Bugaboos Laid

YOUR INCOME TAX--J. K. Lasser--Simon & Schuster ($1).

In 1935 Manhattan Publisher Richard Leo Simon bought a house from Hugh Satterlee, a tax consultant and kin to J. P. Morgan. While he was at it, smart Publisher Simon persuaded Mr. Satterlee to write a book showing people how to fill out their income tax returns. The 1936 and 1937 versions of Your Income Tax sold 80,000 copies. There was no 1938 edition. Last week Simon & Schuster came out with a brand-new edition in a glaring yellow cover bearing the wily subtitle, How to Keep it Down.

Written in simple you-style by a certified public accountant, Your Income Tax treats the befuddled lower-bracket taxee very much as a psychiatrist would handle an alarmed patient. The 120 pages of text lay every bugaboo from Who-Must-File-a-Return to What-to-do-if-They-Get-After-You. You can hardly go wrong unintentionally. Author Lasser warns you sternly not to try it intentionally, then proceeds to list hundreds of legal exemptions and deductions that you may not have thought of before. Samples:

From gross income you may exclude alimony, damages collected for breach of promise, alienation of affections, libel or slander. You may deduct money spent to get a job, automobile expenses (including fines for negligent driving), the cost of dental work to replace teeth knocked out in pursuit of duty, money spent on unsuccessful inventions.

You may not deduct National Guard fees, graft money, expenses of lobbying for legalized horse racing, contributions to birth-control or anti-saloon leagues; nor can you deduct money spent in preparation of your income tax return.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.