Fbbeuaey 10, 1921 



The Florists' Review 



19 



value, such as a claim against the surety 

 company. A loss incurred through em- 

 bezzlement is an allowable deduction 

 from gross income only for the year in 

 which the embezzlement occurred. 



Bad Debts. 



Bad debts form an important item in 

 the returns of many in the trade. 

 Claims for such deductions must have 

 certain qualities. The debt must have 

 been charged off within the year in 

 which its worthlessness was discovered; 

 the return must show evidence of the 

 manner in which discovery was made; a 

 statement should be made that the 

 debtor has been discharged in bank- 

 ruptcy or has disappeared leaving no 

 trace, or that the ordinary means of 

 collection have been exhausted. 



Where the creditor continues to ex- 

 tend credit, a debt may not be claimed 

 as worthless. A debt may not be 

 charged off or deducted in part, but must 

 be wholly worthless before any part can 

 be deducted, though it may be clearly 

 worth less than the face amount. If a 

 debt is forgiven, it cannot be deducted, 

 because it is then regarded as a gift. 



The Commission Men. 



Some commission houses come under 

 the head of what are called "personal 

 service corporations," and are consid- 

 ered in the same light as partnerships in 

 the matter of income taxes. Some com- 

 mission houses do not come under this 

 classification for various reasons. A 

 personal service corporation, first of all, 

 is one which is engaged principally in 

 rendering personal service, the earnings 

 of which are ascribed primarily to the 

 activities of the principal owners or 

 stockholders, and in which the employ- 

 ment of capital is only incidental. Thus 

 a commission business conducted by the 

 owner of the concern himself without 

 financial interest in the shape of invest- 

 ments or temporary loans or advances 

 may be considered a personal service 

 corporation. But if such a corporation 

 assumes the risk of bad debts, market 

 fluctuations and the like, if it guarantees 

 accounts or makes advances to growers, 

 if the principal stockholders only direct 

 a force of employees who carry on the 

 service of the corporation — in any of 

 these cases the concern ceases to be a 

 personal service corporation and must 

 pay the higher rates that other sorts of 

 corporations pay. The term, "personal 

 service corporation," is so hedged about 

 with definitions by the law that a com- 

 mission house may not be sure it defi- 

 nitely comes under this head until its 

 return has been passed upon by tax 

 oflScials. Some commission florists have 

 been allowed to pay on this basis, while 

 others whose activities violated one of 

 the many definitions have not been al- 

 lowed to do so. 



Partnerships as such are not subject 

 to the income tax, but individual mem- 

 bers are taxed on the distributive shares 

 of net income from the business, whether 

 distributed or not, and are required to 

 include such shares in their individual 

 return, even though they may not have 

 been actually received. 



Forms for making corporation, part- 

 nership and individual tax returns are 

 available at oflSces of collectors of in- 

 ternal revenue. Copies will be mailed by 

 collectors to persons who filed these re- 

 turns last year. Failure to receive a 

 copy, however, does not relieve a flo- 

 rist of his obligation to file a return 

 on time. The period for filing is from 



January 1 to March 15, 1921. This year, 

 as last, the tax may be paid in full at the 

 time of filing the return or in fou^ equal 

 installments due on or before March I.'), 

 June 15, September 15 and December 15. 

 The return must be filed with the collec- 

 tor of internal revenue for the district 

 in which the taxpayer resides, or has liis 

 principal place of l)usiness. Heavy pen- 

 alties are provided by the revenue act 



won a number of prizes for the best 

 decorated features in the parade. The 

 illustration on this page shows them in 

 a window display by tliis firm recently. 

 Nt) loss than fourteen silver trophies 

 may be counted in the window, which 

 sjieaks well for the decorative artistry 

 of the firm. This year a feature of the 

 parade furnished by it was a white 

 iiorse mounted by a young girl and deco- 



Prizcs Won by Pasadena Florist in Annual Rose Pageant. 



for failure or willful refusal to file a re- 

 turn and pay the tax on time. 



TRUCK ADVERTISES SERVICE. 



Automobile delivery service is a means 

 of advertising for Brown & Kennedy, 

 3091 Sixteenth street, near Valencia, San 

 Francisco. On the left side of their 

 automobile, supported by the running- 

 board, is a large representation of the 

 globe, bearing the symbol of the F. T. 

 D., with a reproduction of Mercury in 

 colors. On the other side of the ma- 

 chine wires are painted to indicate the 

 other end of the telegraph line. The 

 wires end at the motto, "Guaranteed 

 Floral Service." Thus, wherever the 

 Brown & Kennedy delivery truck goes, 

 it carries with it the suggestion to use 

 the F. T. D. 



Brown & Kennedy are among the 

 leading florists of the Mission district, 

 having been there for sixteen years. 

 They do a large business in funeral 

 work, weddings and decorations. They 

 are also members of the Retail Florists' 

 Association of San Francisco. 



rated with orchids and Columbia roses. 

 Four dozen 48-inch Columbia roses and 

 350 shorter ones were used, besides a 

 number of orchids. 



In the window may also be noted pic- 

 tures of prize-winning displays during 

 the eight years this firm has been com- 

 peting in the tournament. Orchids are 

 placed in the trophies for decoration 

 and in the background are two basket- 

 vases of roses. The display attracted 

 much attention from natives of and 

 visitors to Pasadena, who are one and 

 all greatly interested in the annual 

 pageant which has made that city a 

 center of attraction each New Year's 

 day. 



ROSE TOURNAMENT TROPHIES. 



Florists of Pasadena, Cal., have an 

 unusual opportunity to display their 

 art at the annual rose tournament, hold 

 there January 1 each year. Floats and 

 vehicles of all kinds, gorgeously deco- 

 rated with choice blooms, form a parade 

 often several miles in length and the 

 display, naturally, attracts large 

 crowds. 



The Orchid, of Pasadena, uses this 

 means of advertising to a considerable 

 extent and in the last eight years has 



ST. LOUIS RETAILERS ELECT. 



The Retail Florists' Association of St. 

 I>onis held its regular meeting at Tower 

 fir()\o hall Monday, February 7. There 

 were sixteen members present. The 

 meeting was a lively one and a great 

 deal of business was accomplished. 



The Uduiination of ofTicers for the en- 

 suing year was made in the month of 

 .laiiuai-y and the election took place at 

 this mooting. There wore several can- 

 diilatcs for the different offices. The 

 following were elected: President, Theo. 

 .Miller; vice-president, Fmil Schray; 

 treasurer, Andrew Hoffman; secretarv. 

 Fred C. Weber. F. H. Weber and J. W. 

 Roerm constitute the committee on ar- 

 rangement of meetings for the coming 

 year. Oscar Ruff is chairman of the 

 Ticmbership committee. 



The retail florists of St. Louis are re- 

 quested to join this organization and 

 give the officers their most loyal sup- 



