This subdivision shall not affect but shall be in addition to the provisions of the "United States cotton futures Act," approved August 11, 1916, as amended, and "The Future Trading Act," 35 approved August 24, 1921.

5. Passage ticket, one way or round trip, for each passenger, sold or issued in the United States for passage by any vessel to a port or place not in the United States, Canada, or Mexico, or Cuba, if costing not exceeding $30, $1; costing more than $30 and not exceeding $60, $3; costing more than $60, $5. This subdivision shall not apply to passage tickets costing $10 or less.36

6. Playing cards: Upon every pack of playing cards containing not more than fifty-four cards, manufactured or imported, and sold, or removed for consumption or sale, a tax of 10 cents per pack.

7. On each policy of insurance, or certificate, binder, covering note, memorandum, cablegram, letter, or other instrument by whatever name called whereby insurance is made or renewed upon property within the United States (including rents and profits) against peril by sea or on inland waters or in transit on land (including transshipments and storage at termini or way points) or by fire, lightning, tornado, windstorm, bombardment, invasion, insurrection or riot, issued to or for or in the name of a domestic corporation or partnership or an individual resident of the United States by any foreign corporation or partnership or any individual not a resident of the United States, when such policy or other instrument is not signed or countersigned by an officer or agent of the insurer in a State, Territory, or District of the United States within which such insurer is authorized to do business, a tax of 3 cents on each dollar, or fractional part thereof of the premium charged: Provided, That policies of reinsurance shall be exempt from the tax imposed by this subdivision.

Any person to or for whom or in whose name any such policy or other instrument is issued, or any solicitor or broker acting for or on behalf of such person in the procurement of any such policy or other instrument, shall affix the proper stamps to such policy or other instrument, and for failure to affix such stamps with intent to evade the tax shall, in addition to other penalties provided therefor, pay a fine of double the amount of the tax.

TITLE IX.TAX ON DISTILLED SPIRITS AND CEREAL BEVERAGES

TAX ON DISTILLED SPIRITS

SEC. 900. Subdivision (a) of section 600 of the Revenue Act of 1918, as amended, is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 600. (a) There shall be levied and collected on all distilled spirits now in bond or that have been or that may be hereafter produced in or imported into the United States, in lieu of the internal-revenue taxes now imposed thereon by law, an internal-revenue tax at the following rates, to be paid by the distiller or importer when withdrawn, and collected under the provisions of existing law:

"(1) Until January 1, 1927, $2.20 on each proof gallon or wine gallon when below proof and a proportionate tax at a like rate on all fractional parts of such proof or wine gallon;

"(2) On and after January 1, 1927, and until January 1, 1928, $1.65 on each proof gallon or wine gallon when below proof and a proportionate tax at a like rate on all fractional parts of such proof or wine gallon; and

"(3) On and after January 1, 1928, $1.10 on each proof gallon or wine gallon when below proof and a proportionate tax at a like rate on all fractional parts of such proof or wine gallon.

35 Declared unconstitutional by U. S. Supreme Court, May 15, 1922. (Hill v. Wallace, 42 Sup. Ct. Rep. 453.)

36 Matter in line type and italics amendments by sec. 442 of the Revenue Act of 1928.

"(4) On and after the enactment of the Revenue Act of 1926, on all distilled spirits which are diverted to beverage purposes or for use in the manufacture or production of any article used or intended for use as a beverage there shall be levied and collected a tax of $6.40 on each proof gallon or wine gallon when below proof, and a proportionate tax at a like rate on all fractional parts of such proof or wine gallon, to be paid by the person responsible for such diversion. If a tax at the rate of $2.20, $1.65, or $1.10 per proof or wine gallon has been paid upon such distilled spirits a credit of the tax so paid shall be allowed in computing the tax imposed by this paragraph.

"(5) The internal revenue tax imposed by this subdivision upon distilled spirits heretofore or hereafter imported into the United States shall, under regulations prescribed by the Commissioner, with the approval of the Secretary, be collected and deposited in the same manner as other internal revenue taxes, except that such collection and depositing shall be by the collector of customs instead of by the collector of internal revenue. Such tax shall be in addition to any customs duty imposed under the Tariff Act of 1922 or any subsequent Act.

"(6) Distilled spirits smuggled or brought into the United States unlawfully shall, for the purpose of this subdivision, be held to be imported into the United States, and section 3334 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, shall be applicable to any sale thereof.

"(7) When any distilled spirits exported free of tax and reimported in the original packages prior to January 1, 1926, are after the enactment of the Revenue Act of 1926 withdrawn from any internal-revenue bonded warehouse for tax payment or for bottling in bond, an allowance may be made for actual loss by leakage or evaporation not exceeding one proof gallon as to each cask or package of a capacity of not less than 40 wine gallons for each period of six months or fraction thereof from the date of official regauge after reimportation, and such distilled spirits may be bottled in accordance with the provisions of the Act of March 3, 1897, entitled 'An Act to allow the bottling of distilled spirits in bond,' as amended. The allowance for losses provided in this paragraph shall be made subject to the conditions of section 50 of the Act of August 27, 1894, entitled 'An Act to reduce taxation, to provide revenue for the Government, and for other purposes,' as amended."

SEC. 901. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3334 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, or section 492 of the Tariff Act of 1922, any distilled spirits forfeited or abandoned to the United States may be sold, in such cases as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may by regulation provide, to the proprietor of any industrial alcohol plant for denaturation, or redistillation and denaturation, without the payment of the internal-revenue tax thereon.

LIENS ON DISTILLERIES

SEC. 902. (a) Any lien, under section 3251 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, on any land or any building thereon shall be held to be extinguished, if (1) such land and building are no longer used for distillery purposes, and (2) there is no outstanding liability for taxes or penalties imposed by law on the distilled spirits produced therein, and (3) no litigation is pending in respect of any such tax or penalty.

(b) Any person claiming any interest in any such land or building may apply to the collector for a duly acknowledged certificate to the effect that such lien is discharged and, if the Commissioner determines that any such lien is extinguished, the collector shall issue such certificate, and any such certificate may be recorded.

TITLE X.-BOARD OF TAX APPEALS

SEC. 1000. Title IX of the Revenue Act of 1924 is amended to read as follows:

"TITLE IX.-BOARD OF TAX APPEALS

"MEMBERSHIP OF BOARD

"SEC. 900. The Board of Tax Appeals (hereinafter referred to as the 'Board') is hereby continued as an independent agency in the Executive Branch of the Government. The Board shall be composed of 16 members; except that such limitation shall not be held applicable to any member holding office under an appointment made before the enactment of the Revenue Act of 1926, in accordance with the law in force prior to the enactment of such Act.

"SEC. 901. (a) Members of the Board shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, solely on the grounds of fitness to perform the duties of the office. Members of the Board may be removed by the President, after notice and opportunity for public hearing, for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause. Each member shall receive salary at the rate of $10,000 per annum.

"(b) The terms of office of all members who are to compose the Board prior to June 2, 1926, shall expire at the close of business on June 1, 1926. The terms of office of the sixteen members first taking office after such date shall expire, as designated by the President at the time of nomination, four at the end of the sixth year, four at the end of the eighth year, four at the end of the tenth year, and four at the end of the twelfth year, after June 2, 1926. The terms of office of all successors shall expire twelve years after the expiration of of the terms for which their predecessors were appointed; but any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of his predecessor.

"SEC. 902. A member of the Board removed from office in accordance with subdivision (a) of section 901 shall not be permitted at any time to practice before the Board.

"ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE

"SEC. 903. The Board shall at least biennially designate a member to act as chairman. The Board shall have a seal which shall be judicially noticed.

"SEC. 904. The Board and its divisions shall have such jurisdiction as is conferred on them by Title II and Title III of the Revenue Act of 1926 or by subsequent laws. The Board is authorized to impose a fee in an amount not in excess of $10 to be fixed by the Board for the filing of any petition for the redetermination of a deficiency after the enactment of the Revenue Act of 1926 and for the hearing of any proceeding pending at the time of such enactment.

"SEC. 905. A majority of the members of the Board or of any division thereof shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the Board or of the division, respectively. A vacancy in the Board or in any division thereof shall not impair the powers nor affect the duties of the Board or division nor of the remaining members of the Board or division, respectively.

"SEC. 906. (a) The chairman may from time to time divide the Board into divisions of one or more members, assign the members of the Board thereto, and in case of a division of more than one member, designate the chief thereof. If a division, as a result of a vacancy or the absence or inability of a member assigned thereto to serve thereon, is composed of less than the number of members designated for the division, the chairman may assign other members to the division or direct the division to proceed with the transaction of business without awaiting any additional assignment of members thereto. A division shall hear and decide any proceeding instituted before the Board and any motion thereon assigned to such division by the chairman hear, and make a determination upon, any proceeding instituted before the Board and any motion in connection therewith, assigned to such

division by the chairman, and shall make a report of any such determination which constitutes its final disposition of the proceeding.37

"(b) In ease of a decision by a division, the decision and the findings of fact made in connection therewith shall become the decision and the findings of the Board within 30 days after such decision by the division, The report of the division shall become the report of the Board within 30 days after such report by the division, unless within such period the chairman has directed that such decision report shall be reviewed by the Board. Any preliminary action by a division which does not form the basis for the entry of the final decision shall not be subject to review by the Board except in accordance with such rules as the Board may prescribe. The report of a division shall not be a part of the record in any case in which the chairman directs that such report shall be reviewed by the Board.37

(c) If a petition for a redetermination of a deficiency has been filed by the taxpayer, a decision of the Board dismissing the proceeding shall, for the purposes of this title and of the Revenue Act of 1926, be considered as its decision that the deficiency is the amount determined by the Commissioner. An order specifying such amount shall be entered in the records of the Board unless the Board can not determine such amount from the pleadings the record in the proceeding, or unless the dismissal is for lack of jurisdiction.37

"(d) A decision of the Board (except a decision dismissing a proceeding for lack of jurisdiction) shall be held to be rendered upon the date that an order specifying the amount of the deficiency is entered in the records of the Board. If the Board dismisses a proceeding for reasons other than lack of jurisdiction and is unable from the pleadings record to determine the amount of the deficiency determined by the Commissioner, or if the Board dismisses a proceeding for lack of jurisdiction, an order to that effect shall be entered in the records of the Board, and the decision of the Board shall be held to be rendered upon the date of such entry.37

"(e) If the assessment or collection of any tax is barred by any statute of limitations, the decision of the Board to that effect shall, for the purposes of this title and of the Revenue Act of 1926, be considered as its decision that there is no deficiency in respect of such tax.37

"(f) The findings of the Board made in connection with any decision prior to the enactment of the Revenue Act of 1926 shall, notwithstanding the enactment of such Act, continue to be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated.37

"SEC. 907. (a) Notice and opportunity to be heard upon any proceeding instituted before the Board shall be given to the taxpayer and the Commissioner, and a report upon the proceeding and a decision thereon shall be made as quickly as practicable. The decision shall be made by a member in accordance with the report of the Board and such decision so made shall, when entered, be the decision of the Board. If an opportunity to be heard upon the proceeding is given before a division of the Board, neither the taxpayer nor the Commissioner shall be entitled to notice and opportunity to be heard before the Board upon review, except upon a specific order of the chairman. Hearings before the Board and its divisions shall be open to the public, and the testimony, and, if the Board so requires, the argument shall be stenographically reported. The Board is authorized to contract (by renewal of contract or otherwise) for the reporting of such hearings, and in such contract to fix the terms and conditions under which transcripts will be supplied by the contractor to the Board and to other persons and agencies. The proceedings of the Board and its divisions shall be conducted in accordance with such rules of practice and procedure (other than rules of evidence) as the Board may prescribe and in accordance with the rules of evidence applicable in courts of equity of the District of Columbia. In any proceeding involving the issue whether the petitioner has been guilty of fraud with intent to evade tax, where no hearing has been held before the enactment of the Revenue Act of 1928, the burden of proof in respect of such issue shall be upon the Commissioner. The mailing by registered mail of any pleading, decision, order, notice, or process in respect of proceedings before the Board shall be held sufficient service of such pleading, decision, order, notice, or process.37

37 Matter in italics and line type amendments by sec. 601 of the Revenue Act of 1928.

"(b) It shall be the duty of the Board and of each division to make findings of fact and a decision in each case before it, and report thereon in writing; except that the findings of fact and report thereon may be omitted in ease of a decision dismissing any proceeding upon motion either of the taxpayer, the Commissioner, or the Board. Whenever the Board deems it advisable, the report shall contain an opinion in writing in addition to the findings of fact and decision include in its report upon any proceeding its findings of fact or opinion or memorandum opinion. The Board shall report in writing all its findings of fact, opinions and memorandum opinions.37

"(c) All reports of the Board and all evidence received by the Board and its divisions, including a transcript of the stenographic report of the hearings, shall be public records open to the inspection of the public; except that after the decision of the Board in any proceeding has become final the Board may, upon motion of the taxpayer or the Commissioner, permit the withdrawal by the party entitled thereto of originals of books, documents, and records, and of models, diagrams, and other exhibits, introduced in evidence before the Board or any division; or the Board may, on its own motion, make such other disposition thereof as it deems advisable.

"(d) The Board shall provide for the publication of its reports at the Government Printing Office in such form and manner as may be best adapted for public information and use, and such authorized publication shall be competent evidence of the reports of the Board therein contained in all courts of the United States and of the several States without any further proof or authentication thereof. Such reports shall be subject to sale in the same manner and upon the same terms as other public documents.

"(e) The principal office of the Board shall be in the District of Columbia, but the Board or any of its divisions may sit at any place within the United States. The times and places of the meetings of the Board and of its divisions shall be prescribed by the chairman with a view to securing reasonable opportunity to taxpayers to appear before the Board or any of its divisions, with as little inconvenience and expense to taxpayers as is practicable.

"(f) The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide the Board with suitable rooms in courthouses or other buildings when necessary for hearings by the Board, or any division thereof, outside the District of Columbia.

"WITNESSES

"SEC. 908. For the efficient administration of the functions vested in the Board or any division thereof, any member of the Board, or any employee of the Board designated in writing for the purpose by the chairman, may administer oaths, and any member of the Board may examine witnesses and require, by subpoena ordered by the Board or any division thereof and signed by the member, (1) the attendance and testimony of witnesses, and the production of all necessary returns, books, papers, documents, correspondence, and other evidence, from any place in the United States at any designated place of hearing, or (2) the taking of a deposition before any designated individual competent to administer oaths under this Act. In the case of a deposition the testimony shall be reduced to writing by the individual taking the deposition or under his direction and shall then be subscribed by the deponent.

"SEC. 909. (a) Any witness summoned or whose deposition is taken under section 908 shall receive the same fees and mileage as witnesses in courts of the United States. Such fees and mileage and the expenses of taking any such deposition shall be paid as follows:

"(1) In the case of witnesses for the Commissioner, such payments shall be made by the Secretary out of any moneys appropriated for the collection of internal-revenue taxes, and may be made in advance.

"(2) In the case of any other witnesses, such payments shall be made, subject to rules prescribed by the Board, by the party at whose instance the witness appears or the deposition is taken.

37 Matter in italics and line type amendments by sec. 601 of the Revenue Act of 1928.