4 under 5..

15 under 20.

100 under 150.

150 under 300.

1,000 or more..

TYPES OF TAX

The tax liability tabulated for taxable fiduciary returns includes the normal tax, surtax, and alternative tax. The amount of the liability tabulated throughout this report is the tax after the allowance of the two tax credits relating to income tax paid at source on interest from tax-free covenant bonds and to income tax paid to a foreign country or possession of the United States. The amount of the two credits for 1948 is not available. For statistical purposes, two types of tax are distinguished: normal tax and surtax, and alternative tax.

Normal tax and surtax is the sum of the two separate taxes, although they are jointly computed and reported as the combined normal tax and surtax. The tentative normal tax and surtax rates are the same as those applicable to individual income. Instructions accompanying the fiduciary return for the computation of tax provide a combined tax rate schedule whereby the combined tentative tax is computed after which the tax reduction percentages are applied. If the net income taxable to the fiduciary includes partially tax-exempt interest and dividends, the combined tentative tax is reduced by 3 percent of such income before the tax reduction percentages are applied.

Alternative tax on net income which includes a gain from sales of capital assets held more than 6 months is imposed only when there is a net long-term capital gain or an excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss and the alternative tax is less than the regular normal tax and surtax. The alternative tax is not effective on returns with surtax net income under $22,000. Alternative tax is the sum of a partial tax computed at the regular normal tax and surtax rates on net income reduced for this purpose by the net long-term capital gain or the excess over net short-term capital loss and fifty percent of such long-term gain.

Taxable fiduciary returns are tabulated in table 6, by total income classes, to show returns with normal tax and surtax separately from returns with alternative tax. Also this table contains the average tax per return based on the tax liability tabulated, and the effective tax rate based on net income taxable to the fiduciary.

DATA FOR STATES AND TERRITORIES

Tabulation of fiduciary income by States and Territories is based on the collection district in which the return is filed. A fiduciary return may be filed in the district in which the fiduciary resides or has his principal place of business; but the income reported for the estate or trust does not necessarily arise within the district. Collection districts, or groups of such districts, are coextensive with the States and Territories, except that the District of Columbia is a part of the district of Maryland and the Territory of Alaska is a part of Washington. Data for District of Columbia are tabulated separately from Maryland but data for Alaska are included with Washington. The number of taxable fiduciary returns, amounts of dividends, interest, total income, net income taxable to the fiduciary, and tax liability are presented in basic table 8 according to this distribution.

RETURNS FOR ESTATES AND FOR TRUSTS

Taxable fiduciary returns filed for the income of property held in trust are distinguished from those filed for the income of estates. In

income taxable to the fiduciary, exemption, and tax liability are tabulated by total income classes, separately for the two types of returns. Selected data from the returns for trusts, exclusively, are shown in basic tables 10 and 11 by total income classes and by net income classes, respectively. Both tabulations also provide a distribution of these selected data by the relationship of the beneficiary to the grantor of the trust.

The following summary table presents data in basic table 9 by somewhat broader total income classes than are used in that table.

Taxable fiduciary returns for 1948, by total income classes: Total number of returns, and for returns for estates and trusts, separately: Number of returns, total income, amount distributable to beneficiaries, net income, exemption, and tax liability [Total income classes and money figures in thousands of dollars]