may prescribe, of the average amount of its notes in circulation, and of the average amount of its deposits, and of the average amount of its capital stock beyond the amount invested in United States bonds, for the six months next preceding said days of January and July as aforesaid, and in default of such return, and for each default thereof, each defaulting association shall forfeit and pay to the United States the sum of two hundred dollars, to be col lected either out of the interest as it may become due such association on the bonds deposited with the Treasurer, or, at his option, in the manner in which penalties are to be collected of other corporations under the laws of the United States; and in case of such default the amount of the duties to be paid by such association shall be assessed upon the amount of notes delivered to such association by the Comptroller of the Currency, and upon the highest amount of its deposits and capital stock, to be ascertained in such other manner as the Treasurer may deem best. It will be seen that while there is no difficulty in obtaining from the office of the Comptroller of the Currency all the necessary information by which a proper assessment can be made, and that, too, so that the rates will be high enough to make the extra assessment of itself a pretty severe penalty and enough to prevent the recurrence of the neglect; yet, there is a penalty of two hundred dollars imposed by the law for a neglect on the part of any bank to make a proper return in the proper time; while for the neglect or refusal, on the part of any bank that may have made the return, to pay the duty upon such return, there is no available penalty. The only practical way, under the law, in such cases is, to retain the interest due the defaulting bank on its stocks deposited with the Treasurer. Now it so happens that the banks are, by law, allowed ten days from the first days of January and July in which to make their returns, and that much of the interest falls due, and is paid, on these very days. Most of the remainder of the interest falls due four months later, to wit, on the first days of May and November. Thus, the remedy or the coercive power to collect the duties is put off either for four or for six months, as the interest may become due on the stocks of such defaulting banks; and the government is in the mean time wrongfully kept out of its dues. A very few, but the number may grow larger, unlike the great mass of the banks, seem to care more for the money they may make by retaining the dues of the government for four or six months, than they do for their reputations, and avail themselves of this oversight in the law to defraud the United States. Such banks make their returns regularly, for there is a penalty for the neglect to do so; but, they neglect to pay the duty within the month, as required by the law, because it is their interest not to pay, and because there is no penalty for that neglect. The forty-first section of the national bank act should, in order to be effective, be so amended as to change the penalty from the non-essential part, for not making a report, to the very important one of enforcing the prompt payment of the duty to the government. The various modes for the collection of taxes, in their best forms, are more or less offensive to the parties taxed. The process for their assessment and collection should, therefore, be the most simple in form, and the least offensive and vexatious possible to the tax-payers. It is believed that the national banks are unnecessarily harassed in the matter of the payment of their dues to the government. They are called upon semi-annually by this office to pay one-half of one per cent. on their "circulation," and one-quarter of one per cent. each on their "deposits" and on their "capital stock," all under the head of "duty." The collections from the three sources named as "duty," during the fiscal year ending with June 30, 1869, amounted in the aggregate to five million nine hundred and eleven thousand two hundred and eighty del-lars and sixty-four cents, ($5,911,280 64.) This large amount was paid. into the treasury without any expense for its collection to the banks or to the government. The national banks are also required to pay to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue a special tax of two dollars upon every thousand: dollars of capital stocks, and a tax of five per cent. on all dividends,. and five per cent. on all undistributed sums, or sums made or added during the year to their surplus or contingent funds. With all the investigation that has so far been had, no accurate result could be arrived at as to the aggregate amount so collected from the national banks by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue on the three items mentioned. The collections from national banks are included in, the accounts as kept, with these same items of taxes and various other items of taxes, that have been collected from banks, bankers, trust companies, savings institutions, or of any fire, marine, life, or inland: insurance companies. Enough has, however, been ascertained to warrant the conclusion that the gross amount of taxes so collected by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue from all the national banks does not exceed one-half the amount collected by the Treasurer as duty from these same banks. Now it is submitted, whether it would not be better to have the stat utes so amended as to make all these collections semi-annually, and to, give the collection of the whole six items of tax and of duty from all national banks, entirely and exclusively, either to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or to the Treasurer of the United States. In the last annual statement from this office the fact was stated that one hundred and fifty-seven of the national banks had within that fiscal year failed to comply with the provisions of the twenty-fifth section of the act entitled "An act to provide a national currency," passed June 3, 1864. |
